What A Landscape..

Sunny Day, Clear Skies.. Perfect for the weekly Saturday soccer fun.

As usual, I dragged my sleepy self through the half-mile out to the nearest bustop and caught a bus service heading towards Yishun. In Singapore, a 30-min bus ride equals a whole world away. Its just so far. Unless, of course, you're heading to town. Town is never too far.
Personally, the fact that you've just finished college and had your Student privileges whisked away post-New Year's Day adds a brand new meaning to Life. Every bustrip has now become a treasured resource.



Heavy Metal blasting my ears throughout the journey, I noticed that some of the lush vegetation along Lentor had been replaced by barren lands - destined to transform into one of many residential areas, mini-malls or leisure parks. Further down the road, there was the Bottle Tree Village (which had a fishing pond) which replaced some thick vegetation on the outskirts of Yishun Town some years ago. More and more areas around Singapore are being given a make-over, by virtue of limited land resource.



This reminded me of Neil Humphrey's article about Singaporeans travelling overseas in search
of wildlife, due to the 'fact' that the Lion City no longer has such resources. His remarks, however, were often to re-iterate how some people tend to overlook the reality that some form of wildlife actually exists within the confines of the ever-changing landscape of our tiny island.



Flashback by a month, we (parents, dad's colleague n his wife) went out boating along NorthEastern waters of Singapore. Usually we'd speed to Pulau Seletar, go around it, then head for Pulau Ubin and circle it too before we head back, roughly a 2hr journey.

This time though, we decided to do a lil' exploring...

Spring tide (the highest tide throughout the month) is a result of the Moon's gravity at full moon phase. Current strength will be at its peak, too. You could tell by how fast the floating rubbish were moving out from the river to the sea.
The tidal phenomena also meant lesser risk of grounding. It was then that we decided to venture the waters of Yishun Mangroves..



As the kiasu few entered the mangrove, unfinished structures and wooden jetties dating back to at least half a century, maybe more, could still be seen. A couple of lizards had a scare of their lives when they popped up ahead of the 20ft boat. Crikey! No buaya* though..

Perched on a small tree just above the waterline were a group of 7-8 cranes/herons (I can't remember). They werent bothered one bit as we crept up and down the river past them while another boat sped by with a group of wakeboarders.

There was also a small fish farm situated along one of the two mangroves, accessible by bike. I reckon the mangrove to be quite a good fly fishing spot, considering the few good fish jumping out of the water once in a while - as though on cue, reminding their fellow Singaporean visitors that they too play a part in this ecosystem.



You know.. We Singaporeans are quite fortunate bunch. Many take things for granted, even me. We have wildlife at our own backyard, several beaches (though somewhat dirty) and have parks that are quite underused. Sea sports are fast becoming common leisure activities, with kayaking facilities accessible at almost every reservoir. In other countries, the land mass is so massive that some have never been to the ocean their entire lives.


I think we should not restrict wildlife exposure to primary & secondary school expeditions (including firsthand exposure to wildlife for males aged 18++, courtesy of the Singaporean Government :D). It should be a pastime continued well into our future. From MacRitchie Reservoir to Bukit Timah to Pulau Ubin to Farrer Park to other ulu** habitats, each deserve some attention.

Visit them whenever you can, before its 'potential' is realised and hip shopping malls take over.


*Buaya - Crocodile
** Ulu - Isolated
http://www.wildsingapore.per.sg/
http://wildbirdsingapore.nss.org.sg/indexH.html