50 native trees planted to kick-start greening of Eco-Link@BKE

The seeds have been sown for a unique ecological bridge, the Eco-Link@BKE, that will connect two nature reserves in Singapore.

Staff and representatives from government agencies and civil organisations on Saturday planted 50 native trees at the bridge, which is described as the first of its kind in Singapore.

Greening of the connector is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

The Eco-Link@BKE runs over and across the Bukit Timah Expressway.

National Parks Board (NParks) said the bridge will allow wildlife to move between the Bukit Timah and Central Catchment Nature Reserves.

NParks said insects, butterflies and birds will make use of the bridge, and over time, animals like the pangolin, flying squirrel, palm civet and porcupine are expected to make use of the extension as well.

The crossing of wildlife will also benefit native plant species.

Minister of State for National Development Desmond Lee said: “The BKE built in the 80s segmented two areas of wildlife and plant life, and it is hoped that with this eco-link bridge, we'll be able to see and record a growth in the various species that nature groups are concerned about.

“I think this represents at the symbolic level, a commitment by Singapore and Singaporeans to preserve what is precious about our biodiversity, because of itself and because of the importance of nature."

Wildlife bridge ready by year-end 2013

A $17 million bridge for monkeys and other wildlife is on track to be completed by the end of the year, the National Parks Board (NParks) and the Land Transport Authority confirmed on Wednesday.

Structural works for the Eco-Link@BKE are almost done, and the site is now being prepared for the planting of trees.

The 62m-long overhead bridge will reconnect Singapore's largest primary and secondary forests, the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and the Central Catchment Area. Both forests have been separated by the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) since 1986, leaving animals like rare banded leaf monkeys cut off from their fellow monkeys on the other side.

"The bridge is a boon for biodiversity," said conservationist Alan Ow Yong.

When ready, it will allow animals such as flying squirrels, palm civets and pangolins an easy way to cross the BKE.

"Animals will be able to move freely between the two reserves to find other food sources as well as mates. They will also help to propagate plant species as seeds are dispersed by more animals," Mr Ow explained yesterday.

Trees planted on the bridge will also provide food for animals, NParks said. The public will not be allowed onto the bridge in the first few years, to reduce the disturbance to the wildlife.

The eco-link is situated about 600m north of Rifle Range Road, between the Pan-Island Expressway and Dairy Farm exits.

All for the love of Wild Life.

A bigger, more interactive zoo for the younger generation

On its 40th birthday, Wildlife Reserves Singapore chairman Claire Chiang has big dreams for the Singapore Zoological Gardens — not only to make it more immersive, but also to expand it geographically.

Having for years been a must-visit for families with young children — this group forms the bulk of the zoo's visitors — Chiang says she hopes to revitalise the WRS's oldest wildlife park (the others being the Night Safari, the River Safari and Jurong Bird Park) to more closely cater to an increasingly tech-savvy younger generation.

[The Singapore Zoo's 40th Birthday, and your favourite zoo animals]

"We have to work harder, I feel, at the teenagers, and that's where your social media (comes in), your interactive way of bringing the zoo to that level… so youth will feel that this is also a learning laboratory," said Chiang, who spoke on the sidelines of a celebration of the Zoo's 40th birthday on Thursday.

"The future zoo for Singapore… has to be interactive, because the X, Y generation that grew up with all these gadgets would like immediately to have access to information," she said. For instance, she said that a journey through the zoo has to be an immersive one, making visitors feel like they are experiencing the rainforest, instead of simply walking through the park as a passive observer.

"We have a lot of game(s), 'press-button and then information coming out', and when you're looking at an exhibit there will be a lot of questions and answers, and there will be a lot of classroom sessions where next to your exhibit you have someone to tell the story of the animal," she explained.

"(It's) interactive in a sense not that it is gadgety, but in the process of me understanding the animals… it enhances my understanding of the role of man (in nature)," she continued. "It is actually using all your senses in an exhibit to touch and feel the exhibits; that's what it means by immersive."

Chiang also said the new Zoo will have to have "a high level of educational entertainment", as well as a high level of social media impact and effect.

"So it's going to be leveraging on technology, and using the resources that we have to recreate an experience of nature that hits the mind, the heart and the soul, and it is fun," she said.

