Beach cleanup at Sungei Durian, Pulau Ubin (24 February 2024)

Nature and us are inseparable – this truism becomes evident as we venture into the wild and participate in environmental stewardship.

Last month, the Pulau Ubin cleanup session was postponed due to inclement weather during the northeast monsoon season.

Thankfully, the weather was dry when we embarked on our first beach cleanup session of the year 2024 yesterday, albeit a tad too hot and humid in the mid afternoon, causing us to perspire even before we started picking up litter in the vicinity of Sungei Durian near Kelichap Hut on the eastern side of the island.

Despite our small number (only nine of us volunteers turned up), we managed to collect a sizable amount of waste items, which weighed a total of 95 kg!

Some of the discarded engines that were washed ashore were too bulky and heavy for us to carry back to the hut for proper disposal.

I was heartened to see a number of slender mudskippers (Periophthalmus gracilis), aka graceful mudskippers, at the mouth of Durian River which flows into the sea. As potential bio-indicators of heavy metal pollution, their presence suggests a fairly healthy ecosystem despite the apparent pervasiveness of pollutants in the water.

A slender mudskipper (Periophthalmus gracilis), whose conservation status in Singapore is vulnerable

The mangroves and mudflats of Sungei Durian were exposed at low tide that afternoon.

The types of waste that we have collected include plastic tubes, plastic bottles, plastic food packaging wrappers, shoes and slippers, broken glasses, fishing nets, cloths, lighters, batteries, pulley, engines, tire inner tubes, straws, boat fabrics, electrical wires, plastic utensils, PVC floor carpets and metal cans.

Kudos to the event organiser Joseph Tan and my fellow volunteers for the great teamwork and efforts in making the natural environment cleaner and more habitable for the inhabitants.

Here’s to our dedication in keeping our islands clean. (Group photo by Joseph Tan)

P.S. If you would like to take part in the future Pulau Ubin cleanup activities, please follow the event website here to stay updated on the upcoming sessions.