August 2013 – Nature and Us

Conducted at National University of Singapore on 31 August 2013.

According to the Mandai Mangrove and Mudflat website:

“Mandai Mangrove and Mudflat has been a hot spot for mangrove studies in Southeast Asia over the past half-century. This heavily studied site is a valuable bank of zoological, botanical and ecological research for Singapore and the region.

However, Mandai Mangrove and Mudflat is relatively unknown beyond the scientific community and has an uncertain future. We want to communicate the huge base of scientific knowledge available for this mangrove in order to properly assess its status and promote its conservation.

Presentations will showcase the interdisciplinary importance of Mandai, and include botany, ecology, seagrass, crabs, bivalves, insects, birds, geography, geomorphology, sea level rise, biochemistry and management!”

Mandai Mangrove and Mudflat Workshop, 31 Aug 2013 (otterman.wordpress.com)
Nature ramble at Mandai forest (natureandus.wordpress.com)
Help for a battling survivor, Kranji East mangrove (otterman.wordpress.com)
Not for the faint-hearted: International Coastal Cleanup Singapore 2013 @ Kranji East mangrove (toddycats.wordpress.com)

Here’s sharing the photos I have taken so far with my iPhone before it got too dark to take good pictures. The nature walk was organised by the Nature Society of Singapore for their members on 24 August 2013.

The nature walk concluded at the edge of the rainforest and I walked for another 40 minutes or so to the bus stop near the foot of Bukit Timah hill to take a bus and transfer to another bus. Overall the walk was refreshing as it felt good being in Nature, and among the more familiar flora and fauna such as moths and mushrooms I encountered along the way, it was the first time I saw fireflies in this country, so it is quite a rewarding experience.

(The photos of the nature ramble below were taken using Canon PowerShot SD750.)