China joins global seagrass monitoring network

Xinhua 3 Aug 08;

NANNING, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- China has set up a seagrass monitoring station, which will be part of a global network, in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The station was co-sponsored by Guangxi Mangrove Research Center (GMRC) and the Seagrass Monitoring Network of the World Seagrass Association (WSA), which provided internationally standardized monitoring equipment.

Seagrass is a shallow saltwater plant that can flower underwater and is found in temperate and tropical ecosystems. There are only 60 species of grass globally.

Seagrass systems are important in providing habitats and food for other marine life and for keeping the water clean.

Seagrass beds also stabilize sediment, and hamper waves and currents. Binding sediments protects coral reefs, and the dampening of storms can help protect human settlements. It is also thought that seagrasses could help as buffers from the impacts of climate change acidification on coral reefs.

The seagrass is valuable for its sensitivity to environmental changes. It requires a high light environment, meaning it can reflect harmful changes in the oceans.

The Beibu Gulf of Beihai city boasts eight species of seagrass. The United Nations Environment programme (UNEP) built eight seagrass meadows covering about 540 hectares last year in the gulf in a scheme aimed at reversing environmental degradation in the South China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand.

Findings from the station could help better protect seagrasses and their beds.

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World's smallest snake discovered

Jennifer Carpenter, BBC News 3 Aug 08;

The world's smallest snake, averaging just 10cm (4 inches) and as thin as a spaghetti noodle, has been discovered on the Caribbean island of Barbados.

The snake, found beneath a rock in a tiny fragment of threatened forest, is thought to be at the very limit of how small a snake can evolve to be.

Females produce only a single, massive egg - and the young hatch at half of their adult body weight.
This new discovery is described in the journal of Zootaxa.

The snake - named Leptotyphlops carlae - is the smallest of the 3,100 known snake species and was uncovered by Dr Blair Hedges, a biologist from Penn State University, US.

"I was thrilled when I turned over that rock and found it," Dr Hedges told BBC News.

"After finding the first one, we turned hundreds of other stones to find another one."

In total, Dr Hedges and his herpetologist wife found only two females.

Defining species

Dr Hedges thinks that the snake eats termites and is endemic to this one Caribbean island. He said that, in fact, three very old specimens of this species were already in collections - one in London's Natural History Museum and two in a museum in Martinique.

However, these specimens had been misidentified.

Dr Hedges explained the difficulty in defining a new species when the organism is so small.

"Differences in small animals are much more subtle and so are frequently over-looked," he said.

Modern genetic fingerprinting is often the only way to tell species apart.

"The great thing is that DNA is as different between two small snakes as it is between two large snakes, allowing us to see the differences that we can't see by eye," explained Dr Hedges.

Researchers believe that the snake - a type of thread snake - is so rare that it has survived un-noticed until now.

But with 95% of the island of Barbados now treeless, and the few fragments of forest seriously threatened, this new species of snake might become extinct only months after it was discovered.

Smallest of the small

In contrast to other species of snake - some of which can lay up to 100 eggs in a single clutch - the world's smallest snake only produces a single egg.

"This is unusual for snakes but seems to be a feature of small animals," Dr Hedges told BBC News.

By having a single egg at a time, the snake's young are one-half the length of the adult. That would be like humans giving birth to a 60-pound (27kg) baby

Dr Hedges added that the snake's size might limit the size of its clutch.

"If a tiny snake were to have more than one offspring, each egg would have to share the same space occupied by the one egg and so the two hatchlings would be half the normal size."

The hatchlings might then be too small to find anything small enough to eat.

This has led the researchers to believe that the Barbadian snake is as small as a snake can evolve to be.

The smallest animals have young that are proportionately enormous relative to the size of the adults producing the offspring. As in the case of Leptotyphlops carlae , the hatchlings of the smallest snakes are one-half the length of an adult. The hatchlings of the biggest snakes on the other hand are only one-tenth the length of the adult producing the offspring. Tiny snakes produce only one massive egg - relative to the size of the mother. This is evolution at work, says Dr Hedges. The pressure of natural selection means the size of hatchlings cannot be smaller than a critical limit if they are to survive

World's Smallest Snake Discovered on Barbados
Jeanna Bryner, LiveScience.com Yahoo News 3 Aug 08;

As slim as a spaghetti noodle and able to fit snugly on a U.S. quarter, a new species of snake has been found hiding out in a forest on Barbados. The reptilian runt is now the world's smallest snake.

