Ridge Walk – five Friday evening briskwalks along the Southern Ridges (Jan – May 2018)

Join us on our briskwalk? Please register your participation at the Eventbrite webpage, thanks!

In 2008, a 9-km series of trails, bridges and walkways were unveiled, which reconnected the Southern Ridges which had been carved through by several roads (see map). An almost continuous traffic-free walk from NUS to HarbourFront became possible which takes two hours at a brisk pace.

This is an excellent way to get in some exercise at the end of a tough week, amidst a unique landscape and greenery. Get to know various points along the Southern Ridges and plan future visits. But we are hard pressed to find the time, aren’t we?

To get you going, NUS Toddycats are leading a series of brisk walks for NUS staff, students and friends from YIH Plaza through to HarbourFront MRT on the following dates:

1. Fri 26 Jan 2018
2. Fri 23 Feb 2018
3. Fri 23 Mar 2018
4. Fri 27 Apr 2018
5. Fri 25 May 2018

Please register your participation at the Eventbrite webpage – pick your date and register for that individually.

You may leave the group at any time. Some of the typical stop points along the way include:

• 2.0km, 22 mins – Science Park 1 (Kent Ridge MRT Station)/li>
• 4.0km, 51 mins – Reflections at Bukit Chandu (near Pasir Panjang MRT Station)
• 5.3km, 1h 12mins – Hort Park (near Labrador Park MRT Station)
• 6.2km, 1h 22mins – Henderson Waves (near Telok Blangah) – Bus Stop no. 14051 & 14059
• 8.8km, 2h 5mins – HarbourFront (near MRT Station)

Your guides frm NUS Toddycats will be Kenneth Pinto, Xu Weiting, Airani S & N. Sivasothi.

If there is threat of heavy rain, strong winds prior to a storm or haze, we will inform you early or if unable, at YIH Plaza itself.

Click to view the larger map

Registration open for the Battle of Pasir Panjang Commemorative Walk – Sun 11 Feb 2018 [Update: Walk is fully signed up]

The Battle of Pasir Panjang Commemorative Walk
Sun 11 Feb 2018: 7.00am – 12.00pm
With the NUS Toddycats, volunteers of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, National University of Singapore

All are welcome, just register at Eventbrite.

On 13th February 1942 the Japanese Imperial Army has stormed through Malaya and invaded Singapore. Approaching Singapore City from the west, a seasoned Japanese army is forced to engage the small force of the Malay Regiment fending them off from the high ground of Pasir Panjang Ridge.

A fierce battle is put up by men of the Malay Regiment amidst the confusion of aerial and artillery bombardment, a dark sky smothered by fumes of a burning fuel dump, loss of communications and the early deaths of senior officers who had moved about to keep their men coordinated.

They would battle on for nearly two days and are wiped out almost to the last man on the eve of Chinese New Year.

On 15th of February, 1942, General Percival marches down Bukit Timah Road to surrender to General Yamashita of the Japanese Imperial Army at the Ford Factory.

The accounts of the desperate and heroic Battle of Pasir Panjang left a strong impression on the Pasir Panjang Heritage Guides, so we commemorate the Malay Regiment’s defense of the ridge every year.

The National University of Singapore is built on part of the old battleground and its forest still contains a 1936 British military outpost which strategically oversees Jurong, Bukit Timah and Singapore City. In 1954, the Pasir Panjang Ridge was renamed ‘Kent Ridge,’ and the old stone marker which commemorates this event persists to this day, often overlooked, at the Gap.

Guides will share with the public stories about the battle, the geography, history and the flora and fauna of the area which drew us to explore the ridge decades ago and to gradually learn of its history.

Our commemorative route takes us from the National University of Singapore to Kent Ridge Road and through the Gap to Kent Ridge Park and ends at Reflections of Bukit Chandu.

Everyone is welcome – just register at Eventbrite.
You will have to wake up early enough to join us at 7.00am at the University Cultural Centre [map] and be physically fit enough to walk 5km at a moderate pace with some stairs!

This is a five hour walk and February is a hot month, so please bring at least a litre of water and some sandwiches or snacks. Rain is always possible so do bring an umbrella and waterproofing for your barang-barang!

Links

• Pasir Panjang/Kent Ridge Heritage webpage [link] and Facebook page [link]
• “Battle of Pasir Panjang Commemorative Walk 2009 Review,” by Kenneth Pinto. Raffles Museum Toddycats, 19 Feb 2009. [link]
• Photos from 2015, 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2008.

Route
Click the map for a larger view or see Google Maps.

Year Round Coastal Cleanups by the ICCS Otters!

Every year, the ICCS Otters coordinate the annual International Coastal Cleanup Singapore, held on the 3rd Saturday of every September. This event brings together some 3,500 individuals every year from all around our island, all with a desire to do rid our beaches and mangroves of marine trash! 

Besides the annual cleanup, we also organise Year-Round Coastal Cleanups (YRCCs) at various coastal locations around the island to relieve many of these habitats of trash.

Many of these non-recreational beaches and mangroves hold a vast amount of biodiversity despite their heavy trash load, and coastal cleanups play a role in protecting marine life from hazardous trash. These cleanups also provide an insight to participants about the extent of trash deposited in our ecosystems, a such scenes are often shielded from the eyes of everyday Singaporeans.

