Today our class visited the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Originally reserved in 1884 as the first forest reserve, BTNR remains the largest and least disturbed primary forest in Singapore. Although it was hot and humid (nothing new at this point, but doesn’t mean I am going to resist the temptation to throw in a complaint), it was pretty amazing to be in a place with such significance. Sadly, I wasn’t able to take too many photos since I had to take notes. But, a few of my classmates and I compiled this lovely list of words to help evoke rainforest-ness in you:
Aside from the 3 images on the top of this post, the only other pictures I was able to take was during a photo shoot I had with some monkeys… Enjoy!
lONG TAILED MACaque PHOTO SHOOT
Tip #1: Don’t make eye contact or show teeth to the macaques… they will think you are challenging them and fight you.
Overall, we ended up seeing a good amount of awesome animals and plants. If the words and few monkey pics above are not sufficient enough for you to get the experience, you can also follow this link to see the google image search results for “animals and plants of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve”. We saw some of those…
Next up… Research in Pulau Tioman
Pulau Tioman is a small island off east coast of Malaysia. Its numerous habitats and its position as a marine reserve under the Fisheries Act of 1985 makes Tioman the perfect place to study biodiversity. We split the class into 5-6 groups and will be participating in different research projects within the island (terrestrial plants, marine, freshwater, mammals, etc). I will be participating in the marine group and will be conducting research of three different bays to quantify a carbonate budget- a survey of the producers and erodes of a coral reef to identify its current status. In simpler terms, I will floating in beautiful waters for a few hours a day counting fish, urchins, and coral.
We will be spending a week on the island.
Stay tuned for my next posting as it should be quite an exciting one! Until then… I leave you with this beauty…
Tip #2: To prep your new dive goggles, use a small amount of toothpaste (white ‘normal’ stuff) to clean the lens. Rinse and repeat 4-5 times. This is necessary to remove a thin film of silicone that builds up in manufacturing processes that will prevent you from seeing clearly underwater.