NIE Green Club: Nature Guide Training @ SBWR

It was a good Saturday morning of September 5th, we met at Kranji MRT by 9 AM. This is due Kranji Express schedule and 925 does not stop near SBWR except on Sundays.

We visited the information centre before a briefing session by July. We can always read the information in the centre to recall facts to share with the participants about SBWR.

Nature Guiding Tips Shared by July

- Inform participants of the safety rules.

- If they are not feeling well, they have to inform their guide.

- Participants are advised to drink lots of water during hot weather.

-They have to keep their voices low too, as the animals in SBWR are not used to having people around them. These animals would hide quickly when they sense something unfamiliar around them

- Participants must not touch anything unless their guide mentions that it is safe to touch the animal or plant.

We stopped at several spots along the Mangrove Boardwalk as July shared his knowledge of the mangrove ecosystem.

Excoecaria agallocha

One of the highlights of the day was a deciduous mangrove tree, Buta Buta, Blind your eyes. Its latex can blind your eyes if your eyes are in contact with it. The tree is used to make firewood, in making charcoal and carpentry work.

We found lots of tree climbing crabs of all sizes and common nerites as it was high tide.

We found a spider camouflaged in one of the hut. Can you spot the spider?

After we made a round of the Mangrove Boardwalk, we walked towards the Main Hide. We found interesting flora and fauna along the way.

A beautiful coastal shrub, Memecylong caerulum, with blooming flowers of less than 2 cm in diameter. Its ripened fruits contains purple coloured juice.

As we walked towards the bridge, we noticed a group of people took pictures of a green crested lizard. Can you spot the lizard in the picture?

We were treated to a spectacular view of the migratory birds such as Whimbrels and Little Egrets from the Main Hide. We were lucky to see flocks of different migratory birds as they stopped for rest before continuing their long journey. We were also fortunate to learn from a professional guide as he explained about the birds to his participants.