Public Briskwalks in June

Two briskwalks were conducted on the first and third Sunday of June.

This is the first time I help to co-ordinate a public walk. It was actually a very easy job on my part. Siva takes care of the web page (which is a one-stop information centre) and gets all the registration emails. Anand takes note of which regulars are coming to help out. I think about the route, take note of dates, number of people coming, send reminders, and either take pictures or get help taking pics. Miscellaneous stuff mainly. But I enjoyed what I did.

The route decision took a bit of thinking. Some of us preferred the scenic way by the reservior, some prefer the other way. It was the same distance more or less. But my personal preference (being not as fit) was the scenic way, because a sunrise over water (yes it may be artificial but still its a nice scene) makes one feel more exhilarated. And there are more changes in scenery, not just trees on both sides. The path also feels less "pebbled". At first the summit route was closed. But I am quite glad it opened in time for public walk. Because as someone (forgot who??!!) told me, ending at the summit gives everyone a great sense of satisfaction. And its a good photo point as well.

I was worried about the turn-out being very poor on the actual days, about not enough regulars being around and about what if some accident happened along the way. Yes, I think too much. Anyway, for the turn out, spreading the word on habitatnews and wildsingapore, ivle and to friends and family seemed to work. As for the regulars, I realised that when there are reliable people, there is no need to worry. And since Anand is taking charge there, I should worry even less! As for the accidents happening, the path is really well marked and there are so many other people walking it. Really quite safe. And if anything happens, we all have hp handy!

Most of all, I enjoyed the actual days. Due to the early mornings, a lot of people who sign up will not show up. But sometimes, people who have not signed up come as well. So no matter how many or how few people come, we will just adjust and walk. The regulars are all so at ease with the walking and all, everything ran quite smoothly. All there is to do for me was to greet and chat with the people who come. I found that words of encouragement, smiles and some small talk to distract people from fatigue is useful.

One thing to note, you definitely need more than one cameraman and they all need to be fit! I for one found it hard to take pictures and walk at the same time. Spoils the momentum.