Help establish a coastal forest at Kranji Coastal Nature Park

Since November 2020, NUS Toddycats & Friends have been working to support NParks’ project to establish a coastal forest at Kranji Coastal Nature Park, which is part of Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve.

Coastal vegetation were mostly cleared by settlements and reclamation for the reservoir construction by the 1970’s. SBWR was extended to the western edge of Kranji Reservoir in 2014, and the problem of coastal erosion there was addressed with revetment works.

By 2020, scrub vegetation along the coast was cleared and NParks began to introduce a coastal forest. NUS Toddycats was excited to be part of the programme, having spent almost a decade cleaning that coast of accumulated marine trash in the 2000s.

Some 350 volunteers have toiled over soil preparation, tree planting and sapling protection action these past 18 months. It’s been a privilege and we are always glad to be able to invite new faces to this effort.

Here are five Saturday late afternoon dates you can sign up for; just register using the links below.

• Soil Preparation and Tree Planting – 23rd July
• Soil Preparation and Tree Planting – 13th Aug & 27th Aug (two dates)
• Sapling Protection Action – 10th Sep & 24th Sep (two dates)

See you there!

Advertisement

An invigorating Friday evening walk through the Southern Ridges

Nestled within the hilly landscape of the southern ridges, the NUS community has an excellent way to exercise after a tough week, amidst a unique landscape and much greenery. Alas, many of us are pressed for time! To provide some motivation, NUS Toddycats have been offering the Ridgewalk since 2017. The pandemic took us out for two years; and we were  glad to be back!

On Friday, 10th June 2022, 15 of us started our walk from the YIH Plaza at 5.40pm and made it to our destination at Hort Park, and well within our target end time at 7.00pm. The participants comprises of NUS staff, NUS students and a couple of our habitat enrichment volunteers. The camaraderie was evident, despite this being the first time many of us are meeting one another. Some helped set the pace; others helped make sure no one was left behind or lost amidst the turns within Kent Ridge Park.

Thanks to Airani, our solo guide who led the walk that evening! Sadly other guides were MIA due to health reasons, and hope to be back one day for more of the lovely briskwalks.

 

 

 

Otters and crocs @ Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve – Toddycats gear up for Festival of Biodiversity in May

We are counting down to Festival of Biodiversity 2017 which is a month away! This annual celebration of Singapore’s biodiversity by members of the Biodiversity Roundtable of Singapore with NParks will present the two day event at at Serangoon NEX on 27-28 May 2017: 10.30am – 10.30pm.

To prepare our crew, Toddycats’ seniors are conducting three training sessions (two field trips and a lab session) which fittingly began on Earth Day last Saturday 22 Apr 2017 at our precious mangrove reserve, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. The field trips will help bring the magic of our natural areas to the shopping centre to encourage

With undergrads slogging away for the exams, the cosy session of 12 Toddycats was split into four small groups, each led by an experienced Toddycats senior – Amy Choong, Alvin Wong, Marcus Ng, and Theresa Su & Xu Weiting.

What’s in the water? Theresa sharing form & function stories of halfbeaks and archer fishes from the main bridge.

Some groups were really lucky in the post-drizzle and saw the elusive black spitting cobra, a family of six smooth-coated otters and an estuarine crocodile.

A family of six otters having their brunch at the Main Pond. Photo by Alvin Wong

The two hours were filled with many observations and personal stories about the mangrove denizens, reminding us of the importance of mangroves , which we will share with the FOB2017 visitors.

Bring family and friends to FoB2017. Toddycats alone have recruited 50 volunteers to ensure we always have fresh faces eager and ready to share stories with visitors on the 27 & 28 May 2017. And there will be many nature groups there, with talks at the library by various working groups. A wonderful way to discover biodiversity in Singapore. See you there!

Festival of Biodiversity 2015