Best of our wild blogs: 25 May 15

Wild fun for kids during the June school holidays!
wild shores of singapore

A night herp in Mandai
Herpetological Society of Singapore

What an Amazing Night it was
Nature's Amore

Birdwatching in Bidadari ( Javan Munia ) May 2015
Rojak Librarian

Thorny Oyster (Spondylus sp. @ Pasir Ris
Monday Morgue

Read more!

SG Heart Map: 50 places of significance to Singaporeans unveiled

The 50 places are frequently-mentioned locations in more than 80,000 personal stories contributed by Singaporeans.
Kimberly Spykerman Channel NewsAsia 24 May 15;

SINGAPORE: Fifty locations across the island have made it to the SG Heart Map - a compilation of places which hold the most significance for Singaporeans.

They were revealed on Sunday (May 24), six months after the project was launched, and were picked from more than 80,000 stories contributed by people. The map was created to mark the nation's Golden Jubilee.

One in four of the stories shared is centred on the lives and memories in the different towns across Singapore, said SG Heart Map in a news release. The frequently-mentioned places include Orchard Road, Toa Payoh, and Gardens by the Bay.

The 50 places were unveiled in Sentosa on Sunday by Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Grace Fu, who is the co-chair of the SG50 Environment and Infrastructure Committee overseeing the SG Heart Map project.

Ms Fu thanked those who contributed their stories for the project. For Nina Liang and Ernest Choon, the Bedok housing estate holds a special place in their hearts. It was where their love blossomed more than 10 years ago - after they first got to know each other online.

Ms Liang chatted online with Mr Choon for about three years before meeting up with him in Bedok in 2002 and going to the library together. "I was in Sec 1, and he was in Sec 3 or 4. And at that time, there was something called IRC - a really old chat group kind of thing online. We met there in one of the chat groups."

Mr Choon said: "She went online to just chit-chat with me, and she said 'hey, I'm free', so that's when we said why not take this opportunity to meet up for the first time, and that's where we picked Bedok as a spot to meet."

The couple, who are now married, have a two-month-old daughter named Sage. The couple's story was among the 20,000 stories linked to HDB towns - which were submitted for the SG Heart Map.

But only one made the top 50 - Toa Payoh Town, which yielded the most number of stories. Twenty-three other towns - which came up frequently in people's stories - were also given special mention.

Ms Fu said: "We were very touched by how home has been featured so regularly. So many of the HDB towns have actually come across over and over again - reflecting I think for Singaporeans, that families and friends, and homes where we grow up, where we spend time with our friends, are still the most endearing places."

Others on the list include familiar places like Orchard Road, Singapore Changi Airport, and MacRitchie Reservoir.

Another SG Heart Map contributor, Lim Poh Lye, 49, spoke fondly about MacRitchie Reservoir where he trained for cross-country races as a secondary school student.

He said: "This is something very dear to me since I spent almost four years of running there for cross-country in the 80s. It's a place that represents many youth of my time, running cross-country races over there." In 2013, he revisited the green space with his wife and two daughters.

While many old favourites made it onto the SG Heart Map, there were a number of newcomers as well - including Gardens by the Bay, Marina Bay Sands and the River Safari.

Ms Fu said: "It shows that we have some acknowledgements about the past developments, but also an appreciation of newer developments, so this is a good way for us to remember the past, but also looking forward to the future." Her favourite place is the Singapore Botanic Gardens, and she has many fond memories of it.

"I used to date there. My husband and I - then, he was my boyfriend - would go there and have a stroll. And there was one night we did not look at the clock, and we exceeded the time. So the gates were closed. I remember having to go around looking for the warden to open the gate for us," she added.

Following the unveiling of the SG Heart Map places, free guided tours to some of the places will be conducted between June and August, that will include stops at hawker centres such as Tiong Bahru Market and Jurong West Hawker Centre.

There will also be Heart Map celebrations in June at the Singapore Discovery Centre and a finale at The Float @ Marina May in November.

Artwork inspired by the SG Heart Map contributions, which has been co-created by Singaporeans and selected artists, will be unveiled progressively at these events. More details can be found at www.heartmap.sg.