Need to ensure zoo's future

In view of this push to attract more young people to the zoo, Chiang also shared her concern of leadership renewal for the future.

She explained that the zoo is currently a treasure trove of information that needs to be collected and archived. For example, there is a lot of knowledge that resides in a number of zookeepers who have worked with the zoo since its beginnings.

"They (the veteran zookeepers) have… all the best practices. I really wish more young Singaporeans will see this, the veterinary sciences, as well as zoo management and animal care, become their career path," she said.

"Our universities should beef up more on environmental science, as well as animal care and husbandry and veterinary sciences," she added. "So the leadership issue for the future is a challenging one, and I appeal to young Singaporeans to come and join us because this is a vocation of its own — unique and interesting."

Exotic mini-zoo seized from Singapore HDB Flat

More than 30 wild animals, including pythons, tortoises, a slow loris and a marmoset have been seized from a flat in Singapore in the city's largest such haul of banned wildlife in more than a decade, a government agency said Tuesday.

The owner, who kept the animals in a public housing apartment, could be jailed for two years and fined up to SG$500,000 ($297,000), the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said in a statement.

The 32 animals included a Sunda slow loris, a nocturnal tree-dwelling primate; a common marmoset, a small monkey with a long tail; and three ball pythons, which are popular in the pet trade because of their docile nature.

There were also three black-tailed prairie dogs, several types of tortoise, five ornate horned frogs, an iguana, a gecko and a degu, a small rodent endemic to central Chile.

"The seizure, which includes highly endangered and threatened species like the slow loris, marmoset, Indian star tortoise and ball python, is AVA's largest inland seizure of wildlife since 2002," the agency said in a statement.

"A man is currently assisting AVA in the investigations."

Residents in public housing, where most Singaporeans live, are only allowed to keep approved pets such as non-endangered birds, aquarium fish and one small dog per household.

The animals, which were rescued earlier this month, are now in the care of a company running the Singapore Zoo, said the AVA, which raided the flat after a tipoff.

It warned the public that keeping illegal wildlife could pose health hazards and threaten the densely populated tropical island's biodiversity if the animals enter the local environment.

The animals that were seized have been sent to the Wildlife Reserves Singapore for proper care and custody.

1 Sunda slow loris

1 Common marmoset

2 Indian star tortoise

3 Leopard tortoise

2 Red-footed tortoise

2 Yellow-footed  tortoise

2 Alligator snapping  turtle

3 Ball python

5 Ornate horned frog

2 Green iguana

1 Inland bearded dragon

2 Sailfin dragon

1 Lined flat-tail gecko

3 Black-tailed prairie dog

2 Degu

White Lions: Bangkok Men Charged with Illegal Wildlife Trading

During a house raid of Montri Boonprom-on’s residence near Bangkok, police found something they never would have expected: a menagerie of more than 200 wild animals – some with teeth. Among the creatures found by police, there were 14 rare albino lions and a legally protected species of leopard in a box.

Police made the surprising discovery after a routine call. "We received a complaint about the smell from the neighbours and after investigating, we discovered the animals hidden there," Police Colonel Ek Ekasart said.

Two Thai men, including Montri, were charged in the case with illegal wildlife trading in the case and could be sentenced to prison for up to four years and receive a fine of 40,000 baht ($1,300). Police believe the men brought the lions into Thailand with permits to sell them to zoos, but instead intended to sell them privately. One of the two men was charged with the same crime four years ago.

Alongside the big cats found stalking Montri’s home were birds, meerkats, tortoises, peafowls and monkeys. Once the process is complete, the animals will either be released into the wild or handed over to zoos. The white lions can be seen in police captivity here.

Montri, 41, is no stranger to wildlife, owning an exotic pet shop in Bangkok’s legendary Chatuchak Weekend Market, one of the world’s largest weekend markets. While the majority of the goods on sale at the market are legitimate, this story highlights Thailand’s close links with the illegal wildlife trade.

Indeed, Asia has an appetite for uncommon animals, both as pets and for use of their body parts in various traditional medicines – perhaps the best known being traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which makes use of anything from dried starfish and bear paws to dried scorpions and donkey umbilical cords. A list of other such goodies – also including dried flying lizards and rat fetuses – and their uses, can be seen here.

