Chek Jawa with TeamSeagrass

5am and the intrepid Seagrassers were gathered again for another round of monitoring, this time at Chek Jawa.It's our first time going to Chek Jawa so early in the morning, just to catch the low tide.This year, there are not many good low tides during daylight on a weekend.

The seagrasses were doing very well indeed!But how is the rest of Chek Jawa faring? We've always been concerned about recovery since the mass deaths of some key Chek Jawa marine life following massive flooding in 2007.

This is my first predawn trip to Chek Jawa so it was a good opportunity to check out the marine life that is more active in the dark.
Carpet anemones and peacock anemones seemed to be doing fine. They festooned the shores like many-coloured flowers.There were also some of these maroon sea anemones that infest Pulau Sekudu. But they were not so plentiful on Chek Jawa.And one sea anemone that I've not seen before. Or is it some kind of peacock anemone? Hmmm...

The coral rubble was very bare. While there were many clumps of these long branched purple sponges, there were very few other sponges.

Chek Jawa is best known for its echinoderms: a group which includes sea stars, sand dollars and sea cucumbers.
There were lots of biscuit sea stars (Goniodiscaster scaber).Several cake sea stars (Anthenea aspera).Including this very pretty pink cake sea star!Even the rarely spotted Nepanthia sp. sea star was spotted.
As expected, sand stars (Astropecten sp.) were particularly plentiful, especially near the North sand bar.And two of these bluish baby knobbly sea stars (Protoreaster nodosus) were seen in the seagrass area! This is the first time for me!

Alas, we were unable to find any of the Common sea stars (Archaster typicus).

Sea cucumbers were also plentiful today.There were several of the warty sea cucumbers (Cercodemas anceps) which are usually less commonly seen.
Elsewhere, thorny sea cucumbers (Colochirus quadrangularis) are usually more common, but today on Chek Jawa only a few were seen.

It was good to see lots of ball sea cucumbers (Phyllophorus sp.) and a few smooth sea cucumbers.It was particularly heartening to see several large sandfish sea cucumbers (Holothuria scaber). These edible sea cucumbers are very rare on our other more accessible shores.

The shores of Chek Jawa were teeming with sand dollars!!There were countless cake sand dollars (Arachnoides placenta) especially on the North sand bar.A huge surprise were the large numbers of keyhole sand dollars seen (Echinodiscus truncatus). These sand dollars are usually rather rare. And those seen today included a huge one that measured 9cm across!Nobel volutes (Cymbiola nobilis) were wiped out in the flood of 2007 so it was nice to see a small one today. The snail in the photo on the right is an olive snail (Family Olividae), my first sighting on Chek Jawa. I also saw one Miliaris cowrie (Cypraea miliaris).
I didn't see any nudibranchs except for the large Armina babai. Several were seen by the Team. But Chay Hoon said a Cerberilla was also seen, while I did see one egg ribbon on a rock so the nudis are around.At first I thought the little black things under this peacock anemone was strange looking Phoronid worms. But it turned out to be a tiny sea pen!Besides this flowery sea pen (Family Vertillidae), there were also a few of these white 'sea pencils' (which have yet to be identified). But the sea pens with the orange 'root' (Pteroides sp.) were not seen.

Still Missing in Action: Besides the missing Common sea stars (Archaster typicus), no Button snails (Umbonium vestiarum) were seen, and the area where they used to be is now full of tubeworms.
As we head home, we take a closer look at the beautiful Memecylon edule tree which is in full bloom.This rare coastal tree was once thought to be lost to Singapore, until these specimens were rediscovered on Chek Jawa. Another rare coastal tree is Barringtonia racemosa with these pendulums of delicate flowers. This tree was planted at Chek Jawa as part of efforts to conserve our native plants.

The terrestrial elements of Chek Jawa are more obvious to visitors. But what is truly special about Chek Jawa is the intertidal marine life. It is not only precious but also vulnerable as the mass deaths demonstrated. Regular studies such as TeamSeagrass and other documentation efforts help keep track on what is happening on this shore.

Nature guides may soon need to be certified

From the article below, main points of the certification move are:

Why? "to eliminate the risk of shoddy tours and ill-informed guides", "to standardise the quality of information" among the rapidly increasing number of guides due to "rapidly growing number of eco-tourists". "This is meant to be a comfort to the public who want to engage a service, so they will know that the person doing the guiding has a consistently high level of knowledge".

