Last Saturday, the husband and I had the opportunity to ride the very low tides of Kranji Reservoir with a PUB officer Mr Osman and Dr Yam Tim Wing of Nparks to do a survey of herons as part of the nationwide survey Heron Watch 2014.


Based on my dim understanding of a presentation, Heronwatch was first done in 2003 by Luan Keng and volunteers where data of herons were collected across the island. Herons are a good indicator of how our environment is doing as they are a species at the top of the food chain. (They are also so big you can spot them easily!) This means if you don't find them or find less of them, either there is nothing to eat, or no home to stay or make babies! In 2013, a decade later, round two was done to compare how things have changed. Herons are mostly found in coastal, mangroves, and freshwater areas or in fields and sometimes even surprisingly near urban areas. Instead of waiting another ten years, Nparks has decided it is important to collect data more frequently, I suppose so that we can better monitor the health of these ecosystems. So Heronwatch 2014 was organised!

We are no birding experts but the husband and I were quite enamoured by the presentation by Luan Keng that we accidentally stumbled upon at Sungei Buloh anniversary celebrations in Dec 2013 and the call for volunteers from Sharon (Nparks) that we decided to sign ourselves up as volunteers! The promise of being able to contribute while having a picnic with family at a venue close to home was enticing! We live really near to Jurong Lake where herons and egrets were known to roost and nest.

Little did we know we would end up having an adventure in the middle of Kranji Reservoir! At one point we were even caught in approaching thunderstorm with strong wind and the boat was struggling to run away fast enough to keep us dry while we get distracted by raptors fishing and being chased by smaller birds from their nest!


photo by Dr Yam

All this aside, we were fortunate for the amazing photography of Dr Yam which helped us zoom in really close to identify the shots of blur that flew past us, Mr Osman who navigated us expertly around and enthusiastically pointed out birds to us, the NSS birds of singapore iphone app which helped us when we were scratching our heads and Andy D who recommended us where to buy a binoculars prior to Heronwatch so we didn't end up looking at tiny dots in the sky with our naked eyes!


Little Egret - Photo by Dr Yam

The spousal unit and I are now amateur experts of recognising grey herons from purple herons and aficionados of the grace if the little egret and its cute yellow toes. We were also amazed at the close encounters with black-crowned night herons and its juveniles in a truly WILD river safari experience. fortunately no crocodiles decided to be friendly during our boat ride but I am afraid it is probably due to the noise from the boat and its excitable passengers that had scared away the birds and other wildlife! I only lament that we did not see any bitterns at all despite the abundance of reeds but we saw many shadows under the trees and in the reeds but couldn't identify what they were! I also realise I am an expert of identifying rocks and sign posts as herons!


Spot the ominous neon pink eggs of the invasive apple snail

The sad part is that I spotted the ominous neon pink eggs of the invasive apple snails along the banks of the Kranji Reservoir. According to Ivan Kwan, Kranji is still one of the last places you can find our native apple snails but the presence of the alien invaders means they may soon be out-competed. Fingers crossed, hopefully not. I read that the invasive golden apple snails are reared in the aquarium trade, as well as for food as they are edible. Somehow they managed to escape into our natural habitats and are now more common than our native fellas.


Black-crowned night heron - Photo by Dr Yam

Well it is not all bad news because Xinli from Nparks tells us that they had not spotted black crowned night herons at Kranji Reservoir previously! And the fact we saw juvenile means they may be nesting! Exciting news for me. I am glad our little contribution through citizen science may help the real scientist to better understand how well our ecosystems are doing.

Most of all, I am glad to have had the privilege of enjoying the beauty of Kranji from the waters. The breathtaking view has inspired me to yearn for a repeat experience! Kayaking in Kranji Reservoir anyone? :)

Read full article here

For Earth Day this year, the Nature Conservancy has started their 2011 Earth Day campaign, called Picnic for the Planet (See more at nature.org/earthday)

The campaign is asking people to celebrate the planet by rounding up some friends and taking the planet out to lunch. They already have a number of meetups going on around the globe. You can just visit their map to find a picnic near you or see how you can start your own. There are currently 2 picnics happening in Singapore. Do you want to organise a walk + picnic to celebrate Earth Day? Post it on the Nature Conservancy Meetup.com Singapore page.

Want to do more? Read on!

Visit Nature Conservancy's top 5 Earth Day action list below. If you like the list, feel free to link or blog about their Earth Day campaign on your blog; and any social media outlets :)

Top 5 Earth Day Actions

1. Eat Smart http://earthday.nature.org/smart/
Eat Smart. Learn what’s in your food! #picnic11

2. Eat Local http://earthday.nature.org/local/
See where @Nature_org conservation work & food production intersect. #picnic11

3. Eat Sustainably http://earthday.nature.org/sustain/

4. Eat Green http://earthday.nature.org/green/

5. Eat Out http://earthday.nature.org/picnic/
Get ready for #EarthDay! Find a local Picnic for the Planet! #picnic11

Read full article here

Last Thursday, I was invited to talk about using social media for advocacy at "I am Cat. Hear me Roar.", a advocacy and mediation workshop by the Cat Welfare Society as part of their Tiger Show @ Post Museum on 25 Feb 2010. In case you missed the talk, here are the slides that I presented.



