We received this e-mail a while ago and forgot to post it up on the website. So here it is below:

Dear Lion-City Skaters,

I am writing to you in order to seek your help in delivering a message and hopefully remind and educate the fellow skaters with regards to park cleanliness. The attached photograph was taken on Sunday 09 Dec at 0830hrs at the Somerset skatepark. Just before this photograph was taken, you would have been greeted by a huge flock of pigeons happily feasting on the remains left behind by park users.

This indiscriminate littering provides 2 major problems besides the obvious environmental danger it poses. Firstly in terms of safety with that amount of litter, a sole skater (like me) would probably find it difficult and time consuming to clean up the whole park before I can skate safely. Plastic bottles would be rolling around the park and that would increase possibilities of accidents and injuries. I myself am not an advanced or even an intermediate level skater and at my age and job commitment, my safety and well-being is of utmost importance. So being a lower level skater, I would not have the necessary level of skill to react effectively on my board to avoid unwanted and foreign hazards such as the bottles and cans.

Another problem of littering would be public's perception of skateboarders and skateparks in general. Somerset skatepark as we all know is right smack in the middle of town and many members of public actually take short cuts through the park to various places and offices around the park. Supposing they are greeted by such an unsightly image of the park, how would you think they would view us skateboarders who can't even take ownership of the skate park and maintain the cleanliness not for the public, but for ourselves? Wouldn't you agree that this would tarnish the image of skateboarders?

This I believe would have an impact on the mentality of building a skatepark. We have long fought for better quality and more skateparks to be built in Singapore, but sadly, if we keep up this bad image, wouldn't you think that officials would think twice before building a place where there would be potential environmental pollution?

I understand that skateboarding by the nature of it's history has it's roots in surfing and punk culture and a little (just a little) bit of anti-establishment influences. I for one was (or still am) moulded by these influences. However, we've got to be smart and not shoot ourselves in the leg. To end off, we all know the positive values skateboarding has on us like the the identity we have as a family JUST by sheer passion for the sport. So because we talk so much about togetherness and the unity we have towards our passion, we should take a step in maintaining the park condition not only for EACH OTHER's safety and benefit, but also OUR overall image to the public.

I thank you so much for your time in reading this and humbly request you help spread the word about park cleanliness and utilizing the disposal bins provided (photo also attached below).

Regards,
Concerned Skater