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-Abby

FIXED!!! by our resident web-wizard Jacki

-Jeff

Last Saturday, we had our first BWV-MTV (Meet The Volunteers) session. Admittedly, things did not go exactly as expected. The “MTV” was planned as a chance for people to meet the Blue Water Volunteers – the people behind the scenes, and to learn more about the structure, history & goals of BWV. It was also a time to show our appreciation to those who have supported us along the way – participants from past ReefWalks & ReefTalks, Reef Friends, photographers, trainers, advisers, guides, all the kind hearted people who have helped in one way or another, and many more.

We did not receive a huge crowd of members of the public, and a rather small showing from the many Blue Water Volunteers themselves. I guess it was just a bad day with many students having exams, teachers having stacks of papers to mark, others having other commitments? Thanks to those who DID take a few hours off on a Saturday afternoon to make it! And many thanks to the kind folk at Fuji Xerox who let us use their uber cool place as our venue!

We actually met quite a few new trainee guide sign ups, who came to find out more about BWV & ReefWalk. One of them, Tuttle, even bought the CJ Guidebook & Southern Shores pamphlet in preparation for this week’s field training sessions! Good for you… already score brownie points on my report card! Others did a bit of networking, exchanging contacts, informing attendees about the call for a marine park in Singapore, etc.

The ReefExhibits booth was of course present, as well as our die-die-sure-can-see ReefExhibits display of amazing photos from our shores by Ria – the same photos that attracted many people like me to Wild Singapore and BWV in the first place. No doubt pictures really do speak more than words, but we still need YOU to be there to bring it to life with real life stories.

But where have all our volunteers gone?

I have one of those pocket prayer cards that read: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; The courage to change the things I can; And the wisdom to know the difference. I don’t keep it in my wallet ‘cos I had memorised this a long time back for moments like these.

I received an email from one of last Sunday’s Reefwalk participants this morning. He raised many concerns regarding how much damage is imposed on our shores during Reefwalks. This is not an issue that is new to us. It is an issue that we grapple with all of the time. How do we educate people during Reefwalk yet minimise the impact of having large groups of people walking the reefs?

I was deeply troubled for the rest of the day. Just sat outside Lucky Plaza after work, putting my troubles down on paper ‘cos I didn’t know who to turn to for reassurance. I was so weighed down by what he said. — “Have we succeeded in spreading green ecology? Or, is this just another ‘outing’ for bored Singaporeans .. keen to brag on Monday what terribly different and exciting things they did?” — “If people cant learn to respect nature, I say it’s better to leave it… By highlighting these places as ‘things to do’, we are only helping in their decimation. Let them stick to Orchard and cinemas, .. so the mud skippers, crabs, anemones may live.”

I wasn’t upset by his words. In fact, I was very grateful and touched that he took the trouble to share his thoughts and feelings ‘cos it showed he cared. I was upset because I felt I didn’t have the wisdom to know the difference between what can be changed and what can’t, what is right or not so right in the long term, what may seem wrong but is actually right. Darn it, I didn’t even know the difference between a dead or live octopus.

We have always maintained a “soft approach” to spreading the message of marine conservation. We don’t storm into restaurants while people are enjoying their shark’s fin soup to show them gory pictures of fin-less sharks bleeding to death. We don’t picket outside buildings to fight for a cause. Our approach is simple – conservation through education.

“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum to the women and men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.” - Antoine De Saint-Exupery, The Wisdom of the Sands

So for us, we can’t simply say “Don’t litter”, “Don’t throw rubbish into drains ‘cos it will end up in the ocean”. We SHOW them how littered our shores are. We don’t expect people to fight for or against something unless we know that the groundwork has already been laid – that people already FEEL for our shores.

But how do you make people FEEL?
— God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;

Do I have the ability to change a mindset or move a heart?
— The courage to change the things I can;

Can I do so without causing even more damage to the very things I’m trying to protect in the first place?
— And the wisdom to know the difference.

My life as a volunteer began only this year, when I joined the Blue Water Volunteers for a Reefwalk on 10 April. It’s been only 4 months since, and I can hardly believe that during my first Reefwalk, I had never seen live sea stars or corals before, and now I not only lead groups of people to share this humbling experience, I even talk about marine life like they’re my best friends. Just FOUR months, and yet I feel I’ve known the people at Reefwalk for ages! However, our Reefwalk coordinator is afraid that my Mom is gonna send BWV a strongly-worded letter about how her only daughter is too involved with sea slugs and hangs around fishy individuals (and soon I’ll also be hanging out with “icthy, orny bots” too…).

