We’re back with our yearly tradition of a National Day walk! This year we’re hiking from Windsor Nature Park to Tree Top Walk. Along the way, we will look out for wildlife and share stories about the many plants and animals that also call our city home.
Participants can choose their own route out of MacRitchie after reaching the Tree Top Walk. The journey from Windsor Nature Park to the Tree Top Walk is approximately 2.5 km and will be a 1.5 hr walk. (Please note that the journey back will be at least another 2.5km). More details will be shared with confirmed participants. We will be sending you an email before the date of the walk.
It is not recommended for young children below the age of 7 to attend this event as the walk will be long and on uneven terrain.
Cicada Tree Eco-Place is deeply alarmed by the ongoing destruction of Singapore’s last remaining forest fragments. In the face of relentless development, secondary forests are largely invisible from both policy and empirical perspectives. However, they possess immense potential for natural regeneration, and provide us an array of ecosystem services.
Secondary forests play a crucial role as buffer zones for the mere 0.16 percent of primary forest that remains. [1] The gradual reduction and fragmentation of these wilderness areas can have detrimental effects, such as exacerbating the urban heat island phenomenon, escalating human-wildlife conflicts, and driving the extinction of native wildlife, particularly rainforest-dependent species.
Rather than bulldozing these sites, we advocate for enhancing their connectivity by integrating and linking them through Singapore’s extensive network of park connectors. It is more cost-effective and expedient to build on existing ecosystems — artificial nature, like estate parks and densely planted urban trees are an inferior substitute. The Windsor and Rifle Range Nature Parks serve as excellent examples of forest patches that sustain biodiversity while remaining accessible and providing recreational opportunities.
Fallen trees at Dover ForestDover Forest, or what’s left of it
Through our ongoing efforts, we are committed to raising awareness about the importance of preserving our forests, which represent a vital part of our natural heritage. As our world faces the existential crisis of climate change, Cicada Tree Eco-Place hopes that the powers that be in Singapore will ensure we do our part to preserve remaining ecosystems for future generations.
[1] Yee et al. (2011). The vegetation of Singapore ―an updated map. Source
This island is one of Singapore’s few islands that can still be visited by the public, and only a 45-minute ferry ride away. The tranquil nature found here include coastal forest, Triassic cliffs, sandy beach, rocky seashore, inter-tidal, mangrove, and coral reefs offshore. These easily accessible varied natural habitats make this island an excellent spot for nature study and outdoor exploration. Sea turtles have been recorded to come on-shore to lay their eggs. Rare, endangered seashore plants are still found surviving along its coastline.
Our nature camp program:
Saturday 10/6:
1.00pm Board ferry at Marina South Pier to St. John’s 1.45pm Arrive on St. John’s, free & easy 3.00pm Check into our dormitory campsite, program briefing 4.00pm Nature-guided trek round the island 6.00pm Dinner 7.30pm Nature-guided night walk 10.00pm Night sky-gazing, zzzzzz
Sunday 11/6:
7.00am Breakfast, nature-guided walk to Lazarus Island via land bridge 10.00pm Check-out of dorm 12.00pm Board ferry to Marina South Pier
Cost: If we have a group of 15 paying pax, it is at $80 per participant. If we have a group of 20 paying pax, it is at $60 per participant. FOC for kids age 6 years and below of participants.
Cost includes provision of breakfast, and does not include the other meals and ferry rides ($15 return per adult/kid).
Please note:
St. John’s and its dorm are managed by Singapore Land Authority which requires advance booking with the personal particulars of all overnight visitors.
To reserve your seat/s, please email the participant/s:
- full name as in identity card/passport
- identity card/passport number
- mobile number
to Andrew at: andrewtay.sg@gmail.com
Closing date for registration: 10 May 2023
Jointly published by both societies, all book sales proceeds go towards conservation activities.
Singapore, 3 December 2022 – Nature Society (Singapore) and Cicada Tree Eco-Place today launched Alexandra Woodland – Haven Along the Rail Corridor, an educative book detailing the flora and fauna of Alexandra Woodland, its rich heritage and history, experiences of its residents and community, along with conservation ideas to enhance the woodland’s ecology.
Launched at Hang Jebat Mosque, this is a joint effort between Nature Society (Singapore) and Cicada Tree-Eco-Place, and is their second book collaboration to date. All sales proceeds from the book will go towards conservation activities by both societies.
Alexandra Woodland spans around 15 hectares and sits on the western flank of the Rail Corridor opposite Alexandra Hospital and is bordered by Ayer Rajah Expressway and Portsdown Avenue. For decades, this area has been left untouched by development, and has become a semi-natural woodland with a variety of habitats that includes a lake and marshland.
This Woodland is an important ecological link between the central nature reserves of Bukit Timah and Central Catchment and the parks of the Southern Ridges of Kent Ridge, Mount Faber & Telok Blangah Hill Park. It is the closest stepping stone for wildlife from the Rail Corridor to the Southern Ridges.
Dr. Ho Hua Chew, Co-editor of Alexandra Woodland and Vice Chair of the Conservation Committee, said, “In view of the current degradation or imminent development of such forests and wooded areas at Toh Tuck, Clementi, Dover and Portsdown along the Green Rail Corridor, Alexandra Woodland’s conservation significance as a haven and/or stepping stone for the dispersal of forest-associated wildlife has greatly increased and should be conserved with the recommended habitat enhancement measures in place for its long-term survival.”
“The presence of many forest-associated wildlife species such as Banded Malayan Coral Snake, Malayan Box Terrapin, Thick-billed Green Pigeon, Changeable Hawk-eagle, Long-tailed Parakeet, Glossy Swiftlet, etc., as well as the critically endangered orchid, Jamba (Neuwiedia veratrifolia), indicate the ecological importance of this secondary forest as a stepping stone or home ground for forest-associated species.”
“Nature Society’s bird records at the forest patches along the Rail Corridor indicate the Rail Corridor as a probable route for the dispersal of the globally and nationally threatened Straw-headed Bulbul from the central nature reserves and Bukit Batok Nature Park via Alexandra Woodland and Gillman Barracks to the southern coast at the Labrador Nature Reserve,” Dr. Ho added.
There are calls for this wooded area to be conserved, given its heritage and natural history.
Let’s not lose yet another forest for a road or rail. Alexandra Woodland should be preserved for its heritage and ecological values, especially amid the climate and biodiversity crises we face. It has played a significant role in the story of our nation — from river to road, spirited queens to early pioneers and legendary warriors — the spirit of Alexandra lives on today in its communities. In Singapore’s perennial search for a historical anchor to bridge past and present, Alexandra is as rich and authentic as it gets.
TERESA TEO GUTTENSOHN, Book CO-EDITOR and co-founder of Cicada tree eco-place
Mr. Leong Kwok Peng, Co-author of Alexandra Woodland and Chair of the Conservation Committee at Nature Society (Singapore), agrees that the woodlands should be kept wild. “We see the Rail Corridor as more than a strip of recreational green space. The essence of the space lies in the woodlands alongside it, without which the corridor will lose its magic and Alexandra Woodland is one such important space,” he said.
Alexandra Woodland – Haven Along the Rail Corridor was put together by a team comprising 12 people, including two editors, nine authors and a book art director. It contains 156 pages, comes in soft cover format and is printed on eco-friendly paper.
The book is available from Nature Society (Singapore) and Books Kinokuniya.