The panel that followed the presentations included ex-NMP Mr Siew Kum Hong and this monkey was celebrity-stricken. Well that happens when it's somebody I admire. Unfortunately I didnt get a chance to chat with him afterwards. I was also most pleasantly surprised when I had a few folks come up to chat with me after a presentation. That's very heartening. Thanks folks! That's the best encouragement a speaker can get - interest in the topic!


I look like I'm being inundated by questions! But I swear that's just a camera trick (grin) All photos by Marcus Ng

Read full article here

The Cat Welfare Society is organizing an opportunity for Singapore to showcase our lovely domestic breeds! Unfortunately I don't have the honor of caring for any lovely feline of my own so I have instead been asked to be a judge at the Cat's Night Out!

They are looking for "Most Beautiful Domestic Cat" and "Most Popular Domestic Cat". Prizes include $300 worth of Jurong Point Shopping Vouchers, cat supplies from Pets Station and Fancy Feast products.

But I think the real prize is giving our "longkang" cats an opportunity to show Singaporeans how beautiful they are and what wonderful temperaments they have. Usually cat shows are for purebreds only and is more of a show of what better breeders and groomers or trainers the owners are. But often, these attitudes of "purebreds are the best" result in things like puppy mills, irresponsible breeders and more abandonment!

How about adopting a stray cat and giving him or her a home? Neutering your cats instead of breeding them. No "paper" or certifications does not make them any less beautiful or loveable. Especially once neutered, many of them are wonderful companions with great temperament.

Personally I just can't wait to get to meet everybody's cats! So bring your cats down to the Cat's Night Out!

Date: 20 June 2009
Venue: JP1 Centrestage
Time: 9 - 11pm

Click Here To Download The Application Form (Right-Click and Save As)

Fill up the form and email to info@catwelfare.org with a good picture of your cat!

See you there!

Why is the Leafmonkey one of the judges?
The Rambling Leafmonkey is the founder of an online cat photography connoisseur club on deviantart.com called Pussy Patrol. And mainly because she's crazy about cats and it's an open secret that she hopes to be a cat lady when she grows up. She claimed that she offered to be the emcee for the event but ended up being asked to be a judge as consolation. Unable to believe why she got asked, she bugged CWS day and night asking for them to confirm it and they probably figured they're stuck with a monkey for good. *grin* We think she bribed somebody with a lot of catnip.

Read full article here

Last month, I attended the Singapore Animal Welfare Symposium and reported from the venue LIVE via twitter. Today, friends at Cat Welfare Society got me to write a short 150-word report on the event for the CWS newsletter. Not the final draft as the editor will do some addition but thought I'll share it with everyone. If you're interested in reports of the proceedings, you can find them on twitter. Alas, the search tag that we have been using for SAWS has been removed. I will eventually get around to archiving them on the blog. Apologies for my tardiness.

Singapore Animal Welfare Symposium 2009
First Draft By November Tan

Co-organized and hosted by NUS Student’s Animal Welfare Group and ACRES, the second Singapore Animal Welfare Symposium was held on 16th May 2009 at NUS. The symposium was open to public and had 2 lively panel discussions on Wild Animals in Entertainment and Domestic Animal Welfare.

Cat Welfare Society (CWS) President Ang Li Tin was panelist on the Domestic Animal Welfare session along with Dr Leow Su Hua from Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), Letitia Chang (Action for Singapore Dogs) and Deirdre Moss (SPCA) with N. Sivasothi as moderator. CWS also took the opportunity to share our Trap-Neuter-Return-Manage (TNRM) program through a surprise presentation by Veron Lau. Despite calls to “make the cat auntie’s dream come true”, AVA plead helplessness. However they reveal that funds for TNRM are readily available as long as town councils are willing to participate. On the subject of cats in HDB flats, there was unfortunately a lack of representation by HDB at the symposium. The organizers promise that HDB will be invited for dialogue at next year’s symposium.

Read full article here

There are two upcoming seminars at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies that may be of interest to some of you. The first is for those of you interested in the impact of climate change on food production. The second is more immediate to home - a tour and seminar on the marina barrage.

1) Rice in Southeast Asia: What Future with Climate Change?
Speaker: Duncan I. Macintosh, Development Director, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
Date: Monday 27 April 2009
Time: 2:30 TO 4:00 PM
Venue: ISEAS Seminar Room 2
Free Seminar, First Come First Served.
Organised by the Environment and Climate Change Programme, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
Seminar Flyer: http://www.iseas.edu.sg/iframes/27apr09a.pdf
RSVP Response Form: http://www.iseas.edu.sg/iframes/form27apr09a.htm
Contact Person: Ms May Wong, may@iseas.edu.sg

2) The Marina Barrage: Seminar and Tour
Date: Wednesday 29 April 2009
Time: 3:00 pm to 5:30 pm
Venue: Marina Barrage
Organised by PUB; the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies; the Singapore-Delft Water Alliance, National University of Singapore.
Mr Yap Kheng Guan, Director, 3P Network, PUB, Singapore's Water Management Strategy and the Marina Barrage
Seminar:
"Appreciating Science Behind Water Quality of Marina Lake"
Professor Vladan Babovic, Director, Singapore-Delft Water Alliance, National University of Singapore
Free Seminar; First Come, First Served
Seminar Flyer: http://www.iseas.edu.sg/iframes/29apr09a.pdf
RSVP Response Form: http://www.iseas.edu.sg/iframes/form29apr09a.htm
Contact Person: Ms May Wong, may@iseas.edu.sg