Since training as a Reefwalk guide at the end of April, things progressed at the speed of light. After less than 3 months, 2 training sessions, 2 Reefwalks as OJT with Pam and Daniel, one theory session and finally team guiding with Anthony, I did my first ‘solo’ Reefwalk with a group of 11 participants on 26 June. Then the day came when none of the regular guides were able to assist MS with training on Sentosa, leaving only me to help with my so-so “skills”. Thrown into the deep end of the pool? Deeper than that actually.

Due to my overly enthusiastic itch, I sort of like did a “self-sabo” and threw myself into the deepest end of the muddy lagoon by making a certain “boo boo” last month, which ended with me coordinating the last Reefwalk on 21 August. After the walk was over, accounts settled, etc, I took a step back and reflected on what had just happened, and what I’ve gone through the past four months. At first it seemed like nothing much, but from a different angle, it seems I may have turned my life completely around. When I found out about BWV and Reefwalk at the end of January this year, an old flame was sort of rekindled with nature, and for the next few months prior to my first RW, I was busy borrowing books, buying little pocket guidebooks, sourcing the Net, for everything I could find about seashore and reef life and marine conservation.

Volunteering with BWV or other nature conservation groups is not only a learning experience, it HUMBLES you (especially “city folk” like me). Suddenly, even the tiniest ant is an important BEING, and every leaf on every tree is more than “just a leaf”.

I realised after coordinating the walk that I’ve probably “grown” too quickly and this deep end of the muddy lagoon might actually be quick sand. I need to slow down. I still have a long way more to go as a guide, still have so much more to learn. So I guess it’s best if I stop growing too quickly for fear of burning out, becoming jaded or losing sight of the big picture.

When I was balancing the accounts for the walk, my mind drifted (as it often does) to other weird ideas, thoughts, dreams…. I thought about balancing the “account” I hold with RW. Like how much they owe me, how much I owe them…. Here’s my crazy thoughts put down in writing:

WHAT I’VE SPENT
Transport – Lost count
Guidesheets, Guidebooks, Fines from overdue library books that I renew to the max and borrow over & over again ‘cos the marine & coral reef guidebooks at the bookstores cost an arm & a leg – Lost count
Feeding hungry guides & trainees with bread, tuna and coffee – Lost count
New Reefwalk guestbook – Undisclosed amount
Time spent Klogging, sending emails, replying emails & other “admin” stuff – Lost track
First Aid Kit, plus lots of Mopiko for those dang bites – Can’t remember

WHAT I’VE EARNED
The joy I get out of doing all of the above even if it burns a little hole in my pocket and takes up a huge chunk of my already non-existent social life – Priceless
Knowledge about marine life, as well as other aspects of nature, conservation and the environment – Priceless
New friends of kindred heart and mind – Priceless
Seeing how a child is so amused by something as common (to some) as a goby – Priceless
Seeing adults awed by something as insignificant (to some) as an Avrainvillea seaweed – Priceless
Reading the heartfelt comments left by participants in the guestbooks – Priceless Getting to know the crazy & passionate people at Reefwalk – Priceless
Which then led me to know the dedicated & even crazier people at Wildfilms – Priceless
A chance to pursue dreams that were once forgotten – Priceless

I would say the “accounts” are balancing out rather well, with a priceless surplus. Some volunteers may be overworked ‘cos there’s no one else willing to get the job done, and yet they continue with their good work day after day, because at the end of the day, bruised, battered but not beaten, they can sit back and say “It was worth it”.

Here’s to all volunteers, those dedicated people who believe in all work and no pay. – Robert Orben

I love posting happy blogs! And I’m utterly pleased to report that Reefwalk’s “Ultimate R&R Event of the Year” was a success! A total of 14 adults and 2 children made their way to Kota Tinggi, Johor last weekend for 2 days and a night of pure R&R. It was a well-deserved getaway for all, and a memorable experience that has left us hungry for more!

After meeting up at Kranji MRT station at 8.00am on Saturday, we decided to have breakfast at the old Woodlands Interchange while waiting for the traffic jam at the Causeway to ease a little. “We” included Daniel & his wife Belle, Merey with husband Eng Wan & 2-year old son Reef, Doreen & daughter Lotus, Seow Nan, Saify, Darius, Min Sheng, Heng & I.

