The Amazing Eco-Home Trail

[This blog was written by Brenda Wang, one of our Scribes] I was glad that the theme for this year's Amazing Trail was 'Eco-Home' as we would learn many new things about the environment at the end of the trail. When I realized that my team consisted of 6 primary ones, I wondered whether they had the stamina to walk and travel for the whole day. Being the team's assistant sixer, I knew that I had to step up and help my sixer lead and keep the spirit high in the team. The day finally came. We assembled in the hall at 8:30 am, all eager to see the theme for this year's Amazing Trail. Fortunately, no one was late and Akela was able to start the quick briefing on time. We were briefed on the rules and objectives of the game, as well as how we could score points. We were to go to different 'Home Fix' stores and complete tasks given by our facilitators. Like the previous years, Akela reminded us 'To Complete not Compete' and 'It's the journey that counts'. Indeed, every year my family looks forward to participating in our Amazing Trail. After my team had changed into our Amazing Trail t-shirts, we gathered at the stage steps to discuss our strategy. Strategizing is very important as we can carry out the required tasks and earn as many points as possible in the most efficient time. After spending some time strategizing, we took a group photo outside the hall and set off! Our team had some unforgettable moments during the trail. During our first stop, we asked a customer, Mr. Jonathan Chan, at Home Fix to sing with us. Mr. Chan, told us that he was once a Queen's Scout in Singapore in the 1970s! He sang 'If you're happy and you know' with us. Later, after we went to a few more stops, we met Mr. Chan again in another MRT station. What a coincidence! Mr Chan is the man in yellow At Yew Tee Point, our team grabbed a burger from Burger King while working on the photo frame. The siblings of the scouts had brilliant ideas to create the photo frame. We rolled up things we saw around us: flowers, newspapers, plastic wrappers around the plastic bottles. Then we pasted them on the photo frame. We took bottle caps of different colours and pasted them on the corners of the photo frame. It turned out to be extremely beautiful. City Square Mall was bursting with activity. People were standing around listening to their favourite singer sing live on the floor below. It was packed like sardines. I was afraid that the team would lose each other. Fortunately, we managed to complete the required tasks without losing anyone. Time was running out. While in the MRT, I told my team members to walk faster. At the next stop, all the team members ran till the parents behind could not catch up. I told them to walk faster, not run! Our last stop was Anchorpoint. It was as crowded as City Square Mall. We had bought the $4.90 lamp from IKEA. Many teams had gathered around the Home Fix store creating their lamp. Our team had quickly decorated the lamp with a small paper flower while the rest went to pay for the bulb in the Home Fix store. Then we quickly made our way to the bus stop to take the bus back to school. Everyone was exhausted and dripping with sweat. The primary ones in my group had certainly persevered through the whole day with minimal complaints. The air conditioning was a great reward for all of us. We had a great long rest. We soon reached school. There was still some time, so we decided to try out tasks in Jelita. We had to tie 3 knots. A parent got the rope and tied one… two… another ex-pelican stretched her hand in and tied the third knot. We received the crossword puzzle clue and made our way down the escalator towards the school. Our reporting time was recorded and the papers were handed over to Baloo. We had completed our crossword puzzle on our way back to school. We sat in the Kidzone to touch up on our Photo Frame and complete our lamp. Again, everyone had contributed great ideas. Someone had collected dried grass on the way so we cut them into smaller pieces and pasted them on the lamp. We also used the aluminum of a can to cut out the scout sign. Someone came up with a wonderful idea to cut out the shape of a pelican from black paper and paste it on the inside of the lamp to create a silhouette effect when the light is switched on. It looked very beautiful. Unfortunately, I had to leave earlier to participate in the dance rehearsal. The dancers of the Chinese Dance rehearsed a couple of times before we were allowed to have our treat- pizza! About 7 pizzas were wolfed down by all the hungry performers at once. All of us were starving after the long day out. Soon, people came swarming in and we took our seats. We welcomed our guest of honor with the adigie yell before the guest of honor gave an inspiring speech. He told us how a boy who threw a starfish into the water made a difference. Even though the boy in the story could not throw all the starfishes into the water, that one starfish that he threw into the water made a difference. This is indeed a moving story that taught me that even a small move could make a big difference. After some entertainment and a light dinner, I, being one of the performers, gathered backstage to get ready for the performance. Meanwhile, the other guests were being entertained by Baloo with games and songs. The music started and the applause of the audience echoed through the hall. We came out in our respective groups and tried to hide the nervousness inside ourselves. The three minutes ended very quickly as we scrambled backstage. The girls high-fived each other. We finally did it! The teachers said we had done very well. A glow of happiness spread through my heart. Our hard work had finally paid off! I was proud of myself. The dancers were soon back to their seats and watching volunteers competing on the stage. The results were then announced. The laughter in the hall subsided."The first runner up is… Team J for Juliet!" I ran up the stage happily to collect the trophy. I could see the smile on the primary ones' faces as we smiled into the camera. I had learnt many things that day. Teamwork was one of the most important things that were needed to accomplish the tasks. For example, the parents who were familiar with certain places led the group through the shopping centers. The primary ones in my team had persevered through the whole trip. Everyone was cooperative and did not complain much. Everyone contributed items to decorate our lamp and photo frame. I was proud of them for their great achievement. Strategizing also helped. After the race, our team realized that the Champion team had a better strategy from ours. They had targeted the places with the most points instead of those with lesser points. Our team had targeted places which were connected to each other by the MRT trains so that we could cover more places in a shorter time. I also learnt about eco friendly items. They could save our planet earth. If someone starts to use eco-friendly products, everyone would follow and make a big difference to Mother Earth. The Amazing Eco-Home Trail is indeed a meaningful event.