Thailand is trying to live down its reputation for assisting in this business – especially when it involves legally protected species – as seen in Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s announcement of legislation intended to bring the nation’s longstanding ivory trade to end this March.

Despite stricter enforcement, illegal wildlife trade at worrying levels

The illegal wildlife trade in the country is rising at worrying levels despite stricter enforcement and heavier penalties.

Greedy traffickers who gain huge profits from the cruel and unethical trade are focusing on Malaysia as it is among the few countries which still has tigers, elephants, sun bears, pangolins and other sought after species.

A live tiger is worth about US$50,000 (RM154,690) in the black market. Its skin alone can be worth up to US$35,000 (RM108,283).

A dead tiger's carcass, without the skin, fetches about US$5,000 (RM15,469). The prized parts of the big cat are sold separately with its penis worth about US$4,000 (RM12,370).

Elephant tusks sell for US$1,800 (RM5,566) a kilo while rhinoceros horns are priced at about US$97,000 (RM299,944) a kilo.

Among the animals highly sought after by poachers in Malaysia are wild boar, sambar deer, barking deer, mousedeer and porcupine and several species of rare birds.

According to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan), traffickers are motivated by the high profit margins in the wildlife trade.

“Animal parts are used in traditional medicine, folk remedies and as aphrodisiacs,” said a department spokesman.

He said tigers were mostly hunted for bones, skin and body parts, bears for their gall bladders and paws, pangolins for their meat and for their scales while snakes such as pythons are traded for their skins.

Rare birds are sold at high prices while geckos are traded based on the myth that they are able to cure ailments, including erectile dysfunction.

“Wildlife crime is run by international networks and operate much like the illegal drugs and weapons business,” he said, adding that stricter laws and tighter enforcement had not deterred poachers and traffickers.

Under the new Wildlife Conservation Act 2010, any person who sets or uses any snare for the purpose of hunting can face fines ranging from RM50,000 and RM100,000 and be jailed for a maximum of two years.

Between 2008 and last year, Perhilitan enforcement officers found and destroyed 2,377 snares set by poachers in forests and protected forest reserves.

The global illegal wildlife trade is worth an estimated US$5bil (RM15.46bil) to US$20bil (RM61.84bil) annually, with China, the US and Europe as prime markets.

Kanitha Krishnasamy, senior programme officer for Traffic South-East Asia, a wildlife monitoring network, said the demand for wildlife parts was on the rise worldwide, with the rate of poaching for elephant tusks and rhinoceros horns at its highest in 20 years.

She said in Malaysia, sambar deer and barking deer have been so rampantly hunted that Perhilitan has banned all deer hunting until 2015.

“Another species of concern is the pangolin, which is the mammal most commonly encountered in seizures across South-East Asia.

“Rarer and more endangered animals like tigers and serow are also very much in demand,” she said.

She said poachers often targeted the Belum-Temengor Forest area, Taman Negara and Endau-Rompin, especially for larger animals such as tigers and bears.

“Poachers are very good at what they do. They know the landscape and are usually a part of a vast, well-oiled network that illegally takes, smuggles and trades wildlife with great speed, using clever methods to evade the law,” she said.

Efforts to save the Devil

A group of Tasmanian devils will be transferred to a small Australian island to start what is hoped will be a self-sustaining population.

Tasmania's Environment Minister Brian Wightman said 14 of the marsupials, carefully selected from captive breeding programmes across Australia, would be released Thursday on Maria Island, a nature sanctuary off the state's east coast.

He said it was a "major step forward" in the race against extinction of the devil due to an extremely contagious facial tumour that has decimated the once-rampant rat-like marsupial.

Their plight is so dire authorities have started breeding a so-called "insurance population" in captivity to ensure they do not die out.

"The Maria Island translocation is designed to establish a self-sustaining population of healthy wild devils in a safe haven where they are protected from interaction with the deadly facial tumour disease," Wightman said.

"It will strengthen the insurance population of disease-free Tasmanian devils, help preserve wild traits in the insurance population and provide genetic stock for future reintroductions."

Tasmania is the only place where the devil is found in the wild and since the facial tumour was first discovered in 1996 numbers have plunged by 91 percent to the low tens of thousands.

There are few disease-free pockets remaining on the island state.

The cancer, which typically causes death within three to six months, is spread during fighting over food and territory, when a healthy devil will bite an infected devil's face and pick up cancer cells.

