Location: Central Catchment Nature Reserve, MacRitchie › - › media › nparks-real-content › ... · 2014-10-14 · Vampire Bat, Kulh’s Flying Gecko, Black-naped Monarch, and

Location: Central Catchment Nature Reserve, MacRitchie

Reaching Out,Reaching In

Reaching out and helping othersto reach in to the heart of nature.

Life is richer for the ability to love thenatural beauty that surrounds us!

In NParks, we believe that conservation and the preservationof the Garden City are not just about infrastructure. People must

believe in what we conserve and recognise the worth of our sharedgreenery. To that end, we invest for the future, on the premisethat every contribution matters and no one is too young to start

appreciating the bounties of nature.

Specifically, NParks works closely with our many volunteers,sponsors, schools, corporate partners and non-government

organisations in a myriad of ways. We have established programmesand continually initiate new activities in the expectation that these

will encourage not only appreciation for nature, but also civic-mindedness, care and compassion.

As Singapore’s Garden City matures, thetrees planted in the past mature gracefullywith it. Some, like the famous Tembusuin the Singapore Botanic Gardens, havedeveloped into icons for the landscape,cherished by public and tourists alike.These trees, spread across the islandlike jewels on an emerald chain, act asimportant landmarks and provide a senseof permanence and identity to our home.

It was to conserve and protect suchmaturing trees that NParks launched theHeritage Trees Scheme in September2002 with our Minister of State forNational Development and Trade andIndustry, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan. Inaddition, with the intention to engage thecommunity in the growing of the scheme,a Heritage Trees Nomination Schemewas also launched. This initiative hasreceived enthusiastic responses fromthe community, with more than 270nominations island-wide received. TheHeritage Trees Panel is processing thenominations and will announce the nextlist of Heritage Trees soon.

A list of 55 Heritage Roads has also beendesignated. These are thoroughfares linedwith mature trees that give a special

ambience to the roads. For roads suchas Mount Pleasant Road and South BuonaVista Road, legislative amendmentsare being reviewed to facilitate theconservation and management of thegreen buffers of natural vegetation alongthe roads.

In north-west of Singapore, Sungei BulohNature Park was renamed Sungei BulohWetland Reserve (SBWR) in April 2002to better reflect its new status as agazetted nature reserve. Its new statusgrants it more protection and will helpensure that it remains a valuable educationand leisure experience for its thousandsof users. In addition, SBWR wasrecognised as an internationally importantsite for migratory shorebirds by WetlandsInternational and accepted as a memberof the East Asian Australasian ShorebirdSite Network.

At the Singapore Botanic Gardens,orchid conservation was given a boostwhen the garden’s Orchid Breeding andMicro-propagation Branch reintroducedthe Tiger Orchid (Grammatophyllumspeciosum) on trees along variousroads in Singapore.

National Parks Board Annual Report 2002/03

Reaching Out, Reaching In36

Conserving OurNatural Heritage

18. The 70-year-old Kapok Tree (Ceiba pentandra) at the Singapore Botanic Gardens has been conserved as aHeritage Tree for future generations.

19. Sungei Buloh is home to many speciesof birds, reptiles… and several otters!

20. This luxuriant tree-lined road inUpper Thomson is one of the 55roads conserved under the HeritageRoad Scheme.

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21. Biodiversity studies conducted atPulau Tekong unveiled interestingfindings, including Pangolins.

22. Minister for National Development,Mr Mah Bow Tan at the IFPRA Asia-Pacific Congress 2002.



As the scientific authority for natureconservation, NParks was Singapore’srepresentative for many internationalconventions and conferences duringthe year. Representatives from NParksattended the Sixth Conference of theParties to the Convention on BiologicalDiversity held at The Hague. Theparticipants engaged in interestingdiscussions ranging from Access andBenefit-sharing, Forest Biodiversityto Invasive Alien Species.

On the regional front, NParks alsoshowcased the Garden City’s ambienceand shared some of the policies andmechanisms that had made it a successat the IFPRA Asia-Pacific Congress 2002in October 2002. The Guest of Honourwas Minister for National DevelopmentMr Mah Bow Tan. One of the highlightsof the conference was NParks’ CEODr Tan Wee Kiat’s keynote speech,which was warmly received by morethan 200 participants from 18 countries.

Our commitments towards the ASEANregional initiatives included participatingand contributing at the annual meetingsof the ASEAN Working Group on NatureConservation & Biodiversity ASEANETand ASEAN Regional Centre forBiodiversity Conservation. This year,NParks had several visitors from our

ASEAN partners and discussed thesustainability of the Centre; possible futurework plans for the National BiodiversityReference Units and co-operation amongASEAN Member Countries.

A significant milestone in biodiversityconservation was reached when theSingapore Green Plan 2012 was launchedin 2002. NParks was the Secretariat forthe Conserving Nature Committee ofthe Singapore Green Plan 2012. Thiscommittee, comprising representativesfrom the public, the non-governmentalorganisations, the private sector and therelevant government agencies, workstowards the implementation of actionprogrammes that would promotebiodiversity conservation.

