Sunday, December 25, 2016

Chek Jawa outing with the Naked Hermit Crabs

We have concluded the final two walks for 2016. There were 60 visitors in November and a bumper crop of 80 visitors in December. We are so happy to see the wonderful turnout of parents with their kids in tow! The school holidays are perfect for families to spend time together exploring the wild side of Singapore. With the Crabs as guides, it's a great way to explore Chek Jawa Boardwalk!
Visitors in December
The walk begins with a briefing from the guides. There were 4 guides altogether, and visitors were split roughly 20 to a group.
Briefing before the walk
We found lots of ripened fruit on the ground - fruit from the seashore nutmeg tree. In fact we found at least 3 areas in Chek Jawa littered with the bright red fruits. Chek Jawa remains one of the last strongholds for the critically endangered species of the seashore nutmeg in Singapore.
Seashore nutmegs

Monday, November 7, 2016

FREE Nature Walk at Chek Jawa Boardwalk - November and December


Gold-spotted mudskipper seen at high tide at Chek Jawa (October 2016)
It's the year-end school holidays! We are opening registration for our FREE nature walks at Chek Jawa for the months of November and December. Register at this link!

The Naked Hermit Crabs have been running these nature outing for small family and friend groups since 2007. Run by a small group of nature volunteers, we want to raise awareness of rich and fragile coastal ecosystems such as Chek Jawa. It is common to hear people dismiss mangroves as "useless swamp land", or talk about "draining the swamp" as a metaphor for getting rid of something useless or harmful. We want to dispel that kind of thinking that mangroves and inter-tidal coastlines are useless land.

When you visit Chek Jawa, you will see just how rich it is with plant and animal biodiversity, and why we should protect it for future generations. Chek Jawa is a gem among the nature places in Singapore.  Even though we are not going down to the shore (yes, the nature walk is conducted on the boardwalk), there is still much to see and enjoy. There are monitor lizards, fiddler crabs, spiders, rare plants, wild boar, mudskippers and lots of fruit trees. If we are lucky, we might even spot the Oriental Pied Hornbill, White-bellied Sea Eagle and the giant Atlas Moth.

Let the volunteer guides show you the amazing biodiversity that is in our own "backyard"! Sign up here.

Date: 19 November and 17 December (Saturday)
Meeting time: 9.30am
Meeting place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin
Duration of walk: Around 2 hours
Cost: Free (small donations are accepted)

a typical scene during our walks

Read on for more information...

FREE Nature Walk at Chek Jawa Boardwalk - November and December


Gold-spotted mudskipper seen at high tide at Chek Jawa (October 2016)
It's the year-end school holidays! We are opening registration for our FREE nature walks at Chek Jawa for the months of November and December. Register at this link!

The Naked Hermit Crabs have been running these nature outing for small family and friend groups since 2007. Run by a small group of nature volunteers, we want to raise awareness of rich and fragile coastal ecosystems such as Chek Jawa. It is common to hear people dismiss mangroves as "useless swamp land", or talk about "draining the swamp" as a metaphor for getting rid of something useless or harmful. We want to dispel that kind of thinking that mangroves and inter-tidal coastlines are useless land.

When you visit Chek Jawa, you will see just how rich it is with plant and animal biodiversity, and why we should protect it for future generations. Chek Jawa is a gem among the nature places in Singapore.  Even though we are not going down to the shore (yes, the nature walk is conducted on the boardwalk), there is still much to see and enjoy. There are monitor lizards, fiddler crabs, spiders, rare plants, wild boar, mudskippers and lots of fruit trees. If we are lucky, we might even spot the Oriental Pied Hornbill, White-bellied Sea Eagle and the giant Atlas Moth.

Let the volunteer guides show you the amazing biodiversity that is in our own "backyard"!

Date: 19 November and 17 December (Saturday)
Meeting time: 9.30am
Meeting place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin
Duration of walk: Around 2 hours
Cost: Free (small donations are accepted)

a typical scene during our walks

Read on for more information...

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Mangrove Pufferfish and Mudskippers

We were delighted to have a group of 36 visitors join us for our monthly walk at Chek Jawa on 15 October.

If you have been to the top of Jejawi Tower at Chek Jawa, you will recognise this wonderful view of the island of Pulau Ubin. No tall buildings, no concrete, no highways. Just rich vegetation and forests that provide a safe haven for the amazing plant and fauna biodiversity. This is our precious Pulau Ubin!


And this is the other view. There's the Chek Jawa coastal forest (on a hillock) in foreground on the right, part of the outer mangroves on the left, a view of Pulau Tekong (the biggest island belonging to Singapore) in the horizon, and beyond that a glimpse of the Malaysian state of Johor.

This is the happy group of visitors at the start of our walk. So glad to see a bigger turnout this month, after the initial fears and uncertainty about the Zika cases in September.

Saturday, October 8, 2016

15 Oct (Sat) - Free guided walk at Chek Jawa Boardwalk

Registration for the Chek Jawa Boardwalk outing on 15 October, Saturday, is now open! You may sign at our Google online form.

