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Sembawang Tides:
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Fri 28 Apr 2006 MacRitchie - Bukit Timah briskwalks: Sun 4th & 18th June 2006Category : events
The Raffles Museum Toddycats lead an energetic briskwalk for the public from MacRitchie (MR) to Bukit Timah (BT) annually in June. All are welcome and you can register for the walks on 4th and 18th June 2006 at the MR-BT Briskwalk webpage. This is an opportunity to learn a clearly marked route from MacRitchie to Bukit Timah in the company of friendly guides, and perhaps encourage you to take up such walks on your own. The 2-hour walk is a chance to experience the ambience of the morning's sounds and fresh smells and a beautiful sunrise. Led by a group of regular walkers on these trails, this walk is unusual for us as it is not a nature observation walk (which is a much longer walk), but rather, a chance to exercise amidst a pleasant, natural setting that we treasure in Singapore. Everyone is welcome, but you should be used to taking short walks at least and wear a proper pair of walking shoes. And, critically, be able to wake up early enough to reach MacRitchie carpark at 6.45am, since we leave on time! We hope to reach the foot of Bukit Timah hill by 9.30am, leaving you rejuvenated with your whole Sunday still ahead of you. Visit the webpage for details about the route, preparation, trail etiquette and photos from previous walks. Fri 02 Dec 2005 Volunteer organisations at The Giving Tree @ North East 2005Category : events The Giving Tree @ North East 2005 is the largest volunteer fair in Singapore, and host to some 50 volunteer organisations who have set up booths under the big white tents next to Tampines MRT. The exhibtion will be launched by the Minister of State & Mayor of North East CDC, Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed at 7pm today (Fri 02 Dec 2005). Everyone is welcome to the launch; its a good time to catch up with volunteers from the various groups. The event is a National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) Giving Month project jointly organised with Northeast CDC, Heartware Network and Institute of Technical Education. Participating volunteer organisations will be introducing the public to their activities and explain the issues they are involveed in. An exhibtion within the area features photos from the tsunami that struck shores of the Indian Ocean a year ago. The fair will also see a series of activities, the tallest Christmas tree, high energy sports activities, Singapore's 1st Outdoor Superice Skating Rink and Christmas and New Year Eve's Countdowns. The Environmental Challenge Organisation (Singapore) has coordinated the participation of the nature, environment and animal welfare groups this past month and as a result they clustered in one section in the left margin of the area, directly opposite Tampines Mall. This serves as an effective means for the public to find about local issues and efforts in biodiversity, environment and animal welfare.
Participating Nature/Envt Groups:
Raffles Museum Toddycats with Wilson Ang (left, in yellow t-shirt) of Eco-Challenge in the midst of setting up their booth on Thusday (01 Dec 2005) evening. See the Flickr album of their posters prepared just this week! Featured projects are the Labrador, Hantu and Ubin blogs, Pasir Panjang Heritage Walk, MacRitchie-Bukit Timah Briskwalkers, Pedal Ubin!, Nature Guiding for Novices and the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore. KMY gazing in fascination at the cutouts at the Rest Room Association and learning that there are 2.6 billion people without toilets. The face in those cutouts seem familiar somehow... :-) Environmental Challenge banners on climate change, health water & sanitation, population, pollution and biodiversity to help characterise the environment sector. To find us, just look for the Vitruvian Man! Sat 12 Nov 2005 CGW Cyclethon - NParks' first-ever mountain bike eventCategory : events The thunder and lightning that began at 5am thankfully cleared by 7.30am, and cyclists assembled for the first-ever mountain bike ride organised by the National Parks Board.
Initiated by the North West CDC as part of their Clean and Green Week (CGW) activities, the 19+km route took cyclists along the northern edge of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, without infringing core areas of the reserve yet keeping cyclists safe from heavy vehicular traffic. And thus we were able to ride from Zhenghua Park to Bishan Park this morning. On a route based on park connectors and safe roads, it easy to forget we were in Singapore - we were cycling safely, with a sense of space, and listening to the sounds of insects and birds singing on a rain-washed morning. A cheerful Mr Lim Swee Sway, of the NWCDC MPs sounded the alert to a very relaxed bunch of cyclists, seconds before flagging us off. We weren't the only ones being flagged off - briskwalkers set off minutes after us. The various groups were accompanied by NParks officers and I spotted several familiar faces interacting with the community today.
