“I think that the most memorable part of the event for me was when I distributed food to the workers, and I can truly see that they appreciate what we are doing for them,” concluded Vane when he spoke of the Appreciation Lunch for Landscape Technicians organised by Young Building Construction and Timber Industries Employees’ Union (BATU) on 2 August 2014.
 

Amongst numerous appreciation lunches, this one was none like the others. During the lunch, Young BATU members had the opportunity to learn planting modules from the landscape technicians, and in particular for Vane, he picked up the know-how on fertiliser mixing. Equipped with this knowledge, Vane felt that he could now make his flowering/fruit plants shine.
 

“The workers placed themselves in the dirt to nurture nature, despite being a gardener in my school days and having that green thumb, the fertiliser education was particularly useful for me,” Vane remarked when he interacted with the technicians at the lunch. It enabled Vane to also recollect his schooling days where he would help out in the garden and is inspired by the hard work contributed by these technicians.
 

Having been in close contact with nature since his younger days, Vane felt that this event affirmed his love for nature and was able to have an opportunity to show them appreciation through this event. “If Young BATU organises such events again, let’s play both parts in being an organiser and also a participant and perhaps we can also explore other ways of engaging our technicians.”
 

Besides Young BATU’s members, Mr Bala, a senior manager of the Landscaping Division in BNL Services stationed at Fort Canning Park was also able to share his passion with Young BATU.
 

One of the landscaping technicians appreciated at the luncheon, Mr Bala shares about how his love for greenery led him to be working in landscaping for 18 years. And when work gets tough, the compliments and appreciation from people who head to the park keeps him going strong.
 

“As long as I can, I hope I can continue to take care of the greenery in Singapore.” remarked Mr Bala as he shares more about his hopes for the future.
 

More often than not, technicians like Mr Bala go unnoticed in our busy lives and unknown to us; a simple “Thank you!” would give them the motivation to keep going strong. So let our next ‘walk in the park’ be one that notices people like Mr Bala, and let us make their day as much as they have made ours when we admire the beautiful greenery around us with a simple ‘Hello! How are you today?”