- CNA/xq/al

50 often-cited places on SG Heart Map unveiled
NEO CHAI CHIN Today Online 25 May 15;

SINGAPORE — They both lived in eastern Singapore and had chatted online for about three years, but had never met each other. Their first meeting took place in Bedok in 2002 – waiting to enter a polytechnic at the time, Ms Nina Liang had gone online to see if anyone she knew wanted to go to the library, and Mr Ernest Choon responded.

They dated for nine years and are now parents of baby Sage, who is two-and-a-half months old.

Ms Liang’s contribution about Bedok is one of over 80,000 personal stories about various locations in Singapore that have been shared since the launch of the SG Heart Map project last November.

Today (May 24), they were among guests at an event revealing 50 of the more frequently mentioned places in the SG Heart Map project. Toa Payoh garnered the most stories among towns and earned a spot among the 50 places, as did MacRitchie Reservoir, the Singapore Botanic Gardens, the two integrated resorts and Pulau Tekong.

The event’s guest-of-honour Grace Fu, co-chair of the SG50 Environment and Infrastructure Committee overseeing the SG Heart map project, noted that some newer landmarks have made it onto the list. This shows the project has engaged people from various age segments and parts of Singapore, she said.

From next month to August, free guided tours to some of the 50 places will be organised. The tours will also include stops at hawker centres such as Tiong Bahru Market and Jurong West Hawker Centre. The public may sign up at www.heartmap.sg.

Other towns, including Bedok, will be recognised in a separate category. Said Ms Liang, 30, an assistant manager, of Bedok: “If it wasn’t for the library, I don’t think we’d have an area to really talk and just be the two of us.”

Added Mr Choon, 33, an education officer: “Things were a bit different then. Now I assume new couples would meet up at Starbucks. But, then, there weren’t that many cafes; the library was a fantastic place for two young teenagers to get to know each other in a safe environment.” The couple will move back to Bedok later this year after their home is renovated.

Meanwhile, Ms Fu said the Botanic Gardens holds fond memories as she went there with her family as a child and with her boyfriend before they got married.

“I used to date there… There was one night we didn’t really look at the clock and we exceeded the time and so the gates were closed. I remember having to go around looking for the warden to open the gates for us,” said Ms Fu, who is Second Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Environment and Water Resources. She still jogs there from her office in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

For Mr Lim Poh Lye, 49, MacRitchie Reservoir was his training ground for cross-country races in secondary school, and the senior research and development manager recently got re-acquainted with the nature reserve after about 30 years. A trip with his wife and two daughters in 2013 brought back fond memories of running and enjoying the scenery at the reservoir, he said.

More SG Heart Map celebrations are in the pipeline, with the unveiling of artworks inspired by the Heart Map next month at the Singapore Discovery Centre, and the finale in November at The Float @ Marina Bay.

S'poreans pick 50 most memorable spots to make up SG Heart Map
AsiaOne 24 May 15;

SINGAPORE - Tan Lay Hong, 57, loved to stroll in the parks at Toa Payoh when she was young and even took her wedding photos there.

It reminds her of the close familial ties present in Singapore even till today as she witnesses families of different generations frequent Toa Payoh for their outings.

Ms Tan's story is one of more than 80,000 personal stories of places contributed by Singaporeans from all walks of life in the past six months for the SG Heart Map, which is created to mark Singapore's 50th birthday this year.

Launched in Nov last year in celebration of Singapore's Golden Jubilee, the SG Heart Map seeks to weave stories of memorable past places, meaningful new places and aspirations for future places into a collection of shared stories by Singaporeans.

The completed map will be showcased at the project's finale in Nov this year.

Organisers said that about 25 per cent of contributions centred on the lives and memories in different towns. Toa Payoh, the first HDB satellite town, was mentioned the most frequently.

Other places mentioned include Katong, Singapore Zoo, Little India, Orchard Road, Singapore Changi Airport and Gardens by the Bay.

Second Minister for Foreign Affairs and Environment and Water Resources Grace Fu unveiled the 50 locations on Saturday morning (May 24). She is also the co-chair of the SG50 Environment and Infrastructure Committee overseeing the SG Heart Map project.

She said: "The rich tapestry of stories that we have collected will enable us to weave together a fabric of memories and aspirations as a nation, as we celebrate SG 50 together, and shape the next chapter of Singapore's story. We have much to look forward to as a nation."

