First GreenDrinks session attended just a few hours ago (see Jan 4 post here), and I was frankly overwhelmed with the number of people! Clearly over-capacity, the show went on with a blast. Interactive session was not burdened by poor acoustics, and instead people were shooting out comments, questions and random ideas. Here’s a summary:
Sivasothi aka Otterman went on to give his usual biodiversity speech, aimed at informing the layman that Singapore does have wildlife, more so than one thinks! First on forest cover – that our proudly acclaimed 48% of forest cover is really, broken down into many ‘green spaces’, of which only 0.2% is primary forest. We have leopard cats, banded leaf monkeys (shy and arboreal, unlike the long tailed macaques clearly visible and waiting to pounce on your plastic bag), pangolins (see pangolin conservation issues), wild boars, mousedeer, dugongs (rare), moniter lizards, otters, and then some. Roadkill pictures added to double shock effect on audience who 1. never knew we shared land with these animals, 2. didn’t expect gore. Am leaving them out here.
Mammal sightings? Help us keep a record at mammal.sivasothi.com. No man can work alone in recording all these sightings, and crowd sourcing not only gives a sense of ownership but pride as well! Similarly, the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore – another crowd effort – is still going strong as ever, with 2009’s haul of more than 13 tonnes of waste from our coasts. Most of which, surprisingly or not, turned out to be cigarettes. This event, FYI, happens worldwide annually, and 2010 was the 25th anniversary since the start of the event – and the 20th year for Singapore. Wanna know more? Check here for a site near you, globally.
But what about things going on with the government? Concerned about our precious land use? Well, the URA Concept Plan 2011 is still open and sourcing for feedback, so all you concerned residents in Singapore, do go take a look and give some feedback!
For the biology community out there, it’s heartening to know that after the initiation of Blue Plan 2009 comes the Mega Marine Survey of Singapore. Exciting line-up! Launched by NParks, this mega-project targets mudflats, coral reefs, sea beds and all coastal areas of Singapore! No need for rocket scientists, anyone interested can volunteer to play a part in recognising our biodiversity! Simply click here to register your interest, receive information and take part!
Then came an interesting switch to the Green Corridors proposal, a combined effort between Nature Society Singapore, Singapore Heritage Society, and groups of architects and cycling enthusiasts. Addressing use of land left by the railway track once the railway service relocates to Woodlands, they propose a Green Corridor to enable connection of communities of people and wildlife alike.
Promoting recreation and exercise through appropriate garden and plant cultivation, cycling and pedestrian paths, they also make a case for keeping existing railway tracks for certain parts to preserve heritage, history and at the same time, enable use of clean energy trams as a form of leisure locomotion. Not only a scenic tourist destination, but possible marathon and commuter routes, as they emphasize its potential to serve the 1.2 million people living adjacent to these tracks. Some people have sentimental attachment to these tracks, and others haven’t yet discovered this beautiful treasure of Singapore.
Take a ride from the Tanjong Pagar Railway station to nearby Johor Bahru (remember your passport!) today to enjoy the scenery – and perhaps see for yourself the rail real beauty of these tracks, before the service retires to Woodlands in July 2011. Support the green corridor on facebook! More into twitter? Join here! Not sure what’s really going on with the rails? Read this and this for background.
Lastly, a huge bunch of thanks and appreciation going out to Olivia Choong, who started this whole thing going in Singapore. :D
Thanks for sharing this good summary of what went on yesterday at Green Drinks! And appreciate the sharing and support of The Green Corridor.
Thanks for an excellent summary and links…really couldn’t be there last night. Proud to know there is so much biodiversity in Singapore, and that the green community is really coming together! :)
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Olive Ventures, Ivan. Ivan said: Green Drinking in January http://bit.ly/fIdZ6O On yesterday night's @greendrinkssg session featuring @sivasothi & @greencorridorsg […]
Thanks guys! Yupp there was a whole mix of brown, green and blue groups at the session, good to see!