GSS02 - No, 'tis not the Great Singapore Sale

15 July 2010 - Since my camera didn't have any battery during the 1st training, no pics for that one >.< But it was all charged up and ready for the second session mass training workshop for our shores ^_^ All this after an early morning spent at Terumbu Pempang Tengah! This is gonna be a photo-centric entry as it sure was a long day.....

Unlike earlier LeafMonkey Workshops, the aim's to reach out to more people in a session. So the usual menagerie suspects turned up early at the Singapore's Scouts Association HQ to set up registration desk, info desk, chairs, projector etc.

Ria kindly brought down coffee table books for the early comers to browse, as well as extra Southern Shores guidesheets to give away.

For this second training session, we were lucky enough to have papaJeff introduce coral reefs to our would-be guides. But alas, there was way too much ground for him to cover in such a short session that he wasn't able to cover coral rubble as well! Glad to see that there were lots of related questions for him but we had to break into groups for the role-playing portion of the workshop.

Based on feedback from the session, we decided to do something different this time round and sent one group down to the Programmes Room, and see if it really helped with noise control. Guess who's group was the lucky one? ;p

For this part of the session, participants are split into discussion groups tasked with different combinations of visitors and shorelife to talk about.

Armed with little factsheets and iPhone(s), as well as "free access" to facilitators, the groups pieced together their little mini-skits. It is good practice for preparing scripts when guiding at any shore. Know the facts about the wildlife that you'll be talking about, angling it....

And once that was done, it was time to share with the others their little skits! We had some rather creative representations of our "die-die-sure-can-see" reef critters... Click on the photos to see what organisms were represented ^_^


Too bad I was already zoning out after the breakout session to take anymore photos.... Will try and remember for this week's session! ;p

And we also welcome SJ back from Trengganu ^_^ Our resident naturescouter has been busy running all over the globe, so it was good to have him back in SG. At least until October....

p/s. Next post to come up *should* be the TPT one!

Click for the rambling...

Ghostly encounters and a little fisher

First off....
HAPPY WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY EVERYBODY!!!

Am starting to feel that I'm getting too old to be doing intertidals for a stretch of 5 consecutive days and heading to work immediately after.... And it sure doesn't help that the sun has been utterly relentless for most of the mornings this week! So here's a couple of highlights from my week of mornings spent in the sun~


(1) Horned-eyed ghost crabs (Ocypode ceratophthalmus)
Generally more often seen at night/dusk/dawn but the ones at St John's Island were rather active during the day! The first few ones that we came across were half buried and very well camouflage, and we literally stumbled upon them as we were walking around. Here's one "winking" at/for the camera even!

The ones higher up on the shore were busy digging out their little burrows, popping out every once in a while to throw out a messy pile of sand. The little black dots scattered around the burrows are actually little Casuarina fruits.



And a closer view of these little ghostly critters. Guess it's a good thing that we saw quite a few adult individuals scurrying around, as well as a number of smaller holes with the same messy "thrown sand", even though there's regular beach cleaning around the area?

For more information about these crabs:
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/crustacea/crab/ocypodoidea/ceratophthalmus.htm
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/crustacea/crab/ocypodoidea/ocypode.htm
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/crustacea/crab/ocypodoidea/ocypodoidea.htm


(2) Collared kingfisher (Halcyon chloris)
There were also at least 2 collared kingfishers out and about with us on almost all the days. Feel so lucky that I managed a quick shot of one of them perched on the pipe, and the next shot on the right even shows a small fish that it caught! Usually only manage to catch them while they're perched up on one of the trees on the island.

For more on this commonly seen kingfisher:
http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/birds/Halcyon_chloris.htm

Do click on the photos if you would like a look at the larger sized images.

Click for the rambling...

Perspectives.....

My kayaking trip at Ubin has stirred up a series of personal reflections for me... No, the photo below has no relation to the topic XD It's just that I'm more trigger-happy than a camera whore and I don't really have candid shots of me.

Have never really been a sporty person but it seems that ever since undergraduate days, I have been becoming more and more of an outdoorsy person. It is through books that I slowly grew to learn about nature, and some of the biodiversity around us. And it is with that that I develop an interest in some outdoors activities. First there were the intertidal guiding, then came diving, then treeclimbing, cycling (yar, I didn't learn how to cycle until a year or two ago), powerboating and Sunday's kayaking. It really does seem serendipitous how things have been working out in my life so far, yet I can't help but feel that it was all planned out.

