All About Green Transport

With our busy schedules, getting from point A to point B on time can sometimes be a significant cause of stress. Therefore, TRANSPORTATION is of key importance in our daily lives. Our reliance on cars contributes to damaging the natural environment.

Driving a car is probably the most polluting act an average person can commit. It has been estimate that as much as 20-30% of all greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation. Once on the road, the average car can produce more than three kilos of air pollutants including carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, for every litre of petrol.

Even the best conventional car only operates at 30%-45% fuel efficiency. Up to 70% of each litre of petrol burning in the engine is wasted in the form of heat and overcoming internal component friction.

You can make a difference -- both by trying to “travel green” yourself, and by influencing your family, friends, co-workers, and employers to do the same.

Let’s GO GREEN by taking Public Transport:

1) Take Bus 176, alight directly in front of West Coast Park.
Bus 176 originates from Bukit Merah Central and Bukit Panjang Interchange.

2) Take Bus 30, 51 or 143, alight in front of Clementi Woods Park (West Coast Road) and take a 5 minute walk through West Coast Link to West Coast Park.

1. Bus 30 originates from Bedok Interchange and Boon Lay Interchange.
2. Bus 51 originates from Hougang Central Interchange and Jurong East Interchange.
3. Bus 143 originates from Toa Payoh Interchange and Jurong East Interchange.

3) Take Bus 175 from Clementi Interchange, and alight along West Coast Highway.

Our GREEN Actions

There are lots of little things that we can do to benefit the environment:

1. Bring your own bag when you go shopping.
2. Shopping at the neighbourhood grocery shop or market reduces the need for you to drive and gets you more exercise.
3. Brush up your knowledge of environmental issues and innovations, and devise more ways to green your lifestyle. Good websites include www.treehugger.com.
4. Take the stairs instead of the lift. This helps to save electricity and will tone up your legs (Best way to get ready for LEAN Walk-A-Jog!).
5. Learn to cycle if you don’t know how. It is a healthy, eco-friendly and economical habit for life. Plus, you get to exercise regularly, gaining a fitter body and a stronger heart.
6. Consider buying a hybrid or fuel-efficient car instead.

Most immediately, we can start by bringing our own water bottle for refill at water points – this will significantly reduce waste generation at LEAN Walk-a-Jog!!

The first 500 participants to reach the finishing line at each session will get an exclusive Limited Edition LEAN souvenir!

Seeds of Hope Exhibition to be featured at LEAN Walk-a-Jog

The world is an intricately interwoven web of infinite relations.

When we apply this worldview to matter and to all living things, including people, we can see the world as one great life entity. This is the true nature of our own life.”

~ Soka Gakkai President, Dr Daisaku Ikeda ~

Going green is not as hard as typically perceived. With a little bit of inspiration, motivation and efforts, we all can be leading sustainable eco-friendly lifestyles.

As First Soka Gakkai President Tsunesaburo Makiguchi said,

“Plants awaken the aesthetic feelings within us, soften our more violent emotions, inspire us to poetry, and thus nurture our hearts and minds”

Let us make the first move by viewing the newly launched “Seeds of Hope” exhibition at LEAN Walk-a-Jog. The “Seeds of Hope” exhibition was created by Soka Gakkai International in partnership with the Earth Charter International as a resource for the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-14).

The "Seeds of Hope" exhibition stresses our interconnectedness with the rest of the community of life and the need to broaden our sphere of compassion and concern. It encourages viewers to overcome feelings of powerlessness and highlights the fact that a single individual can initiate positive change.

It also introduces the positive vision for sustainable living expressed in the Earth Charter, and gives examples of individuals and groups who have successfully taken action for change, from Africa to the Arctic and Eastern Europe.

The message "It starts with one," is key -- the slogan that the Earth Charter International have chosen for their "Earth Charter Plus 10" campaign in 2010.

The exhibition uses the "Learn, Reflect, Empower" formula outlined in SGI President Daisaku Ikeda’s 2002 proposal on education for sustainable development and is a tool for the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.

"Seeds of Hope" is a successor to the "Seeds of Change" exhibition which was created for the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2002, and has since been shown in 27 countries in 13 languages and seen by 1,500,000 people around the world.

"The world is an intricately interwoven web of infinite relations. When we apply this worldview to matter and to all living things, including people, we can see the world as one great life entity. This is the true nature of our own life."

Understand Your Health Condition

The Health Promotion Board provides the health survey “PAR-Q” to help LEAN participants understand their health condition before commencing with physical activities. The PAR-Q will tell you if you should check with our doctor before you start exercising.

Common sense is your best guide when you answer these questions. Please read to the questions carefully and answer each one honestly to yourself “yes” or “no”.

Questions:

1. 
   
   Has your doctor ever said that you have a heart condition and that you should only do physical activity recommended by a doctor?
2. 
   
   Do you feel pain in your chest when you do physical activity?
3. 
   
   In the past month, have you had chest pain when you were not doing physical activity?
4. 
   