Maria Island, a rugged national park that can only be reached by boat or plane and is vehicle and shop-free, has never before been a devil habitat so Wightman said there was "no known risk of the facial tumour disease".

National Environment Minister Tony Burke said the transfer was a method of "last resort and it has to be done carefully with good scientific oversight", with all animals to be carefully screened before release.

Experts had deemed the devils unlikely to impact other native species on the island and the ecosystem would be monitored carefully, he added.

If successful authorities plan to increase the overall population on Maria Island over the next two years to about 50 animals.

Baby elephant’s sticky situation

A rescue crew lends a helping hand to free a baby elephant who stumbled into a pool of mud near Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

A baby elephant was rescued with just minutes to spare after spending over 12 hours stuck in a mudpool.

The young bull was spotted with mud up to its neck by a group of tourists on safari along the Zambezi River in Africa.

When the rescue team arrived it became apparent that they needed to act quickly as the baby pachyderm struggled to free its trunk and was close to drowning.

Mr White said it was likely the elephant had become trapped the evening before and after surviving for more than 12 hours wouldn't have lasted much longer.

He said: 'Elephants are particularly drawn to these areas and when moving towards the luscious vegetation they become stuck and sink deep into the mud, causing them to dehydrate and loose blood circulation to their legs.'

'The only safe place to put the rope is around his neck. Elephants have a very strong neck that can take a lot of strain. If we had tried to pull him out by any part of his legs which eventually become exposed, we risked breaking them.

'When he was finally free and lay on the solid ground we had to act fast and get him to his feet, to allow the blood to circulate.

'Towing straps were placed under his belly and with our team off staff we heaved him to his feet manually.

'So far the baby is doing well and although he is very young he is able to look after himself.

'We are keeping an eye on him though to make sure he doesn't get into any more sticky situations.'

Attempt to stop dolphins re-export to Singapore fails

Dolphins coming to Singapore.

A Philippine court yesterday denied an application by environmental and animal rights groups to extend a temporary court order, which it had granted last week to prevent the export of 25 dolphins to the Marine Life Park at Singapore's Resorts World Sentosa (RWS).

The court's decision clears the way for RWS to bring the dolphins here, amid protests by animal rights groups. An RWS spokesperson welcomed the decision and criticised the parties which initiated the court action for "perpetuating the same falsehoods that we had repeatedly made numerous clarifications and corrections to in the past". The groups intend to file an appeal later this week.

The mammals, which were caught in waters off the Solomon Islands, are being kept and trained at Subic Bay, Philippines. Last Friday, the court had issued a 72-hour "temporary environmental protection order" on the grounds that the exportation will "result in grave and irreparable damage to the population of the dolphins from the Solomon Islands".

Slated to lapse yesterday, the order was granted after 13 Philippines-based groups - including Earth Island Institute Philippines (EII-Phils) and the Philippine Animal Welfare Society - had banded together to file a civil suit against the Philippines' Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, the Department of Agriculture, and RWS.

Yesterday, Quezon City court judge Evangeline Castillo-Marigomen rejected the application for an extension of the order, "as the petitioners have not proved any violation of law committed by the concerned government agencies", according to a media release that EII-Phils put up on its website.

EII-Phils Regional Director for Asia-Pacific Trixie Concepcion said that scientific studies were produced in court during the hearing yesterday, arguing that the survival rates of the dolphins would be threatened after their capture. "(But) the judge did not consider this as evidence," she said.

Ms Concepcion said the petitioners also took umbrage at comments by the judge when she likened the dolphins to "pets". Ms Concepcion said: "This is a very, very sad day for conservation, for all animals in general, because this may set a precedent where animals from unsustainable sources can be traded by the Philippines."

In response to media queries, the RWS spokesperson said: "We are pleased that the court has decided to lift the temporary environment protection order. Our dolphins are doing well under the care of our team of experienced experts, and we look forward to welcoming them to Singapore".

She added: "We regret that the group which initiated this court action had gone on various public platforms with inaccurate statements pertaining to our dolphins, perpetuating the same falsehoods that we had repeatedly made numerous clarifications and corrections to in the past."

The spokesperson reiterated that the acquisition of the dolphins adheres to regulations governed by the United Nations Environment Programme under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The Marine Life Park is also preparing for accreditation with international accreditation bodies on its standards of animal husbandry, veterinary care and facility, she added.