Read full article here

Earth Hour was started in Sydney in 2006. 'One Hour, No Power' was the original tagline. For one hour, the Sydney Opera House turned off its lights to show its commitment and spread awareness for climate change. It was an event to reduce their carbon footprint, in bid to reduce global warming. Today, it is no longer a Sydney event, but a global movement. This year 2009, Singapore has made a stand and will be officially committed to Earth Hour. Even the DPM's office made a pledge to do so! This year, it will be lights out Esplanade!

In Singapore, Earth Hour is organized and managed by the Singapore office of WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) and recently they were informed that they would be able to promote Earth Hour at the upcoming IT Fair at Suntec this week. Knowing the turn out at these IT fairs, this will reach out to a huge number of people. Thus they are urgently looking for volunteers. Below is the email request from them.

Dear Volunteers,

I have received last minute information that we WWF can promote Earth Hour during the IT fair at Suntec this Thursday till Sunday (12-15th March).

We will be sharing a booth with SingTel (an Earth Hour sponsor!), to promote e-billing as well as Earth Hour! It will be a wonderful opportunity to meet people and raise awareness of Earth Hour as, we all know the crowd during the IT fair will be humongous!

I understand that it is extremely last minute, but if you are able to make it and would like to volunteer, please let me know.

12th (Thurs): 12pm - 4:30pm / 4:30pm - 9pm
13th (Friday): 12pm - 4:30pm / 4:30pm - 9pm
14th (Saturday): 12pm - 4:30pm / 4:30pm - 9pm
15th (Sunday): 12pm - 4:30pm / 4:30pm - 9pm

As usual, please let me know which time slots you are available. If you are able to volunteer for the whole day, you're more than welcomed!

Thank you very much once again for all your support. 17 days to Earth Hour!
Warmest regards,
Jane
63230100
GJLam@wwf.sg

If you are not free this weekend, they are also looking for volunteers for the following:

* roadshows/exhibition (21st to 27th March)
o to coordinate with WWF Singapore
o you need not commit everyday - even a single shift or two (two shifts a day) will be great.

* on site for CBD area on 28th March.
o to coordinate the 'Black-out' of the buildings

* on ground at Esplanade Park on 28th March.
o to faciliate and manage the crowd and event at the park.

To help out with these activities, contact Tan Sijie Ivan (ivantsj@gmail.com)
There will be a training session this Sat, 14th March, 2pm at Botany Centre, Singapore Botanic Gardens with WWF (Map attached). It will be a simple training session lasting no longer than 2 hours.

Read full article here

The Nature Society (Singapore) Horseshoe Crab Rescue team is looking for help for a Population & Distribution Survey on 8 March 2009 from 2 pm to 6.30 pm. If interested, please contact Dr Hsu Chia Chi.

This island-wide survey aims to establish an estimate of the population and distribution of the two species of Horseshoe Crabs (HSCs) found in Singapore, namely the Mangrove Horseshoe Crab (Carcinscorpius rotundicauda) and Coastal Horseshoe Crab (Tachypleus gigas).

Sectors & Teams
Singapore will be divided into four sectors namely: 1. North-West, 2. North-East, 3. South-East and 4. South-West. Each sector will have a Sector Leader. Survey areas within each sector have been identified and each will have an Area Leader. Depending on the size of the survey area, one or more teams might be assigned. Each survey team comprises four to six volunteers led by a Qualified HSC R&Rer (Team Leader), with an assigned recorder while participants become searchers-cum-measurers.

Survey Areas
The areas we will like to conduct HSC P&D Survey are:

1. Mandai mudflats
2. Lim Chu Kang Jetty- mudflat east of jetty.
3. Sarimbun- beach/mudflat near MOE Jln. Bahtera Adventure Centre.
4. Sembawang Park
5. Lower Seletar Reservoir Dam- mudflat eastern side of estuary.
6. Pasir Ris Park- mudflat east of S. Tampines.
7. Changi Point Ferry terminal- estuary.
8. S. Pandan- estuary beyond dam.

Please state your preference, if any, in your response.

Survey Methods & Search Techniques
Two methods will be employed 1) Transect search to depletion in areas where HSC density is expected to be high and/or 2) Exploratory search in all possible HSC habitats. Search technique is based on HSC sighting and the gentle probing (NOT ploughing) of substrate with gardening forks as well as the careful digging up of buried HSC. Area/Team Leaders will conduct on-site briefing on details such as the exact protocol, instructions and data recording.

Survey of Fishermen
In addition, there will be a survey-cum-conservation education of fishermen by younger members/primary school students. Using a survey-cum-conservation education questionnaire as well as photos of both HSC species, free and entrapped, they will approach local and recreational fishermen at boat mooring sites and popular fishing areas around Singapore.