NParks also continued its efforts to surveynatural areas with the aim of collatingbaseline biodiversity data. In the past year,in addition to ad hoc and short-termbiodiversity studies, we carried out adetailed inventory survey of Pulau Tekong.The survey recorded interesting findingssuch as the Pangolin, Lesser FalseVampire Bat, Kulh’s Flying Gecko,Black-naped Monarch, and Blue-earedKingfisher, to name just a few animalspecies. Several rare plant species, rarelyseen or found on mainland Singaporewere also discovered during this survey.

”This is a beautiful place! It is unspoilt and provides easy accessto wildlife. I spotted 10 different species of birds, four speciesof reptiles and a squirrel. The conservational and managementefforts are evident from the wildlife and fauna I spotted. I’lldefinitely come back again for the migratory birds season.”

Stephen Anich,The 38-year-old Australian visitor to Sungei Buloh Wetland Reservespent three hours exploring the place.

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Public education is an importantcomponent of NParks’ conservationstrategy. Over the years, NParks’programmes for promoting natureappreciation have grown in popularity andextent. One example is the Adopt-A-ParkScheme. Since its launch in 1997, NParkshas worked with 139 organisations tocare for greenery in the plots they haveadopted. One of the events held last yearwas an Adopters’ Gathering at FortCanning Park in September 2002to encourage networking and sharingof experiences among the adopters.

In addition, NParks broke new ground inengaging the community when it launchedthe Park Watch Scheme in September2002. This scheme aims to encouragecommunity involvement throughvolunteerism in the management of publicparks. Volunteers will advise park userson the appropriate usage of park facilities,

channel feedback to park managersand assist in introducing interestingprogrammes and activities in the parks.The scheme will be launched in five otherparks by end of 2003 under the pilot phase.

As with previous years, outreach andeducation on environmental awarenesswas the main theme during Clean andGreen Week (CGW) 2002 launched byDeputy Prime Minister, Dr Tony Tan.As a joint organiser of the CGW, NParksinitiated over 140 activities and eventsduring the week to promote natureappreciation and environmentalawareness. These events include Adopt-A-Park activities, guided nature walks,reforestation, beach cleansing and parkperformances. More than 52 guidedwalks were organised in various locationson the island and were very wellreceived by the community. In particular,an overwhelming 300 enthusiastic



23. The Park Watch Scheme atAng Mo Kio Garden West is oneof the six to be launched by year 2003.

EducatingFor The Future

“I love sports and outdooractivities, especially in theparks. The beautifulsurrounding environmentadds a sense of serenitywhen exercising. I visitAng Mo Kio Town GardenWest at least twice a week.My friends and I are very gladthat NParks has set up thisPark Watch Scheme, as itcreates awareness of howwe can care for our parks.With this Scheme, we areable to organise morecommunity activities!”

Catherine Soh,35-year-old Park Watch Scheme volunteer.

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members of the public attended theguided walk at the Tree ConservationArea at Changi, learning about some ofthe interesting native trees in Singapore.In addition, to mark Tree Planting Day,residents in a total of 79 constituencieswere led by their Advisors in the plantingof more than 617 trees island-wide duringthe week.

Another noteworthy event occurredduring Earth Day in April 2002. Over150 volunteers from The TimberlandCompany’s customers, staff and friendsand staff of the Ministry of CommunityDevelopment and Sports came togetherto help conserve and replant trees in theMandai Nature Reserve. Over 120 youngtrees were planted. In addition, thevolunteers also cleaned up the area amongthe trees and removed weeds that wouldotherwise hinder the growth of the trees.

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24. The guided walk at Changi Tree Conservation Area Trail was one of the 52 guided nature walks conducted duringthe Clean and Green Week 2002 to promote nature awareness.


“Uncle Lee* taught us how to weed the plants. I like usingthe fork to dig the soil. There were roots and even a worm.Yuck! Uncle Lee said worms help plants grow. I had lots offun. Gardening is fun!”

Sean Lim,6-year-old with NTUC Childcare Kim Keat Centre,an adopter of Pasir Ris Park.

*Uncle Lee is an NParks staff.

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NParks also started the Central NatureReserve Branch Volunteer Programme.Volunteers were taught basic guidingtechniques and received practical trainingon plant identification and plantknowledge. To date, a total of 33 naturelovers have been trained as NParksvolunteers and they have been helpingto promote nature awareness throughactivities like reforestation, guided walksand writing feature articles.

In the Singapore Botanic Gardens, thevolunteer programme was enlargedconsiderably. Not only was the popularrainforest tour conducted by volunteersexpanded to include mandarincommentary, a new tour of the NationalOrchid Garden was started in November2002. New opportunities for volunteersto work in the Gardens were created inhorticulture, plant records, visitor servicesand the herbarium, providing those withdiverse skills and interests greateropportunities to contribute to the Gardens.

At Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, wepartnered the Ministry of the Environmentto celebrate World Environment Day inJune 2002. More than 300 children were

involved, with students from TemasekPolytechnic staging two musical playsto highlight environmental issues andencourage environmental protection.With the ardent support of its volunteers,SBWR continued to engage the publicand staged over 400 educational eventson conservation.