Blair Hedges, an evolutionary biologist at Penn State, discovered the snake, which just under four inches (10 cm) in length as an adult, in a fragment of forest on the eastern side of Barbados.

Hedges analyzed genetic material from the snake, which along with physical characteristics such as its unique color patterns and scales, provided evidence that the snake was indeed a new species of threadsnake, now dubbed Leptotyphlops carlae.

"Snakes may be prevented by natural selection from becoming too small because, below a certain size, there may be nothing for their young to eat," Hedges said.

The Barbados snake, like its relatives, likely feeds primarily on the larvae of ants and termites.

Like other members of the "small" club, L. carlae only produces one offspring at a time, in this case a single slender egg (some other snakes give birth to live young). In addition, its young are giants relatively speaking. In general, the hatchlings of the smallest snakes are one-half the length of an adult, while the largest snakes have hatchlings that are only one-tenth the length of an adult.

For instance, the hatchling of a king cobra, which can reach a length of 18 feet (5.5 meters), can be as long as about 14 inches (36 cm).

"If a tiny snake were to have two offspring, each egg could occupy only half the space that is devoted to reproduction within its body," Hedges said. "But then each of the two hatchlings would be half the normal size, perhaps too small to function as a snake or in the environment."

He added, "The fact that tiny snakes produce only one massive egg - relative to the size of the mother - suggests that natural selection is trying to keep the size of hatchlings above a critical limit in order to survive."

Hedges describes the new species in the Aug. 4 issue of the journal Zootaxa, where he also notes another new snake he discovered on the nearby island of St. Lucia. Also a type of threadsnake, the new species is just about as small as the Barbados one.

The finding doesn't surprise Hedges, who explains how unique organisms tend to be found on islands where species can evolve over time to fill the little nooks and crannies that are available as places to live, or to consume perhaps foodstuffs and other resources, unoccupied by other organisms.

The research was funded by NASA and the National Science Foundation.

World's smallest snake is as thin as spaghetti
Will Dunham, Yahoo News 3 Aug 08;

Scientists have identified the world's smallest snake -- a reptile about 4 inches long and as thin as spaghetti that was found lurking under a rock on the Caribbean island of Barbados.

The new species, named Leptotyphlops carlae, is smaller than any of the other 3,100 previously known snake species, according to Pennsylvania State University biologist Blair Hedges, who also had helped find the world's smallest frog and lizard.

It is one of about 300 different species of threadsnake and is a dark brownish gray with two yellow stripes, Hedges said. It was determined to be a newly identified species due to genetic differences from other snakes and its unique color pattern and scales, he said.

The snake, which is not venomous, eats termites and termite larvae but little is known about its behavior, including whether it is nocturnal, Hedges said. It was found in 2006 in a forest on the eastern side of Barbados.

"It was under a rock. We got two of them," Hedges said in a phone interview. "It's about as wide as a spaghetti noodle."

The snake is about 0.2 inches (5 mm) shorter than another species from the Caribbean island of Martinique.

"When you get down that small, every millimeter counts," said Hedges, whose findings were published in the scientific journal Zootaxa on Sunday.

The biggest and smallest types of animals often are found living on islands where species over time can fill ecological niches in habitats without competition from other creatures not living in the isolated locations.

The world's longest snake is the reticulated python, which grows to 33 feet long and lives in Southeast Asia.

Snakes have lived since the time of the dinosaurs. The oldest known fossil snakes date from around 100 million years ago. The first snakes -- thought to have evolved from lizards -- actually had very small limbs.

Hedges thinks the new one may be at or near the minimum possible size for snakes. It lays a single slender egg that takes up a major part of the mother snake's body, he said.

(Editing by Julie Steenhuysen and Mohammad Zargham)

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Hi-tech 'pinger' to save dolphins from fishing nets

Andrew Johnson, The Independent 3 Aug 08;

Conservationists in Cornwall are planning to use a hi-tech sonic device in a battle to save the last group of bottlenose dolphins to swim in English waters.

The dolphin group, or pod as it is known, is well known for swimming alongside people off the Cornish coast. But its population has dwindled to a dangerously low number of six, a dramatic fall since 1991 when the number stood at 18.