Attire & Equipment
Recommended: Comfortable outdoor clothes (short or long sleeved tops; shorts or trousers), hat, sun block, old sports shoes/boots/booties that can get wet (NO exposed footwear such as sandals, crocs or slippers), drinking water, plastic bag (for collecting litter from survey sites), small gardening fork/rake (to probe for buried HSC) and 12-inch ruler.

Optional: Insect repellent, gloves or plastic bread wrappers to protect your hands, poncho (survey will be adjourned if there is bad weather), a change of clothes and extra foot wear (washing facilities may not be available at all sites), gardening cutters (to rescue Horseshoe Crabs entrapped in nets), binoculars, camera, note book and pen.

Directions
Meet at 2 pm at your assigned meeting point. You may have to walk some distance to your actual survey area. The search proper will be from 4 pm to 6 pm, with the lowest tide at 5 pm.

Read full article here

The day started off with the Ambassador Chew Tai Soo informing the audience of Singapore's official international position on climate change. A reuters reporter present was rather efficient and an article on the morning's speech is already published and picked up by Straits Times by 2pm!

If you were following my twitter updates, you'd have gotten a frenzy of live reporting (140 char at a time!). Hurray for social media *grin* But I must acknowledged my admiration for the traditional media efficiency too! But they were using online medium (posting on ST Online) for the purpose too. Interestingly, I was tipped off by @sgnews on twitter who picks up RSS feed from major news agencies in Singapore.

Below is a compilation of day 2 happenings as updated on twitter.

Ambassador chew tai soo who is the chief negotiator on climate change at copehagen this year is speaking now on singapore's position about 12 hours ago

The chief negotiator states that singapore has negligible impact on climate change, and alt energy disadvantged, can't move away from fossil about 11 hours ago

He considers singapore a small island DEVELOPING state. An alternative energy disadvantaged country. Sigh about 11 hours ago

'we will contribute what we can' means you can't force them to do what they refuse to acknowledge, much less do about 11 hours ago

One of the ways to offset our emission is apparently to have singapore 'covered in greenery' but gardening is not the same as forests! about 11 hours ago

When asked why we present ourselves as a developing country, he says coz we are member of G77 developing states. 'matter of history' about 11 hours ago

When do we move from 'history' to the present or the future? Where is the progress we speak of in our national pledge? about 11 hours ago

The ambassador seems to hint at the audience in the room that they can't speak of reductions when they sit comf in brightly kit aircon room about 11 hours ago

The gist of singapore's stand it seems is that the world needs to reduce emissions but it's other people's responsibility about 11 hours ago

The director of climate change, mewr highlights clean energy as one of the strategy but what about the potential coal plant in sg? about 10 hours ago

Energy efficiency seems like the key or only strategy in addressing climate change. How disappointing about 10 hours ago

The deputy director of strategic policy appears to be merely reading off the standard pr propaganda. I feel like i'm at an info centre about 10 hours ago

Are the mewr ppl not allowed to present anything apart from official content that i can just read from the website? about 10 hours ago



Wildsingapore poster of semakau is used to highlight the success of the landfill in conserving biodiversity about 10 hours ago

Dr michael quah is really a good speaker, talking about electronic versus liquid diet. More dimension to alternative energies about 9 hours ago

Dr quah talks about including food in the equation along with water and energy! I can't agree more! about 9 hours ago

'through internal discussion, they probably tink 6.5 million population is probably sustainable' orly? about 9 hours ago

Upon monkey asking about news of coal power plant in singapore, mewr informed that the plan is off due to financial crisis about 9 hours ago

But coal is still acceptable as a form of 'clean energy' in singapore! *grimace* about 9 hours ago
**note: they totally missed the point about carbon emission of coal and only focused on it being made non-pollutive

Reuters is really efficient. Just 4 hours after the ambassador's speech this morn, they alr put up an article & straits times picked it up! about 7 hours ago

Prof wong poh poh is talking about sea level rise in singapore. about 6 hours ago

IPCC predicts a 59cm sea level rise but they didn't consider data after 2005. Since then, theres dramatic increase about 6 hours ago

Singapores coastal areas were reclaimed and raised by 1.25m above the highest recorded tide of 3.9m. Sea level rise must consider tides too! about 6 hours ago
**note: if sea level rise is 2m which is a possibility, the 1.25m elevation will not suffice.

How long term is our planning? IPCC is planning for 300 years. about 6 hours ago

Prof natasha hamilton nicely sum up that sg cc strategy is aimed at making sg look good in the 'fiction of being a developing country' about 6 hours ago

Sg reports that they emit 41522 kilo tonnes of co2 in 2006 but the usa dept of energy reports it as 141,100kilo tonnes about 6 hours ago

48% of singapore's emissions is from electricity generation. Air transport is one of the controversial footprint that's not addressed. about 6 hours ago

Read full article here

Will be reporting from the National Sustainability Conference held at the NUSS Guild House from 20 to 22 Feb. I will be putting up my observations via twitter. Unfortunately I will not be able to provide indepth reports via the blog but will be reposting my twitter updates on this blog.