In Singapore, the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) has been campaigning against RWS' move to keep the dolphins in captivity. ACRES Chief Executive Louis Ng was disappointed at the Philippine court's latest decision. He said that the "fight is far from over" and that ACRES will soon launch the next phase of its campaign to "increase the pressure on RWS to respond positively to public concerns about the plight of the dolphins".

Marine Life Park, scheduled to open by December, will house more than 100,000 marine animals. Dates to bring over the 25 dolphins have not been confirmed but according to the RWS spokesperson, the "dolphin interaction programmes" would begin next year.

Game for a piece of game?

Victory! African lion meat is off Wichita’s “Taste and See” exotic dinner menu ichita chef pulls lion from menu

A Wichita Chef says after all of the concern raised about an upcoming exotic meat event, he's pulling African lion from the menu.

Eyewitness News first told you about the issue Thursday.  Taste and See Chef Jason Febres says after seeing all of the concern from the public, he'll no longer make lion.

"After careful consideration, we have decided to remove the Lion from our Ultimate Dining Experience. We wish to note that the small percentage of people who genuinely and intelligently plead their case was what persuaded us to reconsider, and we are not submitting to the threats, vulgarities, pressure or blatant disregard for our rights through the expression of yours, but rather to the few voices of reason. As to the supporters for our restaurant, this event, and our position on the matter, we whole heartedly appreciate the continued backing and hope you respect our decision."  Ownership Team - Taste & See

Febres still continue with what he calls an ultimate dining experience next week.  He'll serve seven exotic meats including crocodile, alpaca, kangaroo and foie gras.

"It's a special dining experience for people," Febres explained. "For people to just try something else that they haven't had a chance to eat."

Originally the menu included lion which prompted dozens of people to post negative comments on the Taste and See Facebook page and Twitter.  They wanted the chef to cancel the event.

"If I knew that was going to happen, I definitely would have not done it, I don't think," Febres said.

Eyewitness News received several calls to the newsroom concerned about the dinner.  And organizations including Change.org and Born Free USA have asked their followers to protest the event.

"We don't know where these animals are coming from, they could be from the wild, they could be from captive situations in the U.S." said Adam Roberts of the animal rights group, Born Free U.S.A.

None of the animals on the menu, including lion, are on the Endangered Species List.  Febres says the lion meat would have come from a farm in the United States.

Many of the concerned citizens say either way, serving lion meat sets a bad example since lion numbers are declining.

"Serving up species already threatened by everything man can throw at them?  You can't be that delusional. I absolutely adore adventurous and unique culinary experiences, but not this way," Alexandra Bowens Mason posted on Facebook.

All posts on Facebook pertaining to lion being served have been removed from Taste and See's Facebook page because of the controversy. Febres says the event will not be canceled, and he's planning an all vegan event sometime in the future.
Lion Meat Controversy.

No more Whale Shark after strong oppositions!

A Singapore casino developer said Saturday it was considering alternatives to its plan to exhibit whale sharks, the world's largest fish, which had run into strong opposition from animal welfare groups.

"We have started to explore plans for an alternative to a whale shark exhibit," Krist Boo, the spokeswoman for Resorts World at Sentosa, told AFP.

Resorts World at Sentosa, one of two casino resorts being built in Singapore, had planned to import the whale sharks for its Marine Life Park (MLP) which set to become the world's biggest oceanarium upon completion.

The park however said its move was not due to pressure by the seven animal welfare groups which have launched an online petition that has gathered more than 9,000 signatures.

"The MLP team does not take its responsibilities to both conservation and Singapore lightly and as such, we spent the past two years doing much groundwork," it said in a statement to AFP.

"We strongly believe that our action must be governed by the conservation of this species rather than what is dictated by fleeting public opinion."

Alternative options to the whale shark exhibit being considered by the MLP were shown to the various animal welfare groups last month, it said.

"This proposal is still in the process of being refined for a further round of review," the MLP said.

Any changes to the planned whale shark exhibit would have to get the final approval of the Singapore government.

Animal welfare groups welcomed the move by Resorts World at Sentosa to consider alternatives to exhibiting whale sharks, which can reach lengths of 12 metres (40 feet) or the size of a bus.

