Friend of the Environment

as part of our preparation for the YEP eco-tourism/community service trip to Sikkim at the end of the year, a group of us visited the Singapore Environment Council today to find out a little more about what they did so we could share it with the folks at Kangchendzonga (world's third highest mountain after Mount Everest (Chomolungma,Goddess Mother of the World) and K2) Conservation Committee.

while we were there, we met these two really nice people, Uma and Grant, who told us about what they did in their jobs - Uma speaks to schools and organisations about how they can play their part to help the environment while Grant is the Head of the Green Volunteers Network, which is made up of volunteers who help in the various environmental projects that they organise in Singapore (Bukit Timah, Pulau Ubin, etc) and around the region. Though it was a hard struggle to push for environmental causes in a society very much concerned with economics and other such practical concerns, their determination never faltered. they were folks who believed that things were getting better, albeit slowly, and every little success was worth celebrating..

i recalled how I used to be so passionate about Environmental Protection, some 10 to 12 years ago.. speaking to my family and friends about what we could all do in our daily lives to reduce the damage that is going on, making trips to the library to read up books on various related topics, and filling volumes of my diary with what the future could look like.. in my own small way, i always thought i could one day change the way the world handles trash, toxic waste, recycling, animal cruelty, sport hunting, etc.... pages of my diary were written my "prophecies" about the year 2010, when everything will be recycled and fish will no longer be caught from the seas but harvested from aqua-farms..



i even had a certificate made for myself that said i was a "Qualified Trash Attacker"!

but sadly, since i entered the working world and got myself a licence and started driving, all these idealism started to disappear, even without my being aware of it... i've become part of the very group of people i used to speak harshly against... the people who were so caught up with their day-to-day existence and so concerned with convenience that they didn't care about the environment and how it was slowly getting damaged through the inconsiderate actions of human beings like themselves..

by the time i left the SEC office, i had signed up to be a volunteer with The Green Volunteers Network...

it's time i return to what i used to believe it..