• Interesting attendance at the national sustainability conference. Lily kong is giving the opening speech now about 3 hours ago
• It's quite bizarre that there is a tea break after 30minute of welcome about 2 hours ago
• Andrew Tan, the Ceo of nea is speaking now about the interconnectedness of the different global crises. They are 1 crises, not separate about 2 hours ago
• The british high commissioner paul madden is speaking about climate change now. Shobie the dir of climate change is of cos here about 2 hours ago
• Spoke with amy of wwf about earth hour singapore. This year a major singapore icon will be switching off during prime time! Awesome about 1 hour ago
• How do we encourage businesses to be carbon neutral if our consumers are not interested or concerned if they are? about 1 hour ago
• Prof jeff obbard is talking about the anthropocene and the 'other' (climate) credit crunch. about 1 hour ago
• IPCC predicts 7.4% reduction in glacial cover but in reality it's 23% eek about 1 hour ago
• The other credit crunch he's talking about turns out to be the global ecological footprint exceeding planet capacity and carbon budget about 1 hour ago
• Einstein and the stern review gets quoted very often at this conference. 41 minutes ago
• Jeff is talking about his research on using fast growing marine algae as a carbon neutral biofuel. Is this possible for mass production? 38 minutes ago
• Dr geh is the first to the mic again during the q&a asking andrew Tan about the centre for livable cities 35 minutes ago
• At every environmental conference, people must always ask why are we sitting in an aircon room freezing our butt off 29 minutes ago
• There's a lady from india from the office of environmental education that asked all the questions i wanted to ask. 12 minutes ago
• I'm glad Lena chan from nparks is highlighting the fact that all tis talk of sustainability is lacking mention of biod conservation 5 minutes ago
• Stern review drew attention to climate change thru dollars. But no such report for biod? But both related! Why pit against each other? 2 minutes ago

Read full article here

The National University of Singapore (NUS) would be organizing the National Sustainability Conference on the 20-22 February 2009 which would be held in the NUS Kent Ridge Guild House.

This conference will discuss critical global sustainability crises in the Singaporean context and our response to these challenges. This conference would also achieve to be the first net zero carbon emissions conference in Singapore. The end-product of this conference would be a Singapore Youth Declaration on Sustainable Development.

In addition to chairing one of the subcommittees in the Youth Declaration, this leafmonkey will also be speaking on 22 Feb, the 3rd day of the conference. The topic will be on "Facebook and Beyond: Environmental Cyber-Advocacy in Singapore".

Around 250 renowned experts, academicians, administrations, business, civil society and youths are expected to participate in this 3-day conference.

Some of the highlights of our conference would be:

Copenhagen Global Deal on Climate Change, What it Means for Singapore
Ambassador Chew Tai Soo, Chief Negotiator on Climate Change for Singapore

The Promise of Technological Solutions to the Climate Crisis
Mr Lee Tzu Yang, Chairman, Shell Companies in Singapore

Singapore's Coastal Vulnerability to Climate Change Impacts
Associate Professor Wong Poh Poh, Department of Geography, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, NUS, and Coordinating Lead Author in IPCC Fourth Assessment Report

National Identity, Sustainability and Nature
Dr Geh Min, Past President, Nature Society, and winner of prestigious inaugural President's Award for Environment 2006

To register, please visit: http://www.nscsingapore.com/registration.html. Currently there are limited seats left, so please register soon to reserve your tickets.

Read full article here

Nothing to do with the events but I always wanted to post this photo for what I think of when I hear the words "climate change" - coast, energy and activism.

Within the short span of a day, received notifications about two events with regards to climate change. The first is a climate change essay competition and another is a lecture on climate change issues that almost sounds like a reference for the essay competition! What a coincidence *beam*

1) Climate Change Essay Competition

Theme: Climate Change: Implications for Singapore

In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that anthropogenic climate change is now unequivocal, citing evidence from rising global average sea levels, global average air and ocean temperatures and widespread melting of snow and ice. In response to the IPCC scientific consensus on climate change, Singapore released its National Climate Change Strategy in late Feb 2008 to address various aspects of climate change from vulnerability, adaptation, mitigation and competency building to international participation. At the same time, the government announced the formation of an Inter-Ministerial Committee on Sustainable Development to formulate a clear, national framework and strategy for Singapore’s sustainable development in the context of emerging global and domestic challenges, especially if the current international negotiations on climate change culminate in a post-2012 agreement that results in a carbon constrained world.

As a small island state, Singapore faces several domestic constraints including limited natural resources, geographical constraints which prevent the effective deployment of renewable energy, and an open economy that relies heavily on fossil fuels. Given these domestic challenges and that international negotiations on climate change are still evolving, what are the implications for Singapore’s economy, governance and society?

NUS Office of Environmental Sustainability and Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy cordially invite you to take part in our climate change essay competition. We are seeking essays that:

a. Critically assess and provide insights to Singapore’s climate change policy.

b. Provide innovative solutions that address both the global climate challenge and the country’s domestic concerns.

Eligibility
All students studying at Singapore’s tertiary institutions (universities and polytechnics) are eligible to apply for the competition.

Requirements
All essays should not exceed 2000 words (excluding tables, charts and references) and should be accompanied by a 200 word abstract (included in word count). Each essay can have up to 3 authors. Essays should observe 1.5 spacing and Times New Roman font size 12. Normal academic standards regarding footnotes, references, etc. apply.