   Do you lose your balance because of dizziness or do you ever lose consciousness?
5. 
   
   Do you have a bone or joint problem (for example, back, knee or hip) that could be made worse by a change in your physical activity? 
6. 
   
   Is your doctor currently prescribing drugs (for example, water pills) for your blood pressure or heart condition?
7. 
   
   Do you know of any other reason why you should not do physical activity?

If you answered YES to one or more questions: Talk with your doctor by phone or in person before you start becoming much more physically active. Tell your doctor about the PAR-Q and which questions you answered YES.

Regular exercise is associated with many health benefits. And most importantly, increasing physical activity is safe for most people.

Let’s Welcome HEALTH PROMOTION BOARD

LEAN Walk-a-Jog 2010 is partnering the HEALTH PROMOTION BOARD!

The mission of Health Promotion Board is to “Promote Health Excellence by Empowering Individuals to Take Ownership of Their Health” and we are delighted to be part of this national effort to promote healthy living.

Getting physically active will definitely improve your overall health and wellbeing, as it:-

1. Gives you more energy
2. Promotes mental health by reducing stress and anxiety
3. Promotes heart and lung fitness
4. Prevent falls by keeping bones and muscles strong
5. Helps maintain a healthy weight
6. Prevents and controls diabetes
7. Reduces the risk of chronic diseases

Physical activity is simply any activity that gets your body moving. Not only jogging, swimming, cycling are considered as physical activities, even daily activities such as taking the stairs, brisk walking and even doing housework helps to strengthen your body.

Just only 30 minutes a day, you will enjoy a good quality of life!

If you have not been physically active, just aim to start engaging in any physical activity. For a start, you can brisk walk for 10 minutes a day, three times a week, and you will feel the difference as you gain better health and have more energy to enjoy life.

Check out the Brisk Walk booklet by Health Promotion Board to get you motivated.

So don’t wait – get active today by signing up in our YWD LEAN WALK-A-JOG!

Register for LEAN Walk-a-Jog at July District Discussion Meeting

We are ONE MONTH from our very first YWD Walk-a-Jog at West Coast Park!

If you haven’t registered, you may do so at the JULY District Discussion Meeting! Registration form can be downloaded here.

Don’t Miss this free admission event that promotes healthy and green lifestyle!

Other than keeping LEAN and FIT, you will be able to have wonderful dialogues with your members and friends amongst the beautiful trees and sweet smelling flowers. Indulge yourself with nature and enjoy the many exciting performances too.

SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

Put on your event bib and GREEN t-shirt and join us in leaving your foot prints at our LEAN Walk-a-Jog on 22 August 2010!

Nurturing nAture, Embracing Life A LEAN Walk-a-Jog Event for Women

If your daily routine has been tiring you out, it may be time to return to nAture!

As part of Singapore Soka Association (SSA) Young Women Division’s on-going efforts to promote healthy lifestyle and meaningful activities, we are organising a walk-a-jog event in the lush greenery of the West Coast Park this August.

As the theme “Nurturing nAture, Embracing Life” implies, this walk-a-jog event simply means that nurturing a healthy body and mind goes hand in hand with the inherent nature of women in embracing all lives.

We promise that this walk-a-jog event will be a memorable experience in this significant year of 2010.

So don’t hesitate any more, it’s time to put on your exercise gear, and join us on

Date	:	22 August 2010 (Sunday)
Time	:	0800hrs (RHQ 3, 4, 5)
		0900hrs (RHQ 1, 2, 6)
Venue	:	West Coast Park Grand Lawn

To register, please download and complete the registration form and return to your district leader at the July Discussion Meeting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. How do I register for the LEAN Walk-a-Jog?

You may obtain copy of the LEAN Walk-a-Jog registration form from your district leader or download it from http://leanwalk2010.blogspot.com

Complete the form and bring it to the District Discussion Meeting in July.

Please note that details such as emergency contacts, medical history and parental consent (where applicable) are mandatory.

Q2. Is there any age limit?

We welcome all young women up to age 40 to join us.

However, we require all participants below 18 years old to seek parental consent. The parent can sign on the last section of the registration form to indicate their consent to the child’s participation in LEAN Walk-a-Jog.

Q3. Do I have to pay?

Registration is FREE! We welcome all young women to join us!

Q4. What if I am injured or feel unwell during the race?

There will be First-Aid points along the route. Any participant who is injured or feels unwell should immediately seek help at any of these first-aid points.

Q5. What should I wear for this event?

As this is an outdoor event, we recommend all participants to dress in comfortable clothing and appropriate walking/running shoes.

Befitting the theme of “Nurturing nAture, Embracing Lives”, we encourage all participants to put on green attire for this event.

Q6. What else can I do to contribute to the event’s green or eco-friendly efforts?

All of us can do our part! We encourage all participants to bring your own water bottle. There will be water points along the route; participants can use your own water bottle to fill-up to reduce use of disposables.

Don't get your answer? Email your queries to leanwalk2010@gmail.com.