wild happenings in singapore

17 Jan (Sat): Art in Nature @ Dairy Farm Nature Park

For the serious artist and those with relevant art background, this Nature Art workshop is for you. Started in June 2010 and resumed early 2013, get ready to busy yourself with sketchpads and paint brushes. Volunteer leader Jerome Pang will be sharing and guiding volunteers and participants who are passionate in both art and nature conservation to develop their art skills while raising awareness on conservation and biodiversity. Themes include, local wildlife, animals, birds, insects and plants

Register online

Time: 9am - 12noon
Venue: Dairy Farm Nature Park, Wallace Education Learning Lab (WELL)
For enquiries, please contact Leen at fadzleen_arrifin@nparks.gov.sg / 98419965
Website: http://www.nparks.gov.sg/

17 Jan (Sat): Pulau Ubin Kampong Tour Guided Walk

Take a walk with us to experience Ubin's wonderful natural and cultural heritage. The walk takes about 2 hour to complete. The tour will start at the Ubin-HSBC Volunteer Hub and take you through the spice trees around Jelutong campsite, Butterfly Hill, Pekan Quarry, Sensory Trail Ponds, Kampong House, Old Bin Kiang School site, Toa Pek Kong Temple and end at the Wayang Stage. You will hear about the use of spices in cooking and the interesting history of the different sites. Do you know what the Ubin-HSBC Volunteer Hub was in the 1970s? When was the Toa Pek Kong Temple built? If you would like to know, then this is an excellent introduction to the heritage of the island.

Register online at the NParks website

Time: 9:30-11:30 am
Venue: Meet at Ubin-HSBC Volunteer Hub. More on how to get to Pulau Ubin.
Cost: $60 per group (for a maximum of 15 persons) up to maximum of 4 groups.
Website: http://www.nparks.gov.sg/

5-11 Jan: Highlights of the week ahead

For kids and the family

Walks in wild places

10 Jan (Sat): What's in my mud? - Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve Free Guided Walk

The mud at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve is a key habitat for the plants and animals. This unique habitat is full of surprises! Get close and personal to the mud and observe the rich biodiversity; critical to the ecosystem at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

This walk is about 1.5hrs. Participants must wear covered shoes. Please bring along water and umbrellas.

Time: 9.30am-12noon
Venue: Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, Kranji Way Visitor Centre
Website: http://www.sbwr.org.sg/
Contact: info@sbwr.org.sg or call 6794 1401

10 Jan (Sat): Nature Hike - Explore Nature Areas near Bukit Timah Nature Reserve

While Bukit Timah Nature reserve takes a break for improvement works, take this opportunity to discover other nature areas such as Dairy Farm Nature Park, Bukit Batok Nature Park and Singapore Quarry. Explore nature areas around Bukit Timah Nature Reserve by joining us on a nature hike to Singapore Quarry.

The nature hikes are conducted free of charge. Each session is open to a maximum of 20 people.

Hike Preparations: Please dress comfortably for walks - Covered walking shoes (Appropriate for undulated trails), light clothin, cap. Have breakfast before walk and bring bottled water. Bring rain gear (Poncho/umbrella). We encourage participants to come via public transport or park at Dairy Farm Nature Park Carpark A and bus down to starting point at Kampong Trail

The Nature Hike will be cancelled in the event of bad weather.

Times: 8.20am (Hike begins 8.30am), 9.20am (Hike begins 9.30am) (each tour max 20 participants)
Meeting Point: Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, Start of Kampong Trail (Near the grass patch with monkey educational boards). Limited parking at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve during period of closure, visitors are encouraged to come via public transport
Website: http://www.nparks.gov.sg/

10 Jan (Sat): Tall Tales - Heritage Tree Trail

If trees could speak, what stories would they tell? Join us in this guided tour to learn about the majestic giants in the Gardens. Hear interesting tales about their origins and their history in the Gardens, as well as their different uses that benefit our daily lives.

Suitable for children in K1 - P6 levels

For enquiry, please contact the SBG Education Branch at 64719961 & 6465 0196 or through email: nparks_sbg_edu@nparks.gov.sg. Online registration is available by clicking on the 'Registration' link at the bottom-left corner of this pop-up window.

Time: 10-11.30am
Cost: $9 per child & $9 per accompanying adult
Venue: Botany Centre, Tanglin Core of the Singapore Botanic Gardens
Website: http://www.nparks.gov.sg/

10 Jan (Sat): A walk with your neighbours - the macaques of Macritchie

The long-tailed macaques are the most conspicuous animals at Macritchie Reservoir Park. Although commonly seen, they are very misunderstood. Few seeing them realise anything about the social world these monkeys live in. They have kin networks, power struggles, friends, foes, and an otherwise complex social network. In many ways, they provide a mirror of our own sociality.

If you would like to learn more about your community and the interesting world of your neighbouring macaques at Macritchie, please join our walk, led by experts from the Jane Goodall Institute SIngapor e.

Suitable for adults and children above 8 years

Register at sg.monkey.walk@gmail.com, at least 3 days in advance. Do provide us with your preferred date, name, contact number (in case of cancellation, we will contact you), number of adult and children participants (at most, 5 participants per registration). Upon receiving your registration, we will reply with a confirmation email. The walk will be cancelled if there is bad weather 45 minutes before the walk.

Time: 5-6pm
Venue: Macritchie Reservoir Park, Lawn @ Paddle Lodge
Website: http://www.nparks.gov.sg/

10 Jan (Sat): Rainforest Tour at the Singapore Botanic Gardens

A free guided nature walk through a rainforest right in the heart of the city! Along a boardwalk, under the shade of giant trees, learn about our rainforests, spot forest creatures and strange plants.

Suitable for young children.

More about the Botanic Gardens Rainforest Trail on the wildsingapore website. This walk is conducted by the volunteer guides of NPark's Singapore Botanic Gardens and is held every second Saturday of the month.

Tours in Mandarin are available at 4pm.

Time: 9am, 10am, 11am and 4pm; Register 15 minutes before the tour at the Visitor Centre.
Tour duration: One hour.
Website: http://www.sbg.org.sg/
Contact: Visitor Services, 64717361 orNPARKS_SBG_Visitor_Services@NPARKS.GOV.SG

10 Jan (Sat): Free Pasir Ris Mangrove boardwalk tour with the Naked Hermit Crabs

Specially for kids and families, explore Pasir Ris mangroves with volunteer nature guides from the Naked Hermit Crabs on this FREEguided tour of the boardwalk!

During our evening stroll through this interesting but often overlooked mangrove, we are sure to see lots of crazy tree climbing crabs, delightful giant mudskippers and cool monitor lizards. Pasir Ris is also one of the few places where nesting herons are easily observed. And as the sun sets, we might spot some nocturnal animals like watersnakes. If we're lucky, we may catch a glimpse of the rare Mangrove pitta or the family of otters that have been seen here! More details on the Naked Hermit Crabs blog.

Register through this online form. A confirmation note will be sent.

Time: 5pm. We should end at around 6.30pm, just before sunset.
Meeting point: Pasir Ris Park, Carpark C, meet near the first toilets nearest the entrance to the carpark. The meeting point is a short stroll from the Pasir Ris MRT station. Map
Website and contact: http://nakedhermitcrabs.blogspot.com/