Taken during the Earth Day Coastal Cleanup – 18 Apr 2015

Taken during “Operation WE (coastal) Clean Up!” – 3 May 2015

By May this year, ICCS has organised 5 YRCCs, reaching out 245 volunteers altogether. These include:

1. Chinese New Year Coastal Cleanup @ Tanah Merah 7 beach (TM7)(NUS RVRC) – Sat 26 Feb 2015: 8.00pm – 12.00pm [prep 1/2; prep 2/2; report 1/3; report 2/3; report 3/3]
2. World Water Day Coastal Cleanup @ Sungei Pandan mangrove (SP2)(open to public) – Sat 21 Mar 2015: 4.00pm – 6.00pm [announcement; recce; report 1/2; report 2/2]
3. Earth Day Coastal Cleanup @ Pasir Ris 6 Beach (open to public) – Sat 18 Apr 2015: 4.00pm – 6.00pm [announcement; recce; report]
4. “Operation WE (coastal) Clean Up!” @ Lim Chu Kang Beach (open to public) – Sun 3 May 2015: 4.00pm – 6.00pm [announcement; report]
5. World Biodiversity Day Coastal Cleanup @ Lim Chu Kang Beach (open to public) – Sat 16 May 2015: 4.00pm – 6.00pm [announcement; report]

We’ve still got a full calendar ahead of us in the next few months, and if you’d like to join our efforts in the fight against marine trash, mark these dates down! Do look out for an announcement with detailed information on the event and a sign up sheet that we release two weeks before every cleanup.

1. World Environment Day Coastal Cleanup @ Tanah Merah Beach 7 (open to public) – Sat 06 Jun 2015: 8.00am – 12.00pm [announcement]
2. Youth Day Coastal Cleanup  @ Sungei Pandan (open to public) – 1 Sat 11 Jul 2015: 12.00pm – 2.00pm
3. National Day Coastal Cleanup @ Lim Chu Kang beach & mangrove (open to public) – Fri 07 Aug 2015: 8.00am – 12.00pm

Join a group of passionate individuals determined to make a difference in the environment! To keep updated of all our events, do follow us on Facebook (fb.com/iccsg) and our blog, or join our mailing list!

Taken during the World Biodiversity Day Coastal Cleanup – 18 May 2015.

Toddycats @ ICCS – Registration for Pandan mangrove cleanup

ICCS Pandan mangroves cleanup

Pandan mangroves is a remnant strip mangrove in the south-west of Singapore. As it is not looked after, there is a trash build up that is detrimental to the site. The Raffles Museum Toddycats, Biodiversity Crew @ NUS and Wildlife Reserve Singapore are conducting a cleanup for the third year under the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore. This year we will be joined by volunteers from Oil Spill Response and Black & Veatch (SEA) Pte Ltd.

The deeper parts of the inlet is a tough and dirty site to tackle, with no shelters or toilets but soft mud, lots of mosquitoes in tide pools and some snakes instead! We will work rain or shine and are restricting numbers to reduce impact, so there aqre only 20 places for us.

This cleanup is not for the faint-hearted but Toddycats and the Biodiversity Crew who are up for the task are invited to sign up at here:

Saturday, 11th September 2010: 7.20am – 11.30am
International Coastal Cleanup Singapore:
Pandan Mangroves

Register at: http://tinyurl.com/iccspandan2010

Photo by Kelly Ong

Itinerary:

• 0710 – bus pick up at NUS Science Drive 1
• 0720 – bus pick-up from the bus-stop opposite Dover MRT in the direction of Clementi (map)
• 0800 – reach Pandan mangroves bus stop; distribute into sub-groups, apply insect repellent, collect gloves, data cards and trash bags.
• 0810 – Safety Briefing, identification of the Trash Weighing Point (TWP), wet weather plan (carry on unless lightning threat)
• 0820 – Cleanup begins.
• 0845 – Loading teams start moving trash to the TWP
• 1000 – clean-up ends, data collation beings, weighing completed while participants evaluate the situation at Pandan.
• 1015 – participants clean themselves up – note no washing point, so bring a bottle of tap water and a change of footwear.
• 1045 – Pack dirty gloves to bring back wash, dry and return.
• 1100 – Bus returns to Clementi and then NUS.

What we will provide:

1. Transport to site.
2. Gloves.
3. Trash bags.
4. Weighing scales.

What you should bring:

1. Booties or covered shoes with hard soles.
2. Water bottle (at least one litre of water).
3. A snack to munch on after the cleanup, especially if you didn’t have time for breakfast!
4. Hat.
5. Insect repellent
6. Raincoat/ponco (we’ll carry on working in the rain)
7. Towel in a bag – to wipe off any sand and mud off you.
8. A light pair of long pants will help protect your legs from insect bites if you tend to get bitten, as well as from the debris. If you are vulnerable to bites, wear long sleeves as well!
9. A suggestion – dry fit clothes are suitable. If you prefer cotton, a change of t-shirt will come in handy after a sweaty workout.

Transport:
Registered participants can meet us at either

1. the NUS bus stop outside Science Drive 1 (7.10am; meet Xiuling) or
2. Dover MRT Station bus stop on side of Singapore Polytechnic (heading west) (7.20am; meet Kelly Ong).

7.10am Pick Up Point – Meet Ouyang Xiuling

7.20am Pick up Point – Meet Kelly Ong.

Cleanup location concentration

– N. Sivasothi a.k.a. Otterman

Heritage Fest 2009: Pasir Panjang Heritage Walk – registration open

The Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research (NUS) and Reflections at Bukit Chandu (NAS) invite you on a 4-hour walk with the Raffles Museum Toddycats. They have plenty of stories to share with you about the plants, wildlife, residents and battle heroes.

Two walks will be conducted, on Saturday 25th July 2009 at 8am and 9am. The walks last about four hours and will include visits to Raffles Museum’s Public Gallery, Kent Ridge Park and Reflections at Bukit Chandu.

Registration is now open – hop over to http://heritagefest.rafflesmuseum.net/

And as usual, it’s a Google Forms registration: