Lynda Hong, Channel NewsAsia 5 Aug 09;
SINGAPORE: There's now another place for nature lovers to hang out. The Sentosa Nature Discovery gallery was opened on Wednesday by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean.
Located on the fringe of the Imbiah Forest in Sentosa, this latest attraction at the Imbiah Lookout is housed in a former monorail station. It is Imbiah Lookout's 11th attraction.
Visitors can view an interactive exhibition of interesting facts and colourful displays housed in a two-storey indoor information gallery before moving on to explore the Imbiah forest via a linked walkway that used to be the old monorail track.
Mike Barclay, CEO, Sentosa Leisure Group, said: "When we have infrastructure around the island, we try to be adaptive in the use. And as I'm sure many of you will remember, we have a monorail running all the way around the island with many stations.
"And rather than to just knock down the stations, we actually adapted it for other uses. One is being used for Sentosa Nature Discovery. We also have restaurants in two of the other stations - one is a shop, and one is being used as a fish spa." - CNA/vm
New draw for nature lovers at Sentosa
Victoria Vaughan, Straits Times 6 Aug 09;
AMID the din of development on Sentosa, there is a new respite for nature lovers.
The island's Nature Discovery gallery, the 11th attraction at Imbiah Lookout, was opened by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean yesterday. The free learning space and walk through the Mount Imbiah nature reserve took two years to complete and cost $5.5 million.
Mr Teo said the gallery is a testament to Sentosa's commitment to preserving its natural heritage and history.
'This is a unique opportunity for young people in Singapore, students especially, to see how we can match and harmonise development together with respect for the environment.'
Doing his part, Mr Teo planted a Seashore Mangosteen, an endangered tree in Singapore, to mark the occasion.
The gallery aims to turn visitors into 'nature detectives' by displaying examples of clues nature leaves behind, such as tracks and droppings.
The gallery, which is housed in a renovated monorail station, is the start of the 200m boardwalk which joins a pre-existing 2km track.
Visitors can expect to see crab-eating macaques, flocks of swiftlets - whose nests are used for bird's nest soup - and golden orb spiders.
Mr Mike Barclay, chief executive officer of Sentosa Leisure Group, said: 'We aim to keep Sentosa 60 per cent green and as part of that strategy we want to invest more in the green parts of the island.'
Next month, Sentosa will begin rolling out a series of educational programmes to schools based on the nature attraction.
The Nature Discovery trail will offer guided tours for up to 20 people, at $12 per person. Tickets are sold at the gallery shop.
Private group tours can also be arranged for $150.