In the east, at Pulau Ubin, more than3,000 visitors have joined the public guidedwalks organised by NParks to learn moreabout Chek Jawa’s rich biodiversity.The Chek Jawa Working Committee,comprising representatives from theRaffles Museum of Biodiversity Research,Nature Society (Singapore) and NParks,finalised design plans for visitor amenitiesat Chek Jawa.

To better involve the community in natureeducation and conservation work, theUbin Volunteer Programme was set up.About 70 volunteers have signed up withthe programme and are assisting NParksin various activities, including guided walks,reforestation, plant salvage, weeding andfield research. These volunteers haveconducted over 100 guided walks.

25. In a bid to enhance environment awareness, NParks partnersschools and organisations in reforestation efforts.

26. The Knobby Seastar (Protoeaster nodosus), one of the resident starsof Chek Jawa, awed many visitorsto Pulau Ubin.

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27. The Nature Learning Camp in Upper Seletar Reservoir Park is one of the many outreach activities for students.

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”At HSBC, caring for the environment is at the core of our view of corporatesocial responsibility. We are delighted to join hands with NParks to conduct awide array of conservation and education projects such as the Young NaturalistsProgramme at the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve and the island-wide HeritageTrees Scheme to reach out to our young children and hopefully sow the seedsfor an even greener generation. We are also very grateful to NParks for assistingus in our adoption of the Bukit Batok Nature Park and the development of aGreen Volunteers Programme among our staff.”

Goh Kong Aik,Head of Public AffairsHSBC Singapore.



NParks also played host to over 40,650students from 343 schools last year aspart of our outreach programme. Theschools visited Pulau Ubin, Sungei BulohWetland Reserve, Singapore BotanicGardens and the Bukit Timah NatureReserve to learn about the flora and faunain these parks through guided walks.

At the Singapore Botanic Gardens,outreach programmes to promote natureappreciation and recreational gardeningfor members of the public continued.Popular programmes include toursfor school children such as Children’sTreasure Hunt, “Looking at Plants” and“Plants & their Habitats” and gardeningworkshops for the public such as “OrchidGrowing: the Basics”, “Indoor Plant Care”and “Herbs & Spices”. In FY 2002, some8,450 children and adults attended theeducational programmes at the SingaporeBotanic Gardens.

Members of the public with green thumbswere also thrilled by GardenTech 2002.This hugely popular event drew 40,000visitors, twice the attendance of thelast event held in the 2000. The eventcatered to Singaporeans’ interests ingardening and landscape by highlightingthe latest products, services andtechnology in the landscape andhorticultural industry. It attracted130 participating firms.

To make it easier for the public to accessinformation on plants, NParks alsolaunched the ”e-plant reference“ duringGardenTech 2002, comprising informationon more than 1000 species of shrubs,trees and plants. The comprehensivepictorial plant database is hosted onthe NParks website.

Over at the Singapore Herbarium, hometo more than 650,000 plant specimens,the year also saw the completion of thecomputerisation and bar-coding of all30,000 specimens collected fromSingapore. This will enable easy retrievalof information for researchers as well asstaff attending to queries from studentsand the public. As the custodian of oneof the world’s most significant collectionsof dried and liquid-preserved plants,the herbarium seeks to continuallyadd to the collection by exchange andplant exploration.

28. Some 40,000 international and local visitors flocked to GardenTech 2002.

29. Bukit Timah Nature Reserve – another venue for students to learn about nature.

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Promoting SkyriseGreening

Apart from disseminating the benefitsof skyrise greening to professionalsthrough publications such as the“Handbook on Skyrise Greenery inSingapore”, NParks also reached outto the public via exhibitions.

To encourage skyrise greenery amongthe public, NParks participated in the6th Spring Home Exhibition in March toApril 2003 to reach out to homeownerswho aspire to integrate skyrise greeneryinto their homes. Working with 18 partnersin the horticultural and landscapingindustry, NParks showcased six differenttypes of skyrise gardens and gave talkson introducing skyrise greenery tohomeowners on the practical aspectsfor small space gardening, choice of plantsand planting media.

As part of efforts to raise horticulturaland landscaping standards, NParks ledthe Landscaping/Horticultural IndustrySkills Standards Committee to identifyjob competencies, establish workperformance standards as well as tocertify skills acquisition as part of a NationalSkills Recognition System (NSRS).

A total of ten Skills Standards weredeveloped for the industry and 119 NParksemployees were certified under theNSRS. In addition, NParks was endorsedby SPRING Singapore as an NSRSApproved Training Centre and ApprovedAssessment Centre.

Setting IndustryStandards



30. Promoting Skyrise Greening – NParksstaff, Mr Kong Yit San, engaging the public in a repotting demonstration during the 6th Spring Home Exhibition.

31. Reaching out to the young through gardening workshops.

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Documents

Location: Central Catchment Nature Reserve, MacRitchie › - › media › nparks-real-content › ... · 2014-10-14 · Vampire Bat, Kulh’s Flying Gecko, Black-naped Monarch, and