"I think it's very progressive in that they are considering other alternatives," said Louis Ng, executive director and founder of the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society group.

Jaki Teo, the campaign coordinator behind the online petition (www.whalesharkpetition.com), hoped the authorities would consider the concerns raised by animal welfare groups about the whale sharks.

"A lot of the concerns are about the fact that they are not suited to be held in captivity," she said.

Resorts World at Sentosa is scheduled to open in phases starting from early 2010 and will feature the world's biggest oceanarium with 700,000 fish.

No More fireflies in Six months?

MALAYSIA: The entire firefly population in Kampung Kuantan and Kampung Bukit Belimbing in Kuala Selangor is facing wipe-out in six months.

"All the fireflies there will be gone for good by the end of this year if no measures are taken to protect them," said Selangor Tourism, Consumer Affairs and Environment Committee chairman Elizabeth Wong.

The Selangor Government had issued a stop-work order for all activities in firefly sanctuaries along Sungai Selangor yesterday, she said.

She said the decline of the firefly colonies in the two popular tourist spots was at a very serious stage, with half of them already disappeared.

"We have identified seven critical areas in the two villages where the firefly colonies in four spots are already gone," she said after the weekly exco meeting here yesterday.

Last month, The Star reported that the days of firefly watching would be over because of land clearing which has damaged the habitat.

Wong said that massive cutting of trees and improper development along the river were the main reasons the fireflies were dying.

Furthermore, some areas along the river bank had been turned into oil palm plantations, she said, adding that there were also factories and restaurants operating too close to the river.

"A total of 38ha of land along the river has also been cleared," she added.

Wong said the fireflies, whose lifespan is only three months, could not survive in such an environment where there was only polluted water.

She also said that there was no river reserve along the river and part of the land had been sold to individuals.

The state government, she said, would gazette the land along the 20km river into a buffer zone.

It had also identified 52 landowners along the river and would take over the land from them as soon as possible, she said.

Wong said that the state government would also start to replant trees such as sagu, berembang, nipah and rembau immediately to rebuild the habitat of the fireflies at the critical areas.

The state government was establishing a fund to get the private and public sectors involved in preserving the firefly sanctuaries.-- The Star

If we continue to let this World bleed, at the end our children will be made to pay for it.

High-tech Wildlife Reserve

Welcome to the Website on the Wireless Learning Trail @ Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve

The wireless learning trail at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve is the first of its kind in the parks of Singapore, and possibly in the region. It is a public-private partnership initiative involving NParks, IDA, MOE and iCELL Network Pte Ltd.

It was inspired by the desire to enhance the learning experience and create new ways to deliver educational programmes that would:

Appeal to the young and technology-savvy Singaporeans,
Bring learning beyond conventional classrooms and,
Be less dependent on traditional manpower-intensive methods of nature education.
Using webcams installed on the Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC), students are able to assess information on the wetland reserve by scanning the 2-D barcodes that are located strategically along the wireless learning trail. They will be directed to content that are location-specific. For example, students can listen to bird calls or observe behaviour of mudskippers through videos streamed over the wireless network. They are also prompted with stimulating questions on what they can see along the trail and even participate in various educational activities provided on their UMPC.

There are 20 barcodes or stations along the Mangrove Boardwalk. It takes about 2 hours to finish the entire learning trail. After completion, students can include their thoughts and observations to build their own personal learning trail, and share the information with their classmates. This promotes learning in the 'outdoor classroom'. It also means that students are less dependent on the availability of human guides for their learning experience.
Booking Enquiries

Schools that are interested in the Wireless Learning Trail can contact iCELL Network Pte Ltd at Tel: 6309 4520 for general enquiries and bookings.

Rental of Equipment
A nominal fee of $3 is charged for the rental of each portable device, payable to iCELL, which is managing the learning trail. This is to cover administrative charges and maintenance of the wireless network. Schools are advised to take good care of all equipment that is on loan to them. iCELL may impose a charge of S$250 for the loss or deliberate mishandling of its equipment.
(iCELL plans to further enrich the learning trail through periodic enhancements of the trail's content. It may review its fees when new content has been developed.)

Number of Students
As time is required to complete the activities at each station, students are advised to spread themselves out on the trail instead of concentrating at one location. This will also ensure that the UMPCs are operating at its most optimal level.