The cyclists started off through a small path in a vegetable plot! Then it was a steep climb into Gangsa Track before reaching Track 15. There we found a support vehicle that dished out bananas raising and drinks - how nice! Then we were off to Mandai Road, Old Mandai Road and across the Seletar Reservoir into a new track created on some degraded land. This allowed us to avoid some tough road junctions, but it was really muddy, making it the toughest part of the course! We loved it! NParks staff organised the event and even carved out this new trail. Some of them even suffered tick attacks, and were still scratching their legs last night! We survived and took a familiar road along the edge of the Lower Peirce. As we got out of Bishan Park, we felt exposed as we joined main traffic. But it was just a crossing into the next section of the park where the CGW festivities were being held. Finally after all of us cyclists had eaten, NParks staff who made the event a success finally caught a breather - it may have been their first organised mountain bike ride, but they sure worked like pros! More photos in the Flickr Album. Mon 20 Jun 2005 MacRitchie-Bukit Timah Briskwalkers at BT summitCategory : events
Tue 07 Jun 2005 "Stop Feeding the Monkeys"Category : nature
I encoutered these signs during Sunday's briskwalks on display at strategic points in Rifle Range Road and at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve's Visitor Centre. The message says, in no uncertain terms, "Stop feeding the mokeys." Clear and unambiguous, it's a welcome addition. Some emails from Genevie Chua and Benjamin Lee of National Parks Board (NParks) added: '...seven such 'in your face' banners have been placed [strategically for drivers] at all popular monkey feeding sites, including Old Upper Thomson Road and the access road to Upper Peirce Reservoir. So, the languid responses of 'near-sighted' drivers have finally prompted a relatively drastic measure - drastic because most forest reserves attempt to keep artificial signs to a minimum so as not to mar the ambience of the forest.
And these banners are huge! Well, they certainly caught my attention easily. Yet somehow, from the positioning or the colours of the main photo perhaps, the signs have managed to avoid becoming a blight on the landscape. The clear message ("STOP") points out the deterrent ("offenders will be fined") yet explains ("help them [monkeys] return to the forest"). You have to appreciate the thought that went into their design. It's fun to feed monkeys, and you might be wondering what the fuss is all about, right? Well, naturalists in NGOs, government departments and universities have been patiently explaining this to visitors for decades: "Less feeding, less begging, less aggressive behaviour." And less neccessity for the monkey's destruction! In fact, after a little seach, I was surprised by something I wrote 14 years ago (Monkey business. By N. Sivasothi, 1991. The Mudskipper. Biological Sciences Society, National University of Singapore): So, resist the temptation of feeding them so that they don't start associating people with a food supply - this becomes a responsibility: refraining. Left to fend for themselves, these monkeys, the Long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) will find a balance in the forest, which is their natural setting. Feeding, however, can lead to the expectation of food from humans, and in its absence, result in aggressive displays and even attacks. After repeated flee-reinforced encounters, the macaques usually learn that women and children are relatively easy prey and target these individuals even more aggressively for food. Physical injury or significant scares has led to demands for their destruction in the past. Especially when a child or tourist has been scratched. Populations of long-tailed macaques have been destroyed in various parks and reserves over the past few decades in Southeast Asia. It is an eventual management practice.
And if I may quote the 1991 article again: Some light-reading about man - macaque interactions: Chasing monkeys in the rain. By Sivasothi, N., 1995. The Mudskipper. Biological Sciences Society, National University of Singapore. Macaque Attack (about macaques in Bako National Park, Sarawak). By Wayne Tarman, ?2000. Borneo-Travel.com. Technorati Tags: singapore Thu 26 May 2005 MacRitchie - Bukit Timah briskwalks: Sun 5th & 19th June 2005Category : events Sunrise in MacRitchie and breakfast in Bukit Timah!
The Habitat Group leads an energetic briskwalk for the public from MacRitchie (MR) to Bukit Timah (BT) annually in June. All are welcome and you can register for the walks on 5th and 19th June 2005 at the MR-BT Briskwalk webpage. This is an opportunity to learn a clearly marked route from MacRitchie to Bukit Timah in the company of friendly guides, and perhaps encourage you to take up such walks on your own. The 2-hour walk is a chance to experience the ambience of the morning's sounds and fresh smells and a beautiful sunrise. Led by a group of regular walkers on these trails, this walk is unusual for us as it is not a nature observation walk (which is a much longer walk), but rather, a chance to exercise amidst a pleasant, natural setting that we treasure in Singapore. Everyone is welcome, but you should be used to taking short walks at least and wear a proper pair of walking shoes. And, critically, be able to wake up early enough to reach MacRitchie carpark at 6.45am - we leave on time! We hope to reach the foot of Bukit Timah hill by 9.30am, leaving you rejuvenated, with your whole Sunday still ahead of you. We use an alternative, less crowded route this year. Visit the webpage for details about the route, preparation, trail etiquette and photos from previous walks. 
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