Wildlife experts fear that the loss of another one or two from the genetically unique group would spell its end. And so they are hoping to introduce pioneering "pinger" devices to trawlers. The devices emit a signal designed to drive the dolphins clear of the fishing nets.

The South-west is suffering from a record high number of strandings of cetaceans, mainly common dolphins and porpoises. Last month a study by the University of Exeter and Cornwall Wildlife Trust revealed that until the 1980s, about 50 dolphins and porpoises were found on beaches in an average year. Since 2000 the figure has climbed to between 100 and 250 a year, with about 60 per cent believed to be the victims of bycatch in the fishing industry. In June, 26 common dolphins were washed ashore in Falmouth.

Researchers are particularly concerned about the bottlenose dolphin group that swims in the coastal waters of Devon and Cornwall. In October a young bottlenose was washed up in St Ives harbour with a severed tail – indicating it was cut loose after drowning in fishing nets.

At the time, Ruth Williams, marine conservation officer for the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, said: "This is a devastating blow to everyone who has enjoyed seeing these beautiful creatures. We know that bottlenose dolphins are in danger of disappearing from Cornish waters as gradually, one by one, their numbers are dwindling."

Dr Nick Tregenza of the trust added: "We know the animals are reproducing, so it's particularly worrying that their numbers are in decline."

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Best of our wild blogs: 3 Aug 08

Coral garden at Raffles Lighthouse
amazing reefs on the wonderful creations blog

Living Reefs of St. John's Island
full of corals and fishes and other marinelife on the wildfilms blog, and on the can you sea me blog

Personal invitation to Reef Celebrations
by the Naked Hermit Crabs on their adventures blog

Life History of the Felder's Royal
on the butterflies of singapore blog

Brown Hawk Owl with eye tumour
from Bird Ecology Study Group blog

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Singapore government receives some 500 suggestions since call for eco-friendly ideas

May Wong, Channel NewsAsia 2 Aug 08;

SINGAPORE: The government has received some 500 suggestions since its nationwide call for eco-friendly solutions on Monday.

The Inter-Ministerial Committee on Sustainable Development launched a website on July 28 to gather ideas from the public to make the country more eco-friendly and to ensure more efficient use of its resources.

Switching to 'green' cars and increasing the temperature on air-conditioners to save energy are some common energy-saving initiatives that Singaporeans have been practising.

But more must be done on a larger scale to create a sustainable green environment.

Professor Chou Siaw Kiang, executive director of Energy Studies Institute, said: "In trying to stretch every kilowatt of energy that we have, we need to know that what is spent is lost, and if we can conserve, we can use that kilowatt more efficiently.

"We've heard of hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles and even fuel cell vehicles. Who knows, in the future, there could be a new category of COEs dedicated to this sort of vehicles. In other words, if you relieve the pressure from the purchase of alternative, more (fuel) efficient vehicles so that they are free from competition with what we call the conventional type of vehicles, then indirectly there's an incentive for us to look at purchasing more (fuel) efficient vehicles.

"At the same time, if COE supplies could be limited, then it's a signal that if you want to buy conventional vehicles, then there's a premium you need to be paying to use it."

ECO Singapore has come up with a report which contains over 20 eco-friendly ideas to be submitted to the government by next month.

Wilson Ang, president of ECO Singapore, said: "When you buy a computer, there is a lot of packaging. So upfront, you are charged $5 for the waste management. But if you buy from another company which uses less packaging... you are charged slightly lower. Products which require more waste management processes will actually cost slightly more. In this way, you can encourage consumers to think before they consume."

From managing a scarce resource like water to making better use of energy in this country, young Singaporeans today are more interested in protecting the environment.

That is why ECO Singapore – a non-profit organisation for youth volunteers – wants to partner various ministries in Singapore to develop eco-friendly solutions for this country in the long term.- CNA/so

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Poor water quality? We don't care

Ho Lian-Yi, New Paper 3 Aug 08;

HALF-submerged, standing several metres off Pasir Ris Beach, Mr Mansor Abdullah cast his net into the sea.

Earlier this week, the National Environmental Agency (NEA) had declared that it was not safe to swim at this beach.

After more than an hour, Mr Mansor waded back to shore with his net and a basket holding six wriggling fish.

The 31-year-old storekeeper, his T-shirt and jeans soggy after his evening dip on Thursday, said: 'The NEA can have their say, but I'm used to it.'

