|
|
|||||||||||||||
Sembawang Tides:
What
is a weblog?
|
Wed 21 Oct 2009 Mammal sightings in SingaporeCategory : nature Animal sighting records have always been an important resource - over time, these can contribute to public awareness and education, suggest student research projects and supplement research in conservation and management projects. So any mammal record on land, sea and air is useful and large marine animals too - this includes turtles and interesting fish!
We would love to receive photos, of course, please send them to: mammal@sivasothi.com This data will be shared with other vertebrate researchers and managers in Singapore. Highlights may be featured on Habitatnews from time to time (if the records are not confidential), e.g. http://tinyurl.com/habitatnews-mammal Your contribution is greatly appreciated, thank you! N. Sivasothi & Xu Weiting Mon 12 Oct 2009 Flowering Sea Apple trees in OctoberCategory : nature Sea apples or Jambu Air Laut (Syzygium grande, previously known as Eugenia grandis) are flowering in south-western Singapore this past couple of weeks - I first noticed a tree in full bloom at the Labrador cliff forest last week when I was there with a class. Walking along a corridor in NUS, I noticed another flowering tree on Kent Ridge. A chorus of feeding birds alerted me to a third tree a day later at Holland Village. Synchronous flowering is demonstrated in many species of trees in the aseasonal tropical forests of Asia and these can flower over much larger area than the island of Singapore! Along our roads, Sea Apple trees are highly noticeable as they are a common wayside tree planted in many areas around Singapore. Flowering makes the tree prominent all of a sudden, much like Cinderella at the ball. Two years ago, I posted a note to Habitatnews: "[Synchronous flowering of Sea Apple (Syzygium grande) trees around Singapore," Habitatnews, 16 Oct 2007]. In that note, was a link to Subaraj's observation of October 2005 at Sime Forest. So does Syzygium grande flower regularly in October? I am sure the old botanists of old in Singapore have remarked upon this previously; if you look it up, do let me know in the comments below.  Labrador rocky shore, 07 Oct 2009
Since flowers and fruits attract birds and insects, you can spend a satisfying morning near such trees with a pair of binoculars or camera. When multiple species of wayside trees flower over a long period, this suggests a general flowering event and it is likely then that forest trees would be just as productive. Many a naturalist respond to this cue from our wayside trees by heading out with camera, binoculars and a guidebook or two! Since I don't get around much, do let me know if Sea Apples are indeed flowering elsewhere in Singapore and the region - you can drop a note in the comments below and if you would, email me your photos at toddycats@gmail.com with:
Photos will be added to the Flickr album with the 2007 photos - these photos are all released for non-commercial use so take note when sending me your photos. I am also plotting the locations of flowering Sea Apple trees on Google Maps - the map below will be updated as I add points; let's see how widespread this is. View Flowering Sea Apple trees, Oct 2009 in a larger map Fri 09 Oct 2009 Blog Action Day 2009Category : internet Anything to say?
Wed 30 Sep 2009 The beached Mud lobster at Pasir RisCategory : marine 19 Sep 2009 - During the International Coastal Cleanup last Saturday, the team who arrived there early that morning encountered a mud lobster out of its element, on the beach. Participants told each other that it was "welcoming us to clean the beach." Apparently it was there for at least an hour before they lost of track of it while engrossed in the cleanup.
Read about their exploits at the "News from the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore" blog:
Wed 30 Sep 2009 RMBR Nature Guides Recruitment (Deadline: 1st Oct 2009)Category : education The annual volunteer recruitment for Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research Nature Guides is ongoing; see Ron Yeo's email below. To get an impresion of the trips, read his blog, The Tide Chaser. ---beg---
Commitment Training will be provided, covering mostly the guiding techniques, and so do be prepared to read up on your own to improve you knowledge on our intertidal areas and their organisms. At the end of the training, guides will be required to write a guiding script and go for on-the-job training. Training sessions (compulsory) 24 Oct, Sat:
31 Oct, Sat:
Interview process If you are 15 years old and above, and are keen to become a nature guide after reading the above, please send the following details to ronyeo@gmail.com by 1 Oct 2009:
After we receive your application, we will contact you to fix a date and time to meet up for a little chat. --- end --- Sat 26 Sep 2009 Pedal Ubin - ride's over after 12 years!Category : heritage
The Raffles Museum Toddycats' Pedal Ubin programme has come to a close after a 12-year run. Offered quarterly, it originated in a 1998 series of four rides were offered annually for five years. New cohorts of guides were trained in 2002 after observation of the large number of unexposed public who came to visit Chek Jawa a year earlier. At at its peak, monthly rides were offered to members of the public! The three cohorts of dedicated guides in the history of this programme underwent considerable training in classroom and field exercises. They turned up reliably and early on Saturday or Sunday mornings to guide the Singapore public who had signed up mainly after notification by friends who read Habitatnews or WildSingapore. These guides emphasised bicycle safety and through slow rides, introduced members of the public to the natural and cultural heritage of the island in a unique place in Singapore. Besides a couple of scrapes, no other injury was experienced by hundreds who rode on this programme. Pulau Ubin has changed considerably since the series began. The island is now very heavily visited on weekends, especially Chek Jawa, roads and huts are well sign-posted and a lot of information has been made available online by the community. The public is urged to explore the island for themselves and suggestions and links are offered at http://rideubin.rafflesmuseum.net/ . If you are new to cycling, remember how we avoided injuries amongst novice cyclists for 12 years while other crashed - we rode slowly!
Thu 13 Aug 2009 22 Aug 2009: Green Transport Week public concert @ SMUCategory : events
Wed 05 Aug 2009 Summary of Natural History, Heritage and Map exhibitionsCategory : events "Two Minds, One Theory, An Exhibition" Hunters and Collectors: The Origins of the Southeast Asian Collection Vignettes in Time: Singapore Maps and History through the Centuries "I Polunin"  For all this and more, see WildSingapore Happenings. Sat 01 Aug 2009 SBG exhibition on the Theory of Evolution, 1st - 31st Aug 2009Category : events The Singapore Botanic Gardens presents, "Two Minds, One Theory," An Exhibition.  "A month-long exhibition featuring Charles Darwin and Alfred Russell Wallace and theory of evolution they brought forth. See other events celebrating the Singapore Botanic Gardens' 150th anniversary Mon 27 Jul 2009 Exhibition of Singapore Maps @ NLB, 01 Aug - 31 Oct 2009Category : heritage
1st August - 31st October 2009, Level 10, Exhibition Area, National Library Building "This exhibition depicts Singapore as seen through cartographers, geologists, mariners, military generals and town planners. Beginning with the arrival of the British and merchants from the nascent East India Company, to military strategists of Imperial Japan and postwar city planners, Vignettes in Time provides snippets of little-known histories. Organisers: National Library Singapore & Singapore Heritage Society Source: NLB Read more ...
|
Blog RSS Feed
Comments RSS
Kent Ridge, 08 Oct 2009
RMBR Nature Guides Recruitment