Applies to whom? "all those conducting eco-tours will have to go for training".

Any exemptions? "will not apply to teachers and their students, or people who want to share what they know with friends".

For which locations? "apply to the roughly 300 green spaces under the jurisdiction of NParks " including "Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve and Chek Jawa in Pulau Ubin".

What are the details? "The details of the programme have not been established", said Dr Leong Chee Chiew, NParks chief operations officer

How much will certification cost? NParks "has not come up with the cost of the proposed training programme, nor has it decided if there will be a difference in what professional guides and volunteers will have to pay for training". "The fee would be more than $100 but would not be onerous. Subsidies will be made available to locals".

What's next? "Consultations will be held with eco-guides later this year before its plans are cast in stone"

Nature guides may soon need to be certified
Proposed NParks rule designed to raise quality of guides
Shobana Kesava, Straits Times 30 Jun 08;

BY THE end of next year, all nature guides who show local and foreign tourists around Singapore's parks and reserves could need a certificate from the Government.

The proposed rule, designed to eliminate the risk of shoddy tours and ill-informed guides, would apply to the roughly 300 green spaces under the jurisdiction of the National Parks Board (NParks).

The list includes some of Singapore's biggest and most popular parks, such as the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve and Chek Jawa in Pulau Ubin.

NParks chief operations officer Leong Chee Chiew said: 'We would like to standardise the quality of information given out to those who are interested in nature.'

NParks said a big reason for its proposal was the rapidly growing number of eco-tourists visiting its parks and reserves. The demand has prompted a need for more people - both volunteers and professionals - to get into the guiding game.

NParks said there are 1,600 registered volunteer guides, but it is unclear how many are active. There could be hundreds of other private volunteers, according to some estimates.

Most guides are nature lovers or members of conservation groups who offer free tours. But there are a handful of professionals who charge about $100 per hour for excursions.

Eventually all those conducting eco-tours will have to go for training, though the details of the programme have not been established, said Dr Leong.

NParks' director of industry, Mr P. Teva Raj, said this will not apply to teachers and their students, or people who want to share what they know with friends.

'This is meant to be a comfort to the public who want to engage a service, so they will know that the person doing the guiding has a consistently high level of knowledge,' he said.

Seven experienced nature guides who spoke with The Straits Times agreed that training would be valuable.

But they were riled by the idea that they might require accreditation. Some see it as an insult after decades of promoting Singapore's natural heritage, while others think it goes against the spirit of volunteerism.

A guide certified by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), Mr Grant Pereira, 59, said: 'I don't see a reason for external guidelines. I am a certified guide by the STB, I am extremely good at the few guided tours I specialise in. Why is this necessary?'

It appears that not every eco-tourist needs licensed guides. Nature lover Nassera Guerroumi, 36, who is from France and came to live in Singapore two years ago, does not think certification is necessary beyond training in first aid.

'Why formalise it? People who do this love nature or they wouldn't bother sharing their passion. I don't need Latin names of plants, or someone talking all the time, I just want to be safe and know where to go to have an experience,' she said.

NParks has not come up with the cost of the proposed training programme, nor has it decided if there will be a difference in what professional guides and volunteers will have to pay for training.

Mr Raj, when pressed, said the fee would be more than $100 but would not be onerous. He said subsidies will be made available to locals.

President of the Nature Society of Singapore, Mr Shawn Lum, 45, said that, in principle, NParks' idea is excellent.

'It ensures that NParks, as a custodian of our natural heritage, has an idea of who are leading walks and if they're being done responsibly. The devil is in the detail which stakeholders would want to help the authorities pin down. But this is worth it,' he said.

Mr Raj said consultations will be held with eco-guides later this year before its plans are cast in stone.

SCHEME MAY BACKFIRE

'Some of the ideas like safety training are great, but I'm afraid the certification might become a barrier to volunteerism. Having to pay may discourage people and certificates cannot guarantee quality in content-delivery and style.'
VOLUNTEER NATURE GUIDE NOVEMBER TAN, 26

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

'I've seen exceptional guides but I've also seen guides who allow tourists to stay close to a bird's roosting site for too long, not knowing such behaviour will prompt the birds to abandon the site. This does not help the precious wildlife we have left.'
WILDLIFE CONSULTANT SUBARAJ RAJATHURAI, 45

NParks to consult Australian institute on guide training scheme
Straits Times 30 Jun 08;

THE National Parks Board (NParks) has turned to an Australian tourism body to help it establish what information guides should know about Singapore's nature reserves.