And what is he going to do with the fish?

'Eat, lah,' he replied.

He was not turned off by the agency's warning that the water has a high level of a kind of bacteria that is found in faeces, and can cause stomach and gut diseases and eye infections.

Accidental gulps of seawater are inevitable, he said, but nothing has happened so far.

Despite having read the warning about the area in the papers, Mr Mansor still considers Pasir Ris Beach his favourite fishing haunt.

He visits the beach every day after work and fishes there several days a week.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS

Mr Mansor said that he had been stung bystingrays and catfish, and claims to have encountered 'ghosts' - so what is some bacteria?

'I know how to take care of myself,' he insisted.

He said he would stop going into the water only if a ban was imposed.

Watching Mr Mansor fish were two buddies, retired beach cleaner Ahmad Othman, 58, and retired cabin service provider Madon Haron, 62.

Neither were as brazen as Mr Mansor. Both men are also avid fishermen but they have decided not to fish for the time being.

As Mr Madon watched his friend, he wondered: 'Can the fish be eaten or not?'

The New Paper on Sunday put the question to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA).

The answer? No problem.

AVA spokesman Goh Shih Yong said: 'The tests show that food-poisoning bacteria like salmonella, vibro species and e.coli are not present. We will continue to monitor the fish farms.'

Just make sure you cook the fish first, is the advice.

Even before AVA's assurance, many fishermen had decided to keep fishing.

Many anglers were at nearby Pasir Ris Fishing Pond, a seawater fishing area where patrons pay to fish.

The boss of the attraction, Mr Phua Long Hay, 50, said he didn't expect the NEA warning to affect his business.

'Fishermen can see if you maintain the water well,' he said, adding that the water was regularly checked.

The water in the pond comes from the sea - seawater is pumped in once a month. Otherwise, the sea is cut off from the pond.

Mr Phua said he had instruments to check the water quality. He also checks with the offshore kelongs, where he buys the fish, as to whether the seawater is okay.

'If the water is bad, it will have a bit of (brown) colour,' he said.

An employee in charge of the water, who wanted to be known as Mr Goh, said each pumping takes nearly three hours and the water can usually last a month.

The fishing pond's customers were also unfazed by the NEA warning.

Mr Paul Chua, 57, a surveyor, said the fish in the pond were from Malaysia, so they wouldn't be contaminated.

'The contamination (of the sea) is just a matter of degree, it depends on the standard (of measurement),' he said.

STRICTER STANDARDS

NEA had said the bacteria levels have not risen, but the water quality has been graded under new, stringent standards by the World Health Organisation.

Another patron there said he was not worried because he throws his catch back into the pond.

And yet another, a 43-year-old technician who has been fishing for 10 years, said: 'The sea is so big, how bad can it be?'.

A 70-year-old retired teacher, who calls himself Mr Wong, said the seawater is bad for people but okay for fish.

As he spoke, he got another bite - his fifth catch of the day.

As he reeled in the red snapper, which thrashed in the water, he said: 'See how vigorous it is! Does it look sick to you?'

Pasir Risk Beach?
Beach regulars note 50% drop in number of visitors but many still unaware of NEA warning about high levels of a bacteria in the sea
Alvin Lim , Gabriel Yue, Straits Times 3 Aug 08;

Kiosk-owner Abdul Rahman Wee earned $150 yesterday, half of what he used to get on Saturdays.

His kiosk, which offers tidbits and kites at Pasir Ris Beach, used to draw an average of 30 to 40 customers a day and about 200 people on weekends.

But after the National Environment Agency (NEA) said last Wednesday that there are high levels of enterococcus, a bacteria in the fecal matter of warm-blooded animals, in the sea, business has dipped.

Exposure to the bacteria could trigger illnesses such as diarrhoea and conjunctivitis.

'There has been a 50 per cent drop in the number of visitors,' lamented Mr Abdul Rahman, 65, who has been running the kiosk for six years.

He added: 'I think this is just like the Sars period when few came to the beach.'

He is not too worried about his overheads for now. In exchange for maintaining the public toilets at his kiosk for free, he does not pay any rental to landlord National Parks Board.

Some beach regulars also felt that there were half the number of visitors on a weekend.

National serviceman Izwan Jalil, 22, said: 'I fish here every week and there seems to be a lot fewer people today. Maybe people are afraid because of the warning.'

