Once Upon a Tree: Tides and Coastlines Episode 06 - Hopes & the Future

Oh no~~ We have reached the end of the series. Definitely a fast 6 weeks it has been! This very last episode starts off with Dr Nigel Goh talking about the role of NParks in the conservation of our wild places, such as to minimise the impact of development. All said in an orange and black wetsuit aboard a diveboat. Why? Because in this last episode, the audience is actually brought underwater into Singapore's wonderful murk! Times are changing such that there is a more proactive approach to conservation, as compared to the traditional method of protecting. The coral nursery project is one such example where we as humans are taking a more active role in (hopefully) reversing the damage done to our environment. Nigel takes on a really optimistic attitude that the coral nursery is setting the stage in preparation for the day when our waters regain some of its clarity that has been lost over the years of development. I certainly hope that this would actually happen!

Then comes a short mishmash interview of sorts of a group of children, all less than 10 years of age! How good it is to hear from the mouths of the babes on what they like about the sea and ocean, about what they think of sharks, crabs, octopus, killer whales and such.

Following which, BOTH hosts head over to Pulau Hantu where Debby shows them around. At the intertidals for Shawn, and getting wet by diving right into the action for Sue-Lyn! This is an extra thrill for me since I am still high from the brilliant series of dives we had at the Hantu anniversary on Sunday. ^^
(Photo taken by JeeMee Goh)
Not much surprise here since the filming of both portions were blogged about, but I do like the portion where Debby highlights the ecosystem services rendered by coral reefs, such as serving as a nursery ground for many marine animals, and acting as a natural coastal protection.

The ecofootprint reducing section did a quick sum up of all the previous 5 episodes, from reducing trash to taking the initiative to volunteering... And what's the message for this very last episode? "The future is tofu" (What the?!) Basically quickly highlights TofuTech that you can wear your tofu and eat it. Alternative resources for us to use, and the re-thinking of how we use natural products I guess. Shawn ends with a positive, forward looking note on how there's a legion of youth that's ready to go out there and share with others about the marine aspect of our natural heritage, and it's not just the earlier generations just reminiscing about times long gone of pristine waters etc. It does seem that Singapore has started on the road to becoming island people from the people that live on an island that we were. Do hope there really is a cascade effect and even if not everybody finds going out to wild places and sharing their piece of cake, even just reading up and being more environmentally conscious of your actions goes a long way!

Here's the pre-show blurb as usual on the WildFilms blog. And a special treat from me.... A sneak peek on some of the people behind the scenes camera and action. Kudos to these folks for putting in the many months of work to get this informative short series out!
Alvin and Yean filming from the back of the boat

And even from the top of the boat!

Am sure that anyone who has dived in Singapore before would agree with me in saying that it's no easy feat to film underwater with all the sediments floating around! Cheers to Alvin for the nice underwater footage!

Setting things up and all for the "easel scenes"... (Photos by Khoo Minsheng)

Discussing things over with the director (Photo by Khoo Minsheng)

Director, sound personnel, video guy all need to go down to the intertidal. With the equipment and all! (Photo by Khoo Minsheng)
And this was only a part of the outdoors filming. Goodness knows how many more hours were spent looking (and re-looking) at the footage, editing, and deciding on the final cut. And with this, it's a wrap!