3rd September 2023
Today was one of the lowest tides of the next couple of months, I decided to go for a trial run of the workshop idea that I had created to see if it would be an effective workshop. I woke up really early at 6 a.m. and took a cab to Pasir Ris beach. I was ready and geared up with my Gopro and feeling a bit anxious because I had never gone for an intertidal walk before and I did not even know the precise location.
When I got there, there were already a couple of people around the area. I also noticed a lot of trash and Hindu Gods scattered around the coastal area. Thankfully, I had already anticipated it, and came with a trash picker as well as a garbage disposal bag. I spent my time photographing sea creatures and also picking up trash I had found. I also met a bunch of people who were busy with some fishing lines and one of them approached me to ask if I had any scissors. I handed a pair of scissor that I had found in my bag, and asked what they were doing. Apparently they were from Nparks and they were here on duty to monitor people, and had stumbled along some fishing lines that got caught in the coral bed.
I also met MJbiogirl during the walk while she was giving a tour to others. what a coincidence!
I found some very interesting and alien-like creatures that I have never seen before and numerous hermit crabs hiding in shells. It was such a beautiful and wonderful opportunity to be able to witness the seabed and life that it is home to. I was also feeling a bit mixed because the sea was polluted with plastic bags and wrappers that people left from the intertidal walk. Another concerning issue was the amount of families that came pouring in with buckets on hand, they were ready to collect and steal these sea creatures home. I was disturbed when I saw the families digging up the sea bed, and I plucked some courage to tell a mother that she should not catch these beings as they cant survive outside the ocean. I was however greeted with hostility and sarcasm as she told me " yayaya Im only joking la." her eyes not even meeting mine as she walked away.
The incident shows me that Singaporeans have a long way to go in terms of adopting an environmentally conscious mindset. It also made me ponder if the government needs to introduce regulations that prohibited these activities or if they should hire environmental officers as well...
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