Getting the most out of the Wireless Learning Trail @ Sungei Buloh

Pre-trip
The pre-trip checklist contains instructions on activities that teachers can ask students to carry out before their field trip. It includes information on the reserve such as mangrove vegetation and its adaptation to harsh conditions. Teachers can also inculcate in students, important values and attitudes through understanding the importance of preserving our unique natural heritage.

On the Trail
Three different field activities have been integrated into the learning trail, namely field-recording observation, annotation and sketching activities. Students will be able to go through these activities at different locations along the trail.

Post-Trip Activities
After completing the trail, students can share what they have experienced or learnt with their peers in school. Through these activities, a more holistic approach is adopted towards developing an appreciation of the natural environment among students.

Wireless Field Investigations
Schools who want to embark on a more comprehensive scope of discovery of the wetland reserve can apply for a research permit from NParks. A fieldwork workhop to familiarise teachers with the field techniques and equipment is also available at the Training Administration System on the Intranet (TRAISI). Schools can contact the Ministry of Education's Humanities and Aesthetics Branch (Geography Unit) at tel 6879 6768 for more information.

Information for Teachers:
For students who require more guidance, it will be advisable for teachers to go through the pre-trip activities with their students and break down the tasks among the groups. The tasks, which include planning for the budget and working out the programme schedules for the field trip, help to build valuable real-life skills, which will be useful even when students are working on other projects.

To keep students make the most out of their learning experience, teachers may want to go through how to use the recording templates before embarking on the trail.

Teachers can also consider stretching the number of learning activities over a few site visits to Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, so that students can focus on one specific skill during each visit.
Instructions on how to access the information via the 2-D barcodes on the trail
Please ensure that the webcam is plugged securely onto the UMPC.

Activate the barcode scanner programme on the UMPC. This will trigger a viewer of the webcam.

Along the trail, look for 2-D barcodes which are placed in strategic locations. To access the information embedded in the barcodes, adjust the distance of the webcam to allow the barcode to fit into the viewer onscreen.

The programme in the UMPC will automatically detect the 2-D barcode. An URL will appear along with a pop-up and you will hear an audio cue.

Select the URL listed in the pop-up and the information will be displayed in your UMPC.
Repeat steps 3 - 5 when you see another 2-D barcode along the learning trail.

In very sunny weather, the detection of the barcodes could be hampered by reflection. It would be useful to shield the 2-D barcodes while using the viewer to scan the codes.

Please take good care of all equipment on loan, including the UMPCs and webcams. Parts of the equipment may be detachable or become loosened with use.

For assistance, please call the iCELL Customer Helpdesk at Tel: 6309-4525.

Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve

In 1986, a group of avid birdwatchers from the then Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch) stumbled upon this ecological jewel, and subsequently wrote a proposal to the government for its conservation. The 87 ha wetland site was consequently designated as a nature park in 1989. The then Parks & Recreation Department, a precursor to the National Parks Board, undertook the development of Sungei Buloh, in consultation with experts in the field, notably, the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust from the United Kingdom and Worldwide Fund for Nature. On 6 Dec 1993, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong officially opened the Nature Park.

Over the years, the unique place that is Sungei Buloh charmed people from all strata of society to support its cause. It welcomed its 100,000th visitor in 1994. In 1997, the Park found its corporate sponsor in HSBC, which set up the Sungei Buloh Education Fund in support of its nature outreach programmes. In 1999, Woodlands Secondary School became the first school to adopt the park. It was followed by Commonwealth Secondary School in 2001 and Hillgrove Secondary in 2002.

On 10 November, 2001, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan announced that Sungei Buloh would be one of two parks to be gazetted as Nature Reserves. On 1 Jan 2002, 130-ha of Sungei Buloh was officially gazetted as a nature reserve and renamed as Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve to better reflect its status.

In the same year, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve was recognized as a site of international importance for migratory birds with Wetlands International presenting the reserve a certificate to mark its formal entry into the East Asian Australasian Shorebird Site Network, which include Australia's Kakadu National Park, China's Mai Po and Japan's Yatsu Tidal Flats.

Sungei Buloh became Singapore’s first ASEAN Heritage Park in 2003.

To find out more about Sungei Buloh, go to http://www.sbwr.org.sg/