"Quickly put your plastic bag in your bag", I shouted across to one of my female student who was being chased agrassively by an alpha male. She had been confronted by the monkey once she stepped off the bus, and the poor girl was running in circles trying to get the monkey off her back.
This was the first lesson that we learnt once we reached Bukit Timah Hill - never to feed monkeys, if not, they will turn agressive. Bukit Timah Hill is one of the remainding few patches of primary forests in Singapore. Primary forests are the original patches of the forests that have never been cleared by Man. Secondary forests, on the other hand, are forests that have grown back after human intervention, for example, an abandoned rubber plantation. Due to the lack of human intervention, primary forests are known for their richness in biodiversity, tall tress and lack of undergrowth due to the density of the canpoy wipping out sunlight within the forest. In comparison, secondary forests tend to have lesser species and have more undergrowth as more sunlight can pass through.
Mr Wong, my first guide, shared that there are around 900 species of non-flowering plants and 100 species of flowering plants in Singapore. He also shared that there are more types of plants and animals in Singapore compared to the entire North America! How amazing is that? We are a country too small to find in the world map, and with more than 90% of our forests cleared, we still have more species types compared to an entire continent!
Throughout the fieldtrip, we saw many interesting plants. Beside are the links of my students' blogs which capture much of our learning. We also did manage to see the monitor lizard and several other insects, but they were too fast to capture on the camera.
I really enjoyed this fieldtrip, not just because I like being with nature, but I can see a lot of good character/values in my students. Many students showed interest, and were taking photographs, writing down notes and asking questions. It was heartwarming to see them interested in the nature. I see students, particularly the international students, sharing their own knowledge about certain plants. I also was proud of the student, whom despite was born with a hole in her heart, decided to join the class and climbed slowly to enjoy nature and persevered on. I was equally touched when I saw another student being a gentlement and offered to carry the bag of the girl I mentioned earlier on.
That's why I enjoy organising fieldtrips for my students - other than to expose them to nature & reality - I also get to see them with a different perspective.
This was the first lesson that we learnt once we reached Bukit Timah Hill - never to feed monkeys, if not, they will turn agressive. Bukit Timah Hill is one of the remainding few patches of primary forests in Singapore. Primary forests are the original patches of the forests that have never been cleared by Man. Secondary forests, on the other hand, are forests that have grown back after human intervention, for example, an abandoned rubber plantation. Due to the lack of human intervention, primary forests are known for their richness in biodiversity, tall tress and lack of undergrowth due to the density of the canpoy wipping out sunlight within the forest. In comparison, secondary forests tend to have lesser species and have more undergrowth as more sunlight can pass through.
Mr Wong, my first guide, shared that there are around 900 species of non-flowering plants and 100 species of flowering plants in Singapore. He also shared that there are more types of plants and animals in Singapore compared to the entire North America! How amazing is that? We are a country too small to find in the world map, and with more than 90% of our forests cleared, we still have more species types compared to an entire continent!
Throughout the fieldtrip, we saw many interesting plants. Beside are the links of my students' blogs which capture much of our learning. We also did manage to see the monitor lizard and several other insects, but they were too fast to capture on the camera.
I really enjoyed this fieldtrip, not just because I like being with nature, but I can see a lot of good character/values in my students. Many students showed interest, and were taking photographs, writing down notes and asking questions. It was heartwarming to see them interested in the nature. I see students, particularly the international students, sharing their own knowledge about certain plants. I also was proud of the student, whom despite was born with a hole in her heart, decided to join the class and climbed slowly to enjoy nature and persevered on. I was equally touched when I saw another student being a gentlement and offered to carry the bag of the girl I mentioned earlier on.
That's why I enjoy organising fieldtrips for my students - other than to expose them to nature & reality - I also get to see them with a different perspective.
Thank You for letting us to go Bukit Timah Hill . From : Jia Qian :)
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