On the weekends of June 27 and 28 and July 4 and 5, there will be SG Heart Map tours available to the public by district. The tours are also available on Aug 7 and 10.

50 special places chosen by Singaporeans:
1) Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park
2) Bugis
3) Bukit Timah
4) Changi Village
5) Chinatown
6) Chinese Garden
7) Chong Pang Market and Food Centre
8) Downtown East
9) East Coast Park
10) Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay
11) Gardens by the Bay
12) Haw Par Villa
13) Holland Village
14) Jurong Bird Park
15) Kampong Glam
16) Katong/Joo Chiat
17) Little India
18) MacRitchie Reservoir
19) Marina Barrage
20) Marina Bay
21) Marina Bay Sands
22) Merlion Park
23) Mount Faber Park
24) National Library Building
25) National Museum of Singapore
26) National University of Singapore
27) Orchard Road
28) Pasir Ris Town Park
29) Pulau Tekong
30) Pulau Ubin
31) Punggol Waterway
32) Raffles Place
33) Resorts World Sentosa
35) River Safari
36) SAFTI
37) Sentosa
38) Singapore Botanic Gardens
39) Singapore Changi Airport
40) Singapore Flyer
41) Singapore River
42) Singapore Sports Hub
43) Singapore Zoo
44) Singapore Discovery Centre
45) Suntec City
46) Tanjong Pagar
47) Tiong Bahru
48) Toa Payoh
49) Vivocity/HarbourFront
50) West Coast Park

Unveiled: 50 special areas on Heart Map
Melody Zaccheus The Straits Times AsiaOne 25 May 15;

UNDER the moonlight, two friends perched atop a "super tree" fell in love.

The lovebirds, university undergraduates Elena Ng and Jason Lee, had been working at the newly opened Gardens by the Bay during their holidays in June 2012.

It was at the OCBC Skyway, an aerial walkway linking a cluster of tree-like architectural structures up to 22m in height, that their relationship blossomed.

Ms Ng, now 24 and an engineer, said: "The skyway was our favourite station among the attractions. At the end of the night, when the crowds had left, we would linger for another 15 minutes chatting as we took in the view of the glittering skyline before us."

Her story is one of 80,000 personal memories of places and spaces that are part of the SG Heart Map. The project has singled out 50 special areas that "define Singapore as home" to mark the country's 50th birthday this year.

Ms Grace Fu, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Environment and Water Resources, unveiled the 50 locations yesterday.

They include Little India, Orchard Road, Changi Airport and Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park.

Tours will be organised to rediscover some of these places.

The free tours will take place on June 27 and 28, July 4 and 5, and Aug 7 and 10. They will cover five zones across Singapore and cater to an average of 80 people a tour.

The north-east tour, for instance, will cover stopover points such as Punggol Waterway, Punggol Jetty, Pasir Ris Town Park and Tampines Round Market.

Those interested can sign up on the SG50 website at www.heartmap.sg

The SG50 project has been collecting stories via its website, contribution booths and roving vans since its launch six months ago.
Organisers said about one in four contributions centres on lives and memories in Housing Board towns. The first HDB satellite town, Toa Payoh, is mentioned the most.

Noting the mix of older areas such as Little India and new sites such as Gardens by the Bay and the Singapore Sports Hub, Ms Fu, who is co-chair of the SG50 Environment and Infrastructure Committee overseeing the project, said: "It shows that, actually, we have some acknowledgement about past developments and appreciation of newer ones.

"By going through this SG Heart Map exercise, we realised that Singaporeans are building new and common memories together in new places."

In her contribution to the map, she chose the Singapore Botanic Gardens, which the country hopes will soon be named a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Ms Fu said she used to go on dates and strolls there with her boyfriend - now her husband - technopreneur Ivan Lee.

"There was one night we did not really look at the clock and we exceeded the time, so the gates were closed. I remember having to go around looking for the warden to open the gate for us," she said.

"This is the place I have very fond memories of... I used to go there with my family... and I still go there to jog regularly now from my (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) office. So indeed, it is a place that means a lot to me and I'm still interacting with it every day."

Homing in on 50 fave spots on SG Heart Map
Melody Zaccheus My Paper AsiaOne 25 May 15;

Under the moonlight, two friends perched atop a "super tree" fell in love. The lovebirds, university undergraduates Elena Ng and Jason Lee, had been working at the newly opened Gardens by the Bay during their holidays in June 2012.