Awards
1st prize: cash prize of S$1000 and certificate
2nd prize: cash prize of S$500 and certificate
3RD prize: cash prize of $300 and certificate

The top 3 winners of the competition will present at the National Sustainability Conference 2009 on 20, 21 and 22 February, which is hosted by NUS President (Designate), Professor Tan Chorh Chuan. Essays will be judged by two professors from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

Submission
The deadline for submission is 16 January 2009. Send a softcopy addressed to Mr Loo Deliang at oesld@nus.edu.sg. Please provide authors’ names, institution of study, email addresses and contact details.

2) British High Commission : Distinguished Visitors Lecture
Date: 10 December 2008, Wednesday
Time: 4.30-6.30pm
Venue: Eden Hall, 28 Nassim Road, Singapore

RSVP by return of email (evelyn dot gui at fco dot gov dot uk) by 4 December 2008

Dr Kala Vairavamoorthy, University of Birmingham
on "Global Climate Change & Its Impact on Urban Water Management"

Dr Kalanithi Vairavamoorthy has a PhD in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering and an MSc in Environmental Engineering, both from Imperial College, University of London. His first degree is in Civil Engineering, from King's College London. He is also a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers (UK). He is currently Chair of Water Engineering at the University of Birmingham, UK and also holds a Chair appointment at UNESCO-IHE, and at the Technical University of Delft in the Water Management Group. In addition, Professor Vairavamoorthy is the Scientific Director of SWITCH, an EU Integrated Project for Sustainable Urban Water Management, worth €25 million. SWITCH is one of the largest EU research projects in the area of water, involving a consortium of 32 international partners with 40 PhD studies, 10 study sites and 9 demonstration cities.

Dr Martin Todd, University College London
on "Predicting the Impacts of Climate Change: What are the Uncertainties?"

Dr Martin Todd has been a Lecturer in the Department of Geography at University College London (UCL) since 2000. Prior to this, he lectured at St John's College, Oxford after a 4-year stint as Post-Doctoral Research Scientist at Bristol University, where he obtained his PhD in 1993. Recent research activities include QUEST (Quantifying the Earth System) project - a collaboration between several UK institutions on climate change and its impacts, as well as the EU WERRD (Water & Ecosystem Resources in Regional Development) programme, studying impacts on several river basins of the world. Dr Todd has also participated in a UK biodiversity conservation project 'Darwin Initiative', and a climate modelling research which looked at major dust storms over Chad, Africa.

Read full article here

After the success of the last workshop on echinoderms, there are now 3 more workshops planned for the coming months. What more, now you can sign up for all 3 workshops via 1 easy form. All interested are welcome to join us! Remember, pre-registration is a must :) Read Workshops FAQ.

5 Dec 2008 . 7pm - 10pm
The Easy (Not Hard) Cnidarians Workshop

9 Jan 2009 . 7pm - 10pm
The Hard (Not Soft) Cnidarians Workshop

6 Feb 2009 . 7pm - 10pm
The Fishy Workshop

REGISTER NOW!

We now also have our very own mailing list where you can sign up to receive updates and announcements via email. Originally I intended it to be for the midnight monkey monitor but there really isn't much I can share. Now, I really have things to share with every one and hopefully every one remotely interested would subscribe to the mailing list. TLW is expanding. We are not just going to be doing workshops but there is more in the works. Stay informed, subscribe to the list! To do so, you can either visit our google group or simply enter your email in the sign up box on the right sidebar of this blog.

You can still join our Facebook Page as a fan to receive updates on upcoming workshops and events!

Read full article here

The toddycats are hard at work at the NUS central library. Not exactly the best time to grab the attention of exam-focused undergrads but the toddycats are not deterred! Soon we started getting people's attention with our famous dugong baby and pangy the pangolin, Hamsa's baby. Even the contract cleaner uncle wasn't spared! *grin*

Read full article here

The Leafmonkey Workshop (TLW), my latest "job" and project is essentially an effort at filling in the gap in the local nature community by providing "capacity building" for nature guides and volunteers. As such, we have organized an series of upcoming monthly workshops that hope to provide further content training as well as how to effectively share these information with ordinary people. All interested are welcome to join us! Remember, pre-registration is a must :) Read Workshops FAQ

7 Nov 2008 . 7pm - 9.30pm
The "Star-Studded" Echinoderm Workshop

5 Dec 2008 . 7pm - 9.30pm
The Easy (Not Hard) Cnidarians Workshop

Best of all, remember to join our Facebook Page as a fan to receive updates on upcoming workshops and events!

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Reed boats Harboured at Floating Island, Lake Titicaca, Peru by Pet_r

Last friday I got a phone call out of the blue from the National Youth Council. They would like to nominate me to go to Peru to attend an APEC Youth Camp from 1 to 6 October and asked if I was interested. Despite the logistical nightmare of managing going to Japan and then Peru, I decided to agree because as so many has said, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. The camp is on sustainable development and water issues, attended by youths from various APEC economies. What more, next year, Singapore is hosting APEC and I will get a chance to organize an equivalent event i Singapore which r0x0r mah b0x0rs!

In order to attend, I had to write a 1500 words essay on water issues and so I wrote about where Singapore can take its next step in water management and building a "water culture". If you're interested, you can read my essay here.

