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guides
of chek jawa
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| Wai
Man Why I serve as a volunteer guide? Being a volunteer guide at Chek Jawa is a marrying of two of my favourite pastimes - photography and nature. There's so much to photograph, and there's so much more to learn from nature. Photography is an excellent way of capturing the delicate moments of nature. Nature guiding is about learning from nature itself. I hope that through guiding at Chek Jawa, I can help others appreciate our natural heritage better. My first visit to Chek Jawa My first visit to Chek Jawa was organized by the Sungei Buloh volunteers. To me it was a step back in time. It brought back lots of memories of my growing up in Sembawang. The beaches back then were lined with mangroves. There were lots of things to see especially at low tides. Unfortunately, most of the natural beaches at Sembawang and elsewhere in Singapore had been decimated by the onslaught of reclamation works. At Chek Jawa, inter-tidal life forms of all sorts still thrive. My first visit there was indeed beautiful beyond words. An interesting feature of Chek Jawa The interdependencies between the eco-systems in this small area of Pulau Ubin intrigue me. For example, rain washes down nutrients from the hill forests to feed the life forms sea grass lagoons. The rocky shores prevent erosion of the hill forests by breaking the sea waves and preventing it from going too far inland. The sand banks also act as a breakwater for the sensitive sea grass lagoons and trap sufficient sea water during low tides to keep the marine life forms going. The mangroves and coral rubbles maintain a constant food chain for all inter-tidal life forms. So delicate is the interdependencies of the eco-systems that any damage to one invariably affects the survival of the others. As a volunteer guide, I hope need to drive this point home to the visitors. An interesting creature of Chek Jawa Fiddler crabs of Chek Jawa fascinate me. You might miss these tiny little crabs if you are not observant. They are all over the sea grass lagoon area. The best spot to observe Fiddler crabs is behind a low rock at the entrance to the sea grass lagoon area. When the tide has gone out, Fiddler crabs come out to play, and mate. A male Fiddler crab has one very large and colourful pincer compared to its other one. The large pincher looks like a fiddler, as its name suggests. At low tide, the male digs a burrow and waits outside it. It waves its large pincer to attract the female specie passing by. The female attracted by it, moves closer to the burrow. The excited male then stamps the ground to create vibrations. If the female is impressed, it then moves into the burrow. The male plugs the burrow with sand from inside and retreats to mate with the female. By the next hide tide, the female is ready to spawn its eggs. The eggs are then dispersed by the tide. A memorable outing at Chek Jawa On one outing with other Chek Jawa guides, we spotted a long drift net lying across the sand banks. Drift nets or gill nets as they also known as, are used by fisher men to trawl the seas for fish. It was originally designed to trap fishes by the gills as they swim through the net. The sad thing is that drift nets catch more than just fish. Drift nets drag everything up in its path, including those in the coral reefs and sea bed. To marine naturalists, these are appropriately named "Walls of Death". Although the damage by drift nets is well documented, it did not stop irresponsible fisher man around the world with the carnage. When we spotted one drift net at Chek Jawa on 23rd November 2003, we spared no effort to remove it. The volunteer guides cut up the drift net, which was about 50 metres long, and dragged the pieces ashore. We managed also to release some trapped fishes and crabs. It was tough work, but the group's collaboration was satisfying and certainly memorable. What I do at high tide? Once you have been bitten by the nature bug, there are many other nature areas to explore, even on tiny Singapore. The nature parks managed by National Parks are great for family outings. Some can be over crowded at weekends, but others are great for a short retreat, and to dwell into birding. Bird photography is tough, but challenging. I also started to explore wet markets and live sea food restaurants. I have found marine creatures that are not normally seen or served. For example, I chanced upon a sea food restaurant that serves live moray eels, blue spotted sting rays, and an assortment of crayfish. I am also planning to explore the fishing ports of Jurong and Senoko. Perhaps at these places, one can see how over fished our oceans really are, and reflect on the need for active nature conservation. |
What's
so special
about Chek Jawa? Guided walks Why join the walks? How to register? Joining the walk How to get there? What to prepare? Courtesy & safety Special tips for photographers More FAQs About the guides of Chek Jawa |
a
companion website to the chek
jawa guidebook
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