A big part of Postcards from Seletar is the flora and fauna that lived with humans at the Airbase. Many of our open day visitors came though the Wild Singapore network, and it is always a delight to follow Ria’s adventures. wild shores of singapore: Stonefish at Tanah Merah!. Continue reading Stonefish at Tanah Merah – via Wild Singapore
Some discussion going on over at The Online Citizen Singapore expunged… bit by bit And Suresh has posted up some more photos at his stream Heavy machinery moving in as the end of the year approaches. This house is slated for demolition. Continue reading Link
Had to look up ‘expunge’ ex·punge (k-spnj) tr.v. ex·punged, ex·pung·ing, ex·pung·es 1. To erase or strike out: “I have corrected some factual slips, expunged some repetitions” Kenneth Tynan. 2. To eliminate completely; annihilate. See Synonyms at erase. Continue reading Roads will be expunged
The bulldozers seemed louder these past couple of days, and we’ve been sneezing like it’s springtime. A quick stroll down the lane revealed the reason – the logistics centre is being demolished. Continue reading Heritage to rubble in just a few days
The Nature Society Singapore will once again be leading a tour to spot as many of the 80 species that reside at Seletar. As their habitat and food chain disappear, so will they, so make the most of the opportunity while it is still available. More details at the Events listing. Continue reading Bird Trail on 16th Dec, 8 to 11 am
Last week, one of the mahoganies had to be felled. Nothing to do with the Aerospace Hub, rather, it needed to go to make way for a new road that connects the Punggol islands to TPE. Suresh has captured an image of the remaining root of a tree that did not go lightly – we understand the tree was so large, the actual time it … Continue reading Goodbye, Heritage Tree 145
Report by Koh Gui Qing for Reuters Canada on 15th July 2007 Singapore set to raze third of heritage bungalows Black and Whites are among the most sought-after housing in Singapore, and soon they will be even harder to get as the government plans to raze up to a third of the 500 to 700 remaining bungalows to make way for an industrial park. Continue reading Academics urge greater conservation consciousness
It was a pleasure to see Ho Ai Li’s July 8th Sunday Times review of a new book, Trees of Bukit Timah Campus. The book was published jointly by NUS and Nature Society. According to the ST article, it is a 123 page volume that includes description of 41 of the 60 species found on the campus. A special feature is the collection of essays … Continue reading A Tribute to Old Friends
Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. – John Muir A quick survey of the Airbase suggests there are some 260 trees of girth greater than 1 meter, but as Seletar Airbase is not a Conservation Area protected by National Parks, only 30 of these will remain … Continue reading See the trees before they disappear
In November 2002, property management company DTZ Debenham Tie Leung illegally felled a rare tree reputed to have given Changi its name. The 3.4 meter girth tree was standing in a conservation area, where felling of a tree with a girth above 1 metre is forbidden. Habitatnews has a detailed timeline of events. The courts imposed a mere S$8,000 fine on the company for the … Continue reading Sad loss
The sheer spectrum of flora and fauna in Seletar is simply breathtaking. Butterflies and birds are just the more obvious groups. It got us thinking about the status of biodiversity in this island. EarthTrends publishes an Environmental Information Portal and has comparative data for many countries. According to its profile of Singapore, protected areas as a percent of total land in Singapore is 5.5% versus … Continue reading Biodiversity in Singapore
We are seeing a rise in the level of activity by poachers. Despite calling the police, for the second weekend in a row, birds have been trapped. Here is a photo taken by one of the residents. Wild birds being snatched in Seletar Camp It could be due to the news that many residents will be moving out of the camp, and therefore less vigilant … Continue reading Poachers in the Camp
This is the ultra-short conclusion of the findings in a study by Dennis Hansen, Heine Kiesbüy, and Christine Müller from Zurich University, and Carl Jones from the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, who found that an endangered plant in Mauritius depends on a neighboring plant to provide a safe home for its pollinator, a day-active gecko. The admirable efforts to keep human residents up to date on … Continue reading Neighbors gone, sex gone, fruits gone, species gone
The BBC’s special report forecasting impact of climate change is sobering. As much as we in Singapore think we can insulate ourselves, inevitably we too will be impacted. On a happier note, the Camp continues to ignite imagination – The Governance Board was awarded a project last week, and as part of our deliverables, we will be commissioning sketches of nature at the camp – … Continue reading Postcards from Seletar
We have been busy these past 5 weeks, and so it seems, has JTC. In the letterbox yesterday was notice from Premas that the Aerospace Hub master plan will be published in the next month. Just how much of the heritage will be preserved remains to be seen. The Straits Times carried a piece on renovation work that had begun over at Birdcage Walk. Simon … Continue reading Long overdue
The growing waste-lines in our society are the result of our incredible inventiveness and productivity in this century, which has made us forget that inextricably we belong to nature. Check out the full article by Brian Richards from BRR Thanks, Alison, for the link Continue reading Waste-lines
On 12 April 2006, Singapore acceded to the Kyoto protocol. The National Environment Agency has been designated as National Authority to deliver on this commitment. It’s website lists several campaigns to arrest greenhouse gas emissions. For many inhabitants at the camp, working from home is a choice we make, to reduce our individual carbon footprints. Many parents co-ordinate with each other to car-pool on school … Continue reading What does the Kyoto protocol mean to you?
Did you know that Singapore’s National Parks Board has listed 7 trees in Seletar Airbase in its Heritage Tree Register? They are all broad leafed mahoganies, entry numbers 143 through 150. When space was cleared for creation of an RAF base, some trees were obviously spared. Continue reading Heritage Trees
One of the most memorable discoveries as we moved in was the Sunday ritual of exploring Garage Sales – we were thrilled to see this tradition alive and well in the Camp. It suggested there was a community of ready buyers, people who were happy to take on used goods. Quite the departure from the more common practice in Singapore of ‘on with the new … Continue reading Recycling
Pete Biggadike’s collection of photos from 1958 paint a vivid picture of how business of the day (being an air force) mixed with life that ranged from walks along the beach (photo of 20-inch diameter starfish) and village life at Jalan Kayu. Enjoy! Continue reading A glimpse of the Camp in 1958
He may have lost his tail, but he seems to have all his spunk intact. Sunbathing on our pool deck. Sep 07 update – Isabelle has been indulgent, and fulfilled my wish to include a monitor lizard in our postcard series. They seem so self contained. And Mansoor was not the only one who fancied teak decking 😉 Continue reading Mansoor, our domesticated monitor lizard
Building an authoritative taxonomy of the Camp’s ecology will require many hands. We were fortunate to have the support of The Nature Society (NSS), a non-government, non-profit organisation dedicated to the appreciation, conservation, study and enjoyment of the natural heritage in Singapore and the surrounding region. Run by volunteers, the Society depends financially on contributions from its members as well as companies, institutions and individuals. … Continue reading Birds of Seletar Camp
Postcards from Seletar 