Southern Ridges recces: Deep Time Walk, Gillman Barracks Forest and Telok Blangah Hill Park

The Deep Time Walk is a 4.6 km narrated walk, where every metre walked is equivalent to one million years.

On 17 March 2024, I participated in Deep Time Walk (Asia), a unique event organised by volunteers from environmental non-profit organisations (NGOs), such as SG Climate Rally and Ground-Up Initiative. So, what is Deep Time Walk?

Deep Time Walk is a “transformative journey through 4.6 billion years of Earth history via a 4.6 km guided walk. It is an invitation to view the world differently, encouraging positive action and advocacy for a regenerative Earth.”

I arrived early at daybreak and was greeted by the golden sunrise from a lookout point on Mount Faber. Then I proceeded to join the other participants as the event was about to begin.

Climbing up along Marang Trail to the top of Mount Faber

After joining our respective teams, we trekked along the 4.6 km route via Henderson Waves, Telok Blangah Hill Park and Alexandra Arch towards HortPark.

At certain junctures, we paused to ponder over certain Deep Time Walk discussion topics. Here are some brief notes I took along the way.

1. Birth of the universe: From chaos to new life (eg condensation to form clouds).

In the beginning was the Word or Logos or Tao or Cosmos

2. Formation of planet Earth: Analogy to the seasons of life (eg career shift).

3. Conditions became suitable for life: Why water is important (detoxify, etc).

Water supports lifeforms on Earth

4. The first lifeform on Earth: How does knowing that we all share a common ancestor (Luka) play a part in our responsibility towards sustainability? (Any alternative paradigm for us to see ourselves as part of Nature and be stewards of the environment) shift from anthropogenic to cosmo-centric perspective; Ubuntu – “I am because you are”. English – collection of nouns (items). Indigenous languages – communion (verbs).

Early lifeforms emerged from beneath deep ocean floors

5. First continent (land mass) emerged: What provides grounding for stability in personal life?

6. Circular economy – waste and resource recycling: Examples?

7. Earth transiting from the snowball stage to interglacial stage to hothouse stage – learning to pause instead of autopilot.

8. Collaboration and networking rather than competition – eg spiders, pets, etc.

9. Cyanobacteria etc forming more multicellular organisms: Silent mindful walk

Silent mindful walk along Earth Trail while forest bathing

10. More oxygen, etc: what would you like to birth?

11. Evolution – collaboration?

12. Symbiosis – eg plant and fungi form mycelium network.

13. Sixth mass extinction looming – given that the Earth is warming 100 times faster since the Industrial Revolution 250 years ago.

14. Evolution of flowering plants and pollinators. Separation of South America and Africa etc through the process of plate tectonics.

15. Meteorite collision – extinction of dinosaurs.

16. One million years or so later. Homo sapiens. Agriculture. Industrial Revolution.

During the final sharing session at the end of our journey at HortPark, I learnt that though Singapore contributes only 0.11 percent of the global carbon emissions, Singapore is ranked 8th in terms of carbon emissions per capita, and 27th in terms of the total carbon emissions in the world.

Sharing session at HortPark

Around this time, I have read the news that the forest around Gillman Barracks in the vicinity of Telok Blangah hill park has been announced that it may be cleared for housing development, which raises concerns among nature and heritage conservationists.

I also learnt that heritage and environmental studies that will inform any future development are slated to start in the second quarter of 2024 and be completed in the first half of 2026.

Aerial view of Gillman Barracks Forest. According to botanist Shawn Lum, “environmental consultants should study how the patch facilitates wildlife movement between green patches in the area, especially for species not included in the National Parks Board’s recent Ecological Profiling Exercise.”

Incidentally, I have observed some wildlife in this area during the Deep Time Walk, and heard the unmistakable melodious songs of a critically endangered straw-headed bulbul at the elevated walkway near Alexandra Arch.

On 18 May 2024, I decided to recce Forest Walk around Gillman Barracks Forest and was fortunate to spot some charismatic native creatures, such as a scarlet-backed flowerpecker and a rare oriental pied hornbill.

Scarlet-backed flowerpecker

Oriental pied hornbill

I also noted that a sizeable portion of the steep slope along the southern flank of Telok Blangah hill park has experienced slope failure some time early last year, which prompted the authorities to close the eastern part of the elevated walkway for public safety and for slope repair works to be done.

Considering the hilly terrain in this area, I am concerned that any removal of natural vegetation in Gillman Forest for development will inevitably result in soil erosion, siltation of waterways (which flow towards Labrador nature reserve and Berlayer Creek), and/or even landslides.

Some streams in the forests around Gillman Barracks flow towards Labrador nature reserve and Berlayer Creek, where the mangroves support a variety of flora and fauna.

Panoramic view of the hill forest between Telok Blangah Street 31 and Gillman Barracks

The Forest Institute at Gillman Barracks, which I visited on 7 February 2022.

“The ecology is rich, combining native and foreign species that interact to create new ecological situations. One of the results is more sightings of the changeable hawk eagle, the largest raptor in Singapore. The bird nests in albizia trees, a fast-growing tree that was originally imported from Papua New Guinea but has now colonised many green spaces in Singapore. The river nearby is one of many small tributaries that flows into Berlayer Creek.”

“The project draws inspiration from, and pays close attention to an ancient tributary of Berlayer Creek, that courses through the forested areas of the barracks within an earshot distance from the institute.”

P.S. To support the petition to preserve Gillman Barracks and surrounding Hill Forest, click here.