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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\u201cI have seen all sorts of things washed up on the beach over the years, but it was the first time that I have ever seen an entire fridge,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
From an ocean dream to a clean-up habit<\/h2>\n
Speaking to Stomp, the 44-year-old American traveler said East Coast Park is only about a 10-minute walk from her accommodation, and trash-picking at the beach has become a morning ritual during her extended stay in Singapore.<\/p>\n
Growing up in landlocked Indiana, Lee said she once dreamed of living near the ocean. She finally did so when she moved to Costa Rica, where she spent 18 months.<\/p>\n
But the reality came with a shock: plastic and other rubbish had washed up on some of the beaches.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeeing so much plastic and trash wash up on the shore was overwhelming,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Feeling grateful to be living the life she had always dreamed of, Lee saw picking up rubbish from the place she temporarily called home as her way of giving back.<\/p>\n
She then brought that habit to Singapore.<\/p>\n
While traveling around Southeast Asia the past year \u2014 visiting Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia \u2014 Lee said she has used Singapore as her \u201chome base\u201d.<\/p>\n
Despite the Republic\u2019s reputation for cleanliness, she was surprised by how much plastic and other waste could still wash up on its beaches.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s when I decided to continue the mission I had started in Costa Rica,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWherever I travel, if I\u2019m near a beach, I want to give back to the community by helping keep it clean.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lee said she worries that small pieces of plastic left on the sand may eventually reach the sea and be eaten by marine animals.<\/p>\n
Through this initiative, she has also learned to be careful about accidentally throwing away marine wildlife that could at first look like trash. Thanks to useful signboards along East Coast Park\u2019s beaches, what she thought were deodorant caps were actually cuttlefish bones, which can be food for birds and reptiles.<\/p>\n
To Lee, removing even one piece of trash matters. She hopes other beach goers will try it too, even if they cannot commit to a full clean-up.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t have to be an organised event or a huge commitment,\u201d she said. \u201cEven if you only fill one small bag, or even if it\u2019s only one piece! It all adds up.\u201d<\/p>\n
It may not be the usual holiday souvenir, but Lee said she would rather leave East Coast Park with a little less rubbish than she found.<\/p>\n
Netizens applaud her efforts<\/h2>\n
Lee\u2019s beach clean-up videos have gained traction on both Instagram and TikTok, with her most popular Instagram reel of litter-picking in East Coast Park racking up over 36,000 views, 1,243 likes and 131 comments.<\/p>\n
Netizens have reacted positively, with many commenting their appreciation for her efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201cDeserves another follow!! Thank you ang mo<\/a> for doing what you do!\u201d said one Instagram user.<\/p>\n\u201cThis is so awesome! When do you usually do this? Would love to join you!\u201d said another.<\/p>\n
Another comment read, \u201cYou\u2019re not just a guest to our country. I think you\u2019ve now become family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n![\"Stomp](\"https:\/\/www.stomp.sg\/assets\/stomp-comment-COLiWNMD.png\")
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