It was at the OCBC Skyway, an aerial walkway linking a cluster of tree-like architectural structures up to 22m in height, that their relationship blossomed.

Said Ms Ng, now 24 and an engineer: "The skyway was our favourite station among the attractions. At the end of the night, when the crowds had left, we would linger for another 15 minutes chatting as we took in the view of the glittering skyline before us."

Ms Ng's story is one of 80,000 personal memories of places and spaces that are part of the SG Heart Map. The project has singled out 50 special areas that "define Singapore as home", to mark the country's 50th birthday this year.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Environment and Water Resources Grace Fu unveiled the 50 locations yesterday.

They include Little India, Orchard Road, Singapore Changi Airport and Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park. Tours will be organised to rediscover some of these spaces.

The free tours will take place on June 27 and 28, July 4 and 5, and Aug 7 and 10. They will cover five zones across Singapore and can cater to an average of 80 people per tour.

The North-East tour, for instance, will cover stops such as Punggol Waterway Park, Punggol Jetty, Pasir Ris Town Park and the Tampines Round Market. People can sign up on the SG50 website www.heartmap.sg.

The SG50 project has been collecting stories via its website, contribution booths and roving vans since its launch six months ago.
Organisers said that about one in four contributions centred around lives and memories in Housing Board towns. The first HDB satellite town, Toa Payoh, was mentioned the most.

Noting the mix of older areas such as Little India, as well as new sites such as Gardens by the Bay and the Singapore Sports Hub, Ms Fu - who is the co-chair of the SG50 Environment and Infrastructure Committee overseeing the project - said: "It shows that...we have some acknowledgement about the past development and appreciation of newer developments.

"By going through this SG Heart Map exercise, we realise that Singaporeans are building new and common memories together in new places."

In her contribution to the map, she chose the Singapore Botanic Gardens, which Singapore hopes will soon be named a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Ms Fu said she used to go on dates and strolls there with her boyfriend - now her husband - technopreneur Ivan Lee.

Read more!

NTU puts green tech to the test on campus

The Straits Times AsiaOne 24 May 15;

A driverless electric shuttle that charges itself wirelessly at designated bus stops in only 15 seconds may soon become a reality at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

Co-funded by the Energy Research Institute @ NTU (Eri@n) and the Economic Development Board, the shuttle is one of 10 joint industrial tie-ups to test-bed technologies under the $20 million EcoCampus initiative launched in April last year.

Other projects involve the testing of more efficient air-conditioning and lighting systems.

Currently in its first phase, which will last two to three years, EcoCampus will involve demonstration projects and testing.

The next phase will involve implementing the green technologies campuswide to help NTU achieve 35 per cent savings in energy and water consumption and waste disposal by 2020.

Programme director of EcoCampus at Eri@n Nilesh Jadhav said that overall energy usage per square metre at the campus has fallen by 7 per cent compared with 2011, when the campus started initiatives on saving energy.

Most of the projects will start to deliver results in one to two years.

"These findings will not only be useful for NTU, but also for other industry stakeholders in Singapore who are interested to save energy on their premises, but are anxious about the results and cost-effectiveness of new technologies to do so," said Mr Nilesh.

The executive director of Eri@n, Professor Subodh Mhaisalkar, said that besides the electric shuttle, he hopes to install on campus systems which harness the energy of footsteps via a special type of flooring.

As for Navya, which costs about US$250,000 (S$334,300) commercially, it is hoped that the bus will ferry students and staff around the NTU campus and make short-distance trips from NTU to the nearby CleanTech Park within a year.

Routes can be pre-programmeed into the vehicle so it knows when to stop before a traffic light or at a bus stop, for instance.

The bus can cover 100km to 110km on a single charge, and travels at a speed of about 20kmh.

Currently, the shuttle can charge itself in an hour, compared with the six hours it took when the project began in 2013. Work is ongoing to make the charging wireless.

"Saving money is fantastic, but the ultimate aim is to reduce climate change," said Prof Subodh.

Read more!

