Fun with R.U.M. mangrove workshop!

I had lots of fun figuring out mangrove trees and plants last weekend. At a special workshop on mangrove flora ID by the Restore Ubin Mangroves (R.U.M.) Initiative and Leafmonkey Workshop.

The awesome mangrovers!
Photo by Mohammad Juhari

Thanks to enthusiastic support from an overwhelming response to the workshop!

Tethered sky lanterns: what could possibly go wrong?

In Singapore, the fire authorities (SCDF) do not allow the release of sky lanterns. They do allow lighted sky lanterns but these must be tethered at all times. There must also be safety marshallers on site to prevent "intentional or inadvertent release" of lantern.

"People had trouble keeping the lanterns away from trees
because the field was surrounded by trees and they couldn’t
reel in the lanterns in time because they descended very quickly."
Photo from the Looking deeper into issues blog.

How do these rules work out on the ground? Here's some observations of a sky lantern event held last weekend on the Looking deeper into issues blog. The blog suggests such events should be "reconsidered in a densely built-up garden city such as Singapore."

Preparing for plankton bloom in the East Johor Strait?

A "sentinel fish cage to monitor the water quality and the impact of plankton on sensitive fish species" will be installed off Seletar Dam for six months until Mar 2017, by the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority (AVA).

While it's good to know that serious effort is being taken to monitor water quality in the East Johor Strait, I wonder why this site was chosen? It is not close to where most of the AVA-licenced fish farms in the East Johor Strait are located. These are mostly found between Pulau Ubin and Pasir Ris.

New bus stop built next to Punggol mangroves

There is a narrow sliver of natural mangroves at Punggol near Punggol Jetty and Coney Island.

Thanks to an alert from a nature lover, I had a closer look at a new bus stop that was built right next to the mangroves.

Chek Jawa boardwalk slowly

I had a great time yesterday at Pulau Ubin helping out with the Naked Hermit Crabs' free monthly tour of the Chek Jawa boardwalk.

We traditionally get a low turnout of visitors in September due probaby to the exams. But the guides love being at Chek Jawa and we had a nice long slow walk as everyone took turns sharing stories with a small group of very patient visitors.

Magical lantern walk in Ubin mangroves

I had an awesome time with families at a special edition of the FREE monthly mangrove walk for the Restore Ubin Mangroves (R.U.M.) Initiative.

As we wandered through the kampung of Ubin, we saw awesome wildlife, learned about how abandoned aquaculture ponds can be restored and ended with a lovely lantern walk and delicious home-cooked dinner.