The NEA has posted signs on the beach advising against contact with the water.

Still, The Sunday Times counted about 50 people frolicking in the sea or engaged in water sports at about noon yesterday.

Another 100 people were camped on the beach.

A check revealed that not everyone was aware of the NEA warning.

Among those at the beach were 30 students from Anderson Junior College who had come for a canoeing expedition organised by the People's Association's (PA's) Water-Venture.

Their instructor Kelvin Lai, 35, said he was not aware of the unhealthy water quality.

He said he 'followed the PA guidelines' and had not received any directive to stop taking his charges to Pasir Ris Beach.

'I will provide feedback to the company. Maybe it's better for my students not to come here for now,' he said.

Also unaware of the potential health hazards were 14-year-old Punggol Secondary School students Nazri Rosli, Arif Jumat, Asyraf Buang and Khairul Zainol. They were swimming 20m from the beach.

'I'm not worried because we should be able to wash off the bacteria when we bathe,' said Asyraf.

But Khairul said they would go to East Coast Park next time to 'play safe'.

An NEA spokesman said that the public is advised to refrain from swimming off Pasir Ris Beach until the outcome of the next review in the second half of 2009.

Meanwhile, fishing enthusiasts continue to do battle with the fish.

Said Mr Lew Kim Chang, 47, a supervisor who drops by every week: 'The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority has already said that it is safe to eat what we catch here. There shouldn't be a problem, especially since we are going to cook it.'

Public pools here are safe for swimming

A spokesman for the Singapore Sports Council (SSC) said sampling and laboratory analyses of water samples are conducted twice monthly for all 23 swimming complexes under its management.

It appointed a lab, Mechem Consultancy Services, two years ago to conduct the checks.

Dr Yang Lin Jiang, Mechem's chairman, said stringent steps are taken to ensure accurate testing of the samples taken at each pool.

The samples are housed in a sterile container, placed inside an icebox and taken to the lab.

There, analysis is done immediately for

E. coli, enterococcus and algae to see if the results meet the standards set in the Environmental Public Health (Swimming Pools) Regulations.

Ingesting water contaminated with fecal waste released by humans or animals can lead to gastroenteritis, which causes vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain.

Other diseases include dermatitis, which causes irritation to the skin, and conjunctivitis, which leads to discharge from the eyes and swelling of the eyelids.

Dr Yang said none of the public pools has failed to meet the standards in the past two years.

A National Environment Agency (NEA) spokesman said the new World Health Organisation guidelines for recreational beaches are not applicable to public pools.

This is because the NEA already has regulations in place for public pools in swimming complexes, condominiums and country clubs.

Any pool that fails to meet the standards immediately becomes off-limits to the public.

Alvin Lim

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One hump after another in green car drive

Letter from Lilian Teoh (Ms), Straits Times 3 Aug 08

Our decision to buy a compressed natural gas (CNG) car was spurred by the escalating cost of petrol.

Having an environmentally friendly alternative sounded attractive, so we were even prepared to sacrifice our boot space for the CNG tank.

However, in the few weeks since taking possession of the car, we have yet to reap the supposed benefits of owning a CNG car.

Firstly, come Dec 31 next year, the special tax exemption for such car owners may be removed.

Secondly, according to a report, Smart Energy's Serangoon North gas station will be open only by early next year. One of the reasons I bought a CNG-fuelled car is that I live in Serangoon, and my car agent had told me the station would be ready next month or in October.

For now, I have to drive more than 40km to the Mandai station to fill the gas tank.

Thirdly, The Sunday Times reported that there are only two CNG stations serving 1,600 cars. This is very frustrating for the drivers. I feel especially sorry for the drivers of CNG taxis, who cover long distances and have been badly hit by the situation.

Perhaps the CNG car concept should not have been introduced until more gas stations are in place and the special tax exemption issue has been decided on.

Talk to any agent selling CNG-fitted cars, and find out how many of them will tell you about the special tax after next year. Mine did not, and he did not even know where the Mandai gas station is. Many agents are concerned only with getting the sales.

For now, those of us who have bought CNG cars in the hope of cutting costs and improving the environment have failed miserably in our little green effort.