Underground goods movement system could ease traffic congestion: Experts

An underground tunnel transporting goods between the future Tuas Port - opening around 2022 - and industrial estates will help ease traffic congestion, experts say.
Hetty Musfirah Abdul Khamid, Channel NewsAsia 24 May 15;

SINGAPORE: Singapore already has an extensive rail network underground to transport people, but now it hopes to dig deep into its subterranean spaces to move goods.

JTC Corporation has called a tender for feasibility studies. It is asking for at least three tunnel alignments to link the future mega-container port in Tuas to the industrial estates at Tanjong Kling, Jurong West and Gali Batu. This includes looking at the depth, space allocation and maintenance.

The project - a first for Singapore - is expected to facilitate the movement of goods from point to point without relying on roads, therefore potentially relieving traffic congestion.

Assistant Professor Walter Theseira, transport economist at the Nanyang Technological University, said: “They want to move as much as possible underground, where the trucks are not competing for regular road spaces with buses and car drivers and so on.

"When you have a lot of heavy vehicles on regular roads, they add a lot to congestion, but they also pose some safety concerns. These are why if we can use something to help reduce the traffic load, that will be a good thing.”

The move is expected to optimise use of surface land for industrial purposes and other supporting facilities. Experts believe the underground goods movement system will be automated, with conveyor belts and self-driving cars being possible options. They said Singapore is ready for such a system given its experience in tunnelling work.

Said Prof Theseira: “If you look at the tender proposal, the term that the tender uses is a goods movers system, that's a clue that they might also be considering a system which is also being proposed by several European countries - that's basically an automated tunnel system where goods can be transferred from point to point without human intervention or people driving the vehicle, for example."

Mr Chong Kee Sen, president of The Institution of Engineers, said the system is “environmentally clean”, in the sense that “it minimises the environmental impact when you transport things on surface ground”.

He said: “Depending on the feasibility studies and the studies of the various consultants, it could be a mechanised system - not really a system where drivers are driving trucks underneath. It could be a train system where goods are being brought from one place to another place.

“In the Jurong area, we probably have relatively better soil conditions but you might still encounter soft spot or soft clay in the way so you probably have to be careful - like all tunnelling projects - you have to manage those.”

Besides the tunnel, there are also plans to construct another cavern in Jurong - this time, in Jurong West. Factors being considered include the ventilation system for the underground facility and the industries that can be housed there.

“Presently we are using these caverns for storage - like for Jurong island caverns, we store petrochemical products or oil, but this particular one in Jurong West and even Tanjong Kling will also most likely be for warehousing use,” said Mr Chong.

Mr Chong added: “In caverns, you have to go into quite a deep depth and then you are actually making a cavity within the rock mass, so the first concern and challenge is ensuring that you have a cavity that is structurally safe. And the other thing, of course, will be the infiltration of water into the cavity as it is - so these are the main significant challenges in terms of having caverns.”

The tender for the entire project closes on Jun 12, 2015.

- CNA/hs

Read more!

Malaysia: Sabah raises idea for shark park

RUBEN SARIO The Star 25 May 15;

KOTA KINABALU: The waters off Sabah may soon become the safest place on the planet – for sharks.

A Sabah Fisheries Department manager said they were planning a sanctuary here for the fish most often portrayed as menacing and deadly, famously by Steven Spielberg’s movie Jaws.

Head of marine resource management Lawrence Kissol said there would be a study later this year on such a safe haven.

Speaking at a workshop on ways to conserve sharks and rays in Sabah’s waters, Kissol said they would get feedback from groups such as the Sabah Shark Alliance.

The workshop was organised by the alliance.

He said the marine park would be closed to fishermen, except for limited periods, and would help protect sharks and rays.

For its part, the alliance wants to set up shark-fin free areas around Sabah and short-term bars on catching of manta rays.

People at the workshop also wanted to push a more positive image of sharks and rays and how they help the environment and economy.

The workshop also discussed legal protection for sharks and rays, a national action plan for the conservation and management of sharks and the need for responsible consumption of marine products.

The alliance is made up of, among others, the Malaysian Nature Society (Sabah branch), the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) and the Shark, Education, Awareness and Survival (SEAS) group.

Other members are Scubazoo, the Tropical Research and Conservation Centre,

WWF-Malay­sia, Shark Stewards and Land Em­­po­­werment Animals People.

Fin.

Read more!