It's not only the wonder of how I've come to the role in which I have with regards to nature and biodiversity but also the actual miraculousness of nature that has gotten me thinking. And it seems that now I am starting to see and open doors to new areas and perspectives of experiencing and connecting with nature. How so?

I only went to take my OW and AOW diving certification so that I could have another angle on my FYP. One thing led to another, with me learning LIT methodology, and even helping to conduct ReefCheck training for others! I know that quite a few of my diver friends picked diving up as something unusual to do, caught the bug and have been scratching the itch to get underwater every once in a while. And depending on their instructors/diving kakis, they would gradually start appreciate the marine wildlife and its environment. Yet for me it's the opposite. So from day one I was more in awe of the different kind of milieu that I found whilst diving rather than the actual diving itself.

The same thing happened with tree climbing. This time, taking the course with a bunch of fellow intertidal enthusiasts, and again, it was the chance to be up close and personal with the trees that actually got me interested in the course. Still can't tell if I'm much of a convert to tree climbing though, but this is largely due to my sporadic fear of heights. ;p

And this brings me to kayaking. Decided to give it a try as one of those "Why not?" things to do. But the trip down the mangroves did show me yet another way for me to explore the great outdoors. Not in the adventure sense, but getting close to some of the trees without the usual sloshing walk, and with the chance to just drift and listen to all those different bird calls.

And it strikes me that all one has to do is to slow down for a moment, take a deep breath and just take it all in. Especially for those of us who are blessed to be in Singapore. Just look at the amount of urbanisation and development we have had here in land scarce Singapore. Yet we have managed to keep enough of our nature spots (i.e. Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve, Central Nature Reserve, etc.), as well as have park connectors (that act as green bridges between out fragmented forests on mainland). There is still much nature around us. Maybe more in the form of urban biodiversity than actual wildlife in forests. Every once in a while I lose sight of this fact, and yet I am reminded of it time and again. What better time to have this readjusting of perspective but in the middle of the International Year of Biodiversity, eh? So, the next time you find yourself outdoors, don't be so caught up in the activity you're doing but also take time to look around, take a deep breath, and spot critters in the vicinity.

Totally off topic but seems like next year is to be the International Year of Forests! Hmmm.... So what does a divejunkie do then? XD

Click for the rambling...

Kayaking @ Ubin

Whilst Ria and company were out at Sekudu in the wee hours in the morning yesterday, I went for my very first kayaking trip to some of the mangroves around Pulau Ubin.

Having missed out on the chance to try my hand at kayaking when I missed OBS in Secondary School, I never did understand the draw of kayaking..... Initially wasn't sure if I wanted to join in the trip but figured that there was no harm giving it a go since I'm generally a sea-person ;p

There was a quick briefing on how to maneuver the paddles, and off into the water we went. Newbies like me were paired up with our experienced friends (in my case, a WAY more experience friend, so I was in good hands... erm, paddles) while the rest went off in their one-man kayaks. And then there was a repeat briefing in when we were all safely adrift.

Then it was off to the mangroves!

At the parts of the river that were narrower, we had a bit of a kayak jam. Didn't count the exact number of kayaks but I think there were a good 20-odd people in total. Good thing that this trip was during the high tide, otherwise I couldn't imagine how we would be navigating through some bits!

Didn't take photos of the mangrove plants but did have fun pointing out the blooming sea hibiscus and various examples of vivipary on the mangrove plants. It was just such a novel experience looking at the mangrove life from a different perspective. And NOTHING can beat the sense of peace and tranquility there. And the surround sound bird calls were splendid! Just floating along..... And of course, taking photos at the wider portions of the river. Pity that with so many of us, we probably were intruding on the wildlife quite a bit....

After the sojourn into the mangroves, we cruised off to a rock at one corner of Ubin. Arms were busy, so no photos ;p Once I picked up the rhythm/groove of paddling, it was actually rather soothing to chat with our neighbouring kayak as we went along. Just that I can't really steer, so my seascouter friend behind was doing most of that!

As with all things, our little adventure in the sun and sea came to an end, and it was back to land to wash up.

Click for the rambling...