Freddy & his wife Livia and Peter were to join us in Kota Tinggi later that afternoon, as Freddy was called back to work at the last minute, and Peter was down with a high fever & flu.

Some of us had not slept the night before or were pretty beat from the journey up, or in the case of Eng Wan, had come straight after a flight back from Sri Lanka. So after checking in to Kota Rainforest Resort, most of us headed straight for the mattresses…

Except for these few who were raring to go!

I guess by observing who did what on the first day you can tell what he/she came here for – fun in the sun, quality time with loved ones, doing nothing but chill-out, or doing some big time soul searching of some sort. Whatever we did, we were surrounded by little wonders of nature, set within the rustic setting of the resort, amidst the lush tropical rainforest.

Later in the afternoon, a few of us headed for the waterfall to literally chill out. The water was freezing! But shiok man! While MS & Saify were enjoying their “hydro jet back massage”, I had fun splashing Doreen with icy cold water while Seow Nan gave the locals an eyeful with her DIY mud spa. Out came her huge Ziploc bag filled with Dead Sea mud all the way from Israel, which was then generously slathered all over her body, as well as my back, all over little Lotus & big D. Soon, she managed to convince the guys to join in the fun too, so all of us got a complimentary mud rub + back massage from this petite girl.

In the evening back at the resort, all of us regrouped for a lovely charcoal-fired steamboat dinner that tested our patience, chopstick skills and appetite for the “exotic”. Merey was served with some extra “liao” in her soup from one of the resident lizards or birds perched above, while MS found a “black bean” in his soup – a “bean” that has 2 wings and large eyes, that you often find hovering over food or other less than appetising (and usually smelly or dead) objects. Yum!

After dinner, we headed straight for the Fireflies Rivercruise that Daniel had thoughtfully arranged for us earlier. Man! It was amazing! At times I felt like I was lost in a magical fairyland… more like Neverland, as the little specks of dancing light reminded me of Tinkerbell. I expected the tour to be a rather short one ‘cos as a Malaysian, I don’t really place much hope in what my country has to offer in terms of “customer service”. But the boat ride just went on and on along the river, encountering more & more trees that were covered with these tiny and mesmerising creatures (more info about fireflies in the Appendix below).

And up above, a different show of twinkling light, a sight I crave for every night – diamonds in the sky! Aaahh… To be surrounded by so much beauty just gets you all warm & fuzzy all over!

Back at the resort, it was bedtime for some, and time to kick back, relax & t-c-sing-song for others. Nothing like a bottle of musty wine to get the ball rolling, and soon we were happily discussing topics as varied as Sri Lankan tea & soya sauce, religion & lost civilisations, scholars & tapeworms, weight loss & ‘snakes’… It was fun joking about Changi Village ‘cravings’ and Seow Nan’s “Andrew”. “Andrew” is a tapeworm that Daniel believes lives in Seow Nan’s stomach ‘cos she’s so skinny. So we try to picture her rubbing her tummy near mealtime and going “Aaaandreeewww… what do you feel like eating today?”

Oh, and since we keep pronouncing Saify’s name wrongly, he’s now officially nicknamed “Anaconda” (for other ‘reasons’ too!).

Most of us slept really well that night after such a fun-filled day, some wine, and for me, a big gulp of cough mixture. But in the middle of the night, I awoke in fright when I heard a guy scream, and opened my eyes to see Peter leaning over Darius in bed! Darius looked white as a ghost, and Peter looked guilty yet innocent at the same time. Ahaha… Some Changi Village ‘cravings’ going on here or just Darius having a really bad dream? I’ll leave that to your imagination!

The next day went by really quickly, with breakfast, packing up, etc etc till it was check-out time. We then headed for a very nice lunch back at the same place we visited the night before for the fireflies tour. The food was really good, and in the words of Eng Wan as he savoured the Nonya-style steamed fish, “Wah steam! Steamology man!”.

As each of the 4 cars were headed in different directions, we said our goodbyes after lunch, each with fond memories to keep us warm, fuzzy & tickled pink for a long time to come. Thanks again to Daniel for coming up with the idea of this trip & planning the nitty gritty logistics side of it, to all the drivers who brought us from point A to B and back in one piece, and to all who came, lending to the trip your unique personalities and sharing the best of yourselves with everyone else. Aaahhh… warm and fuzzy again…

“The ultimate expression of generosity is not in giving of what you have, but in giving of who you are.”- Johnnetta B. Cole