So on 29 September, I will be flying direct from Narita Airport to Lima, Peru. Less connections, less fuel consumed or so I console myself. The camp venue is at lake titicaca in Peru which borders Bolivia. It is supposed to be an example of well managed water resource in the country. Pictures of it reminds me of a surreal version of a "coastal" indo-china up in the mountains 4000m above sea level. If I have internet connection in Puno, Lima, I will update the blogs with happenings at the camp.

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[blogging LIVE!] The media socialists are here! This is the 3rd social media breakfast hosted at the ACM!

Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!

They even serve pink drinks for the green monkey.

Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!

And of course animal friends are here too! Lest animals feel that I forget them.

[Afterthoughts] There was supposed to be an agenda regarding bloggers and marketing but somehow that didn't come to pass. We managed to get a free tour of the vietnam exhibition at ACM and the little red books on display from Chairman Mao's post-cultural revolution era fervor. At points I wonder if I'm no different from the propaganda which calls for "learned youths to be one with the proletariat farmers". Isn't that what I advocate too? haha oops.

Back to the breakfast. I definitely don't recommend it for the unsociable monkeys out there. We were too busy just socializing with ourselves. Going as far as to skype with kevin (theoryisthereason) and giving him a spin of the venue before my battery died. I met a very interesting girl, emily and a TODAY reporter, alicia who turns out to be a recent CNM graduate with mutual friends. On top of that, I finally met uniquefrequency in person and saw some other twitter followers of mine. Somehow, I'm often greeted with "ohhh you the environmentalist". Well I definitely show more diversity than that on twitter! It was interesting none the less. Lots of cam-whoring going on as you can see. Well I did talk a lil bit about social media and its use for the environment, after all that is my specialty. Seriously milling about a journal article on that but currently constipated.

It was kind of sad that the agenda didn't take off. I was getting a little obnoxious with my constant asking of "so what happened to the agenda". Alas, ignored. As should be of course. As kenneth (acroamatic) mentioned, I'm not too good with PR :P There is only so far a monkey will go to be polite and politically correct. But one of the reason why I went was to check out this local social media scene and also to support NHB's valiant effort at hosting the event! It was a big move from a government stat board. In fact, Walter (coolinsights) announced that there will be a new position open in his department called social media marketer! That would be most awesome. In his word, probably the first of its kind in Singapore.

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I saw stars all weekend. Knobbly sea stars that is!


Blythe adopted a star and named it Star! Photo by Budak

For IYOR 2008 Singapore's launch at the Botany Center this friday and saturday, I was coordinating the booth for Be a Star: Adopt a Star. 100 stars from Cyrene Reef were up for adoption! No, you don't get to bring the star home but the star trackers will keep you updated every time they spot your star on Cyrene Reef! In fact, they will even email you the updates on your star and there will be individual blog posts up on their site - one for each named star! There's a patrick (as in spongebob's friend), dutchie, little strange and lots more! 25 in total were adopted and named :) The money goes to funding the Reef Celebration event as well the as the publishing of a Blue Plan by the International Year of the Reef committee. The money does not go to NHC or Star Trackers or me(!) but to the IYOR and Marine Rountable. We were lucky to collect a total of $1267 in donations for these stars.


Sijie [right] of Star Trackers with a young adopter, Nurul, naming her star! Photo by Chee Kong. Thanks for all your hard work Sijie and Chee Kong!

Really special thanks to the star trackers for doing so much for the event as well as for the studies of the stars! Although the money donated does not go to the star tracker but they pledge to do all the hard work to ensure that all adopters continue to have a relationship with their adopted star. It is such a great program. They should most definitely consider making this a permanent part of their program.


Hantu Bloggers adopted Bibi! Photo by Budak

Did you know that each of these knobblies are actually unique? You can tell them apart by the configuration of their chocolate chips (the knobs on their surface)! It's kind of like our fingerprints and the markings on whale sharks and tail flutes for whales. It's all really cool!

The irony about having a seastar as a best friend for a sponge is that, sea stars eat sponges! *grin* These are just some trivia I learnt while having to "sell" these sea stars. I didn't know anything before but after explaining for 2 days how baby sea stars come into being and all other sea star trivia, I now know that there is no such thing as a starfish! A starfish is not a fish. It's a star! Thus we call them sea stars.


Staff from Surbana (the development company!) adopted a star too! Photo by Budak

It was also very exciting that I got my niece and nephew to visit me at the IYOR event! It was the first time they got to see me at work. They also love the nudibranch and coloring all kinds of rainbow colors on the nudis. Of course my niece's strong resemblance to her aunt also caused certain commotion. It was good to share one's work with family.

If you are interested in adopting a sea star as well, we are considering offering the possibility of adoption even after this event. Originally it was for this event only but because of requests from public, we may consider extending it. Please leave a comment if you would consider adopting and support the idea of us offering adoption online. If you want to know more about the adoption, where the money goes to and what you receive, read the full article.



To explain a little more about what the adoption is about, I'm reproducing the little "speech" I gave during the launch to introduce the program. After hearing the "speech", we got a queue at the booth to adopt! The next 15 minutes, we got 8 stars adopted! It was amazing. I must have said something right... so here goes!