Recommendations from the government-linked William Angliss Institute Specialist Centre for Tourism are likely to form the basis of a proposed NParks scheme to accredit guides.

NParks recently put 19 of its senior nature guides and staff through a week-long review by the Australian institute that tested their knowledge.

Guides had to demonstrate their skills in guided walks at the Singapore's new HortPark, and traditional haunts such as Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, the central catchment area and the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.

NParks' senior outreach officer, Ms Karen Teo, 35, went through the test, the results of which are expected in the next few weeks.

She trains some of the 1,600 volunteers registered with NParks.

'I've not really had formalised training, so it was good to find out I was doing a lot of things right and that...I could do more to promote larger campaigns, for example, against climate change,' she said.

The Australian institute said shortcomings were spotted in areas of risk management, including how to handle someone with heat stroke.

When ready, Singapore's new accreditation programme will likely set a minimum standard of general knowledge for guides and require them to know first aid.

They will also have to understand how to minimise the impact of tours on the environment.

full articles also on the wildsingapore news blog

Flying Fowl

A group of about 10 Red junglefowl were seen today, foraging on the shore and settling on a large boulder. This is a blurry photo taken with a not-long lens from a great distance away. The Red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) is the wild ancestor of domesticated chickens. Pulau Ubin is probably the only place in Singapore where you have a relatively good chance of seeing these rare birds in the wild. At Chek Jawa, large groups of 20 or more have been seen emerging from the coastal forest to forage on the beach with the outgoing tide.

As I got closer, the birds started to fly!!First one took off.Then more!
They really do fly and fly very well.It is said that these birds can fly quite a distance, for example to cross rivers, and to quite a height, spiralling upwards to the tree tops. In fact, they roost in trees.

Red junglefowl are considered vulnerable in Singapore and globally vulnerable to extinction. They are not only affected by habitat loss but also by poaching and interbreeding with domesticated chickens.

Master Plan 2008: Pulau Ubin, Chek Jawa and our northern shores

Is Chek Jawa safe from reclamation?

The panel at the exhibition on Nature features Chek Jawa.As part of the effort to 'protect key areas of ecological signficance' and an example of 'some nature areas that have been selectively and sensitively integrated within parks so that it is easier to commune with nature'. Perhaps significantly, what is featured is just the more terrestrial Chek Jawa boardwalk and Visitor Centre.From the URA website, the bulk of Pulau Ubin is designated as Nature Area (NA). Although this designation does not extend to the Chek Jawa intertidal zone.What is additionally unsettling is that the outline in the Master Plan for Ubin at Chek Jawa extends to the low water mark...suspiciously like a reclaimed land boundary. The google map below shows the terrestrial and intertidal areas at Chek Jawa.
In fact, the outlines for Pulau Tekong on the URA website (and exhibition panels) ... .. match the reclaimed area on Pulau Tekong as can be seen from the google map.
In 1990, in the book "The Next Lap" this was the plan for Pulau Ubin, Chek Jawa and Pulau Tekong.
Back to today's Master Plan 2008, a closer look shows a Nature Area designated on Pulau Tekong.As for the land use plan, the olive green colour onPulau Ubin and Pulau Tekong indicates "open space", the light blue "water body"and beige "reserve site". The beige portions of Pulau Tekong includes the currently reclaimed areas.
With a designated conservation area (marked with a dotted line with "C" in the centre) located at House No. 1, the Visitor Centre of Chek Jawa.
Pulau Ubin is NOT included as part of the grand plan for Leisure in Singapore.Although existing leisure features on Pulau Ubin are indicated, including a 'sea star' for Chek Jawa, located on the intertidal.Changi is a part of the leisure plan. There doesn't appear to be any new shore development plans for Changi. Although other leisure activities are planned for the area.Further along the northern coastline, there are plans to open up Coney Island.and to develop facilities on the Punggol shore.And even further up, there are plans to develop the Sembawang shoreline.As well as the Woodlands coast next to Admiralty Park.