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Retreat to a farm in Kranji

You don't have to leave Singapore to enjoy a farm stay. The D'Kranji Farm Resort in Lim Chua Kang lets you commune with nature
By Cara Van Miriah, Straits Times 3 Aug 08;

It has sleek wooden flooring and stylish Balinese furnishings. Its open-air bathroom opens up to a small, tranquil garden. It even has its own pebbled driveway that comes with an automated gate.

This resort villa is not in popular Bali or Phuket, but right here in rural Kranji.

It is one of 19 farmstay villas that will open at the new D'Kranji Farm Resort in Lim Chu Kang next month.

Developed at a cost of $10 million, the 5ha lifestyle-cum-agriculture resort (about the size of six football fields) will also feature a wellness spa, seafood restaurant, beer garden, fruit plantation, herb garden and a coffee museum.

Developed by mainboard-listed company HLH Group, which has interests in property development, building construction and agriculture, the resort has been flooded with enquiries and bookings since plans for it were announced last year.

Each air-conditioned 21 sq m villa (nearly the size of a one-room flat) comes with a double bed, bathroom and balcony.

Modelled on the rooms of a five-star hotel, they also offer room service, housekeeping and wireless Internet connection.

Accounts executive Juridah Ibrahim, 28, who made a booking in June, tells LifeStyle: 'I don't have to travel out of Singapore to experience a farmstay. Also, it's a unique getaway and I am looking forward to discover Lim Chu Kang.'

Although admission to D'Kranji is free, the villas won't come cheap. LifeStyle understands that each room could cost at least $200 a night.

The resort is expecting over 70 per cent occupancy rate over the next four months, says Dr Tan Siang Hee, 40, chief executive officer of HLH Agri International, which operates D'Kranji.

In 2005, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) eased its rules to let farms open shops, restaurants and farmstays. The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) followed up the following year by putting up vacant state land for tender for agricultural entertainment uses in Lim Chu Kang.

Mr Teo Jing Kok, SLA's deputy director of lease management & sales, says: 'The agri-tainment uses enable entrepreneurs to try something different to make Singapore a more exciting place to live, work and play.'

In 2006, HLH's wholly-owned subsidiary HLH Agri R & D won the bid for the largest of three plots of land in Lim Chu Kang at $880,000 on a 20-year lease.

Construction and building firm Yoli Technologies won the bid for the other two plots of land, also earmarked for agri-tainment, at $476,336 and $398,000.

Dr Tan tells LifeStyle: 'We are targeting 60 per cent locals and the rest are foreign visitors. They will include families, schools and corporate companies who come here for retreats.'

He says the resort will not be adding more rooms as it has to comply with URA's guidelines of building up to a maximum of 300 sq m for hospitality purposes.

But D'Kranji will not be the only operator offering farmstays at Lim Chu Kang. The Nyee Phoe Group, which runs a 2.2-ha flower farm, will be building four villas to be completed by the end of this year.

At D'Kranji, visitors can go on free educational tours to learn about the agriculture products at the farm, which will incorporate a herb garden with over 30 types of herbs such as basil, sage and lemon balm.

Its 21 farming plots will offer crops such as dragon fruit, corn, guava and mango- steen for sale.

There will also be a 1,000 sq m corn field and 1,000 sq m padi field at the education facility, says Dr Tan.

Business owners in Lim Chu Kang welcome the new farm. Says Mrs Ivy-Singh Lim, 58, who runs the Bollywood Veggies organic farm next door: 'The new farm will enhance the lifestyle offerings in Lim Chu Kang. They will draw many more visitors, which is beneficial for all of us.'

Next January, Bollywood Veggies will incorporate a $500,000 culinary school called Bollywood Bhanccha (Warrior's Kitchen in Nepalese).

SLA's Mr Teo says: 'The entrepreneurs are taking the bold initiatives to turn Lim Chu Kang into a rustic recreational hinterland.'

Meanwhile, Dr Tan wants to draw 500,000 visitors to his farm annually, which is about 1,400 visitors daily. To achieve this, the resort will provide a free shuttle service every 45 minutes from Yew Tee MRT station next month.

This is in addition to the existing hourly shuttle service from Kranji MRT station to Lim Chu Kang from 9am to 5pm, provided by Kranji Countryside Association. A round trip costs $2 for adults and $1 for children.

Giving a tour of D'Kranji, which now has 22 employees, Dr Tan adds: 'While staying here, visitors can take the opportunity to explore Lim Chu Kang. There are many types of farms to visit here.'

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