"One of the special activities at IYOR 2008 Singapore’s launch is the “Be a star: adopt a Star” program. 100 unique stars living on Singapore’s Cyrene Reef off our southern shores are up for adoption. Each knobbly sea star is a uniquely Singapore star. Every individual has a unique number and arrangement of knobs on it which works like our finger print. While you may not be able to bring these sea stars home, you could be helping to conserve its home through supporting the marine conservation efforts here at our home.

The Knobbly Sea Star is listed as a locally endangered animal in Singapore’s Red Data Book as many of its habitats here are rapidly disappearing. Cyrene Reef is one of the last remaining marine habitats for the Knobbly Sea Star. This habitat may be the only sustainable population of knobbly sea stars left in Singapore today.

We hope that through adopting and naming these Knobbly sea stars, more Singaporeans will come to care for our shores. Hopefully these sea stars will no longer be mere statistics in our books. This is also an excellent opportunity for Singaporeans like you and me to share our hopes and wishes for these stars as well as Singapore’s reefs.

Thus to help us kick off this activity as well as to launch International Year of the Reef 2008, we would like to invite Professor Tommy KohChou Loke Ming, up on stage again, to name the first star for Singapore. Professor KohChou please."

Unfortunately Prof Tommy Koh couldn't make it. But it's ok, one prof for another prof!

Cyrene Star Adopters also receive a Star Kit containing:
- A limited video CD by ASEAN waters (while stocks last)
- A NatureWatch magazine featuring IYOR (while stocks last)
- An eco-friendly bag (while stocks last)
- A Reef Celebration badge (while stock last)
- A Reef Celebration sticker
- A Southern Shores guidesheet
- A Singapore Shores information sheet
- An electronic (paper free!) adoption pack which includes
(1) an adoption certificate with biodata of your adopted star,
(2) a photo of you and the star you named as well as,
(3) information on Cyrene Reef and Knobbly Sea Stars (Protoreaster nodosus) sent to your designated email. Whenever the star is spotted in the wild again, updates will also be emailed to them as well as updated on the Star Trackers blog.

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Monkey has been busy. Despite having to grade papers, complete my independent study module essay, organize a end of semester grad party and coordinating a million things, I found time to give a talk at the TICE Eco Camp last Saturday, 10 May 2008.

It was a busy day for me. I finished the slides at 5am, arrive at the presentation at 9.30am, finished the talk at 11am, walked to the National Youth Environment Forum at 11.30am, left at 2.15pm for the talk on History of Singapore at National Museum of Singapore then back to NYEF at 4.30pm for the round up. Finally rounded the day with a nice wholesome dinner at Food for Thought, my absolute favourite restaurant for now. Nothing beats supporting a social enterprise.

On Sunday, mother surprised me with a sighting of this rambling leafmonkey on Lianhe Zaobao. Apparently the news article of the May Day Dugong Ambassador outreach at Chek Jawa finally came out!


Excerpt on Naked Hermit Crab and me.


The full article. Click for full size.

Well today has been full of surprises. When I went to interview somebody for the religion project today, turned out that the person attended the TICE eco camp and I realized that I forgot to talk more about the groups I am involved in (NHC and Toddycats). Ah well, we had a nice chat about that. In fact I saw many familiar faces at the talk - Gaytri from NHC and Yi Han from SAVE. I heard many SAVE members were there that day. Hope I managed to actually share some new ideas with everybody. I know how tiring it is to hear the same thing all the time.

A few hours ago, I returned home to find several comments on my blog from participants who attended my talk. Thank you all so much for the encouraging comments! I really appreciate it. One of the participants blogged about the camp and was very insightful. That is something we all need to be - being critical. Do ask me any question you want and give me any and all brutal feedback to help me improve. Thank you!

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Yesterday gave a talk at the GE3239 class to about 40 students. I guess most are away mugging or busy rushing assignments. I did record my talk but it was too long and full of factual errors I realized (sorry! Hopea Sangal fines were more than $30,000 - it was fined $8000 and $76000 in compensation!) so I decided not to upload it. Too embarrassing!


Here's how big the crowd was. Not very big really. Ignore the audio. This was after my talk and the lecturer was addressing the class

I got feedback from friends who attended the class that it was too overwhelming (too much to say!) and too long (1 hour 6 minutes!). I was a tad distracted during question and answer and yes, the slides are a tad repetitive because new additions were made last minute. It wasn't well structured because the talk is supposed to be on environmental groups but I'm not really sure what's my message. Sigh. Ok, poorly done. Sorry.

On the brighter side, I've a friend and junior who was in the class and told me afterwards that she's stopped using straws after what I said during the lecture. Cool :) And of course I got a very encouraging comment on this blog from a student who attended the class. Thanks! I also found a student joined the sgnatureblogger network on ning wanting to find out more! Kudos! Do post and say more about your interest on the network and see if any of the wise yodas will show you the force :P

I also had an interesting question from a student who asked if there is too much attention on shores now and not enough on terrestrial because more blogs on shore than terrestrial. Well that just mean we need more terrestrial bloggers!

TheRamblingLibrarian sums up neatly my fatal error. "I tended to ramble on when I get too enthused. End up overemphasising some examples and the audience gets bored." But he also nicely added that "each presentation is a learning experience" and I agree! Well, one never stops learning. I will definitely work towards improving. Just means I have to give more talks! :)

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