Bring your family and friends to Ubin, and enjoy the great outdoors and learn about the wonderful biodiversity that can be found in Chek Jawa, located in the eastern tip of the island. You won't be disappointed. We have experienced guides (all volunteers) who are eager to share their love for mangroves and marine life with you. Chek Jawa is indeed one of the richest coastal ecosystems in Singapore. Some of the 'die-die-sure-can-see' animals are fiddler crabs, mudskippers, tree-climbing crabs, spiders, wild boars and monitor lizards. If we are lucky, we might even spot the Oriental Pied Hornbill, White-bellied Sea Eagle, White-rumped shama and the giant Atlas Moth.


So what are you waiting for? Gather your family and friends, and sign up!

Date: 15 October, 2016 (Saturday)
Meeting time: 9.30am
Meeting place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin
Duration of walk: Around 2 hours
Cost: Free (small donations are accepted)

Read on for more information...


Saturday, September 3, 2016

17 Sep (Sat) - Free guided walk at Chek Jawa Boardwalk

Hello everyone! The next Chek Jawa Boardwalk nature trip with the Naked Hermit Crabs is coming up on 17 September, Saturday. Registration is open at our online Google form.

Ours is a nature walk designed specially for kids and families! A trip to Pulau Ubin is incomplete without a visit to Chek Jawa, one of Singapore's richest coastal ecosystem. Some of the "die-die-sure-can-see" animals are the fiddler crabs, mudskippers, tree-climbing crabs, spiders, wild boars and monitor lizards. If we are lucky, we might even spot the Oriental Pied Hornbill, White-bellied Sea Eagle, White-rumped shama and the giant Atlas Moth.


We have been doing these monthly Chek Jawa walks for nine years now. Our guides are all volunteers, and they are passionate about sharing their love for nature with anyone willing to listen. In fact, September is our anniversary month. Here's the account of that memorable public walk on 9 September, 2007: First NHC Guided Walk at Chek Jawa Boardwalk

Do gather your family and friends, and sign up.

Date: 17 September (Sat), 2016
Meeting time: 9.30am
Meeting place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin
Duration of walk: Around 2 hours
Cost: Free (small donations are accepted)



Read on for more information...


Monday, August 1, 2016

13 Aug (Sat) - Free guided walk at Chek Jawa Boardwalk

Registration is open for the Chek Jawa Boardwalk tour on 13 August, Saturday. Don't miss this chance to join the Naked Hermit Crabs for their monthly nature outing at Chek Jawa. Click here for the online registration form.

Our free Chek Jawa Boardwalk tours are run entirely by volunteers who are eager to share their love for nature and conservation with you. At our walks, our guides will help you find lots of interesting mangrove and marine animals. Even though we are not going down to the shore, there is still much to see and enjoy. There are monitor lizards, fiddler crabs, spiders, rare plants, wild boar, mudskippers and lots of fruit trees. If we are lucky, we might even spot the Oriental Pied Hornbill, White-bellied Sea Eagle and the giant Atlas Moth.
Fiddler crabs

Let the volunteer guides show you the amazing biodiversity that is in our own "backyard"!

Date: 13 August (Sat)
Meeting time: 9.30am
Meeting place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin
Duration of walk: Around 2 hours
Cost: Free (small donations are accepted)

Read on for more information...


Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Day trip to Chek Jawa with the Crabs

We had a good turnout of visitors at our monthly Chek Jawa Boardwalk outing on Saturday. 41 visitors in total.

Most of them are first-timers to Chek Jawa, and one of them was visiting from the US. She came to Chek Jawa because she wanted to see a different side of Singapore. Good decision! As for the kids, they are excited to be out on a nature walk with their parents, and, of course, with the wonderful Crabs! I think they had a great time! The guides certainly had a great time!
The happy bunch of visitors on 16 Jul, 2016

Monday, July 4, 2016

16th Jul (Sat) - Free guided walk at Chek Jawa Boardwalk

We are pleased to announce that the Chek Jawa Boardwalk tour on 16 July, Saturday, is now open for registration. Sign up at our online registration form, and we will send you a confirmation email after that.

Our free Chek Jawa Boardwalk tours are run entirely by volunteers who are eager to share their love for nature and conservation with you. At our walks, our guides will help you find lots of interesting mangrove and marine animals. Even though we are not going on to the shore, there is still much to see and enjoy. There are monitor lizards, fiddler crabs, spiders, rare plants, wild boar, mudskippers and lots of fruit trees. If we are lucky, we might even spot the Oriental Pied Hornbill, White-bellied Sea Eagle and the giant Atlas Moth.



Let the volunteer guides show you the amazing biodiversity that is in our own "backyard"!

Date: 16 July (Sat)
Meeting time: 9.30am
Meeting place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin
Duration of walk: Around 2 hours
Cost: Free (small donations are accepted)



More Information...

Saturday, May 28, 2016

5 Jun (Sun): Balik Chek Jawa with the Chek Jawa community

The Naked Hermit Crabs are helping out in the Balik Chek Jawa event together with the Chek Jawa community on 5 June, so here is a re-post from the Pesta Ubin blog! Hope to see you there.

FREE, no registration required, just come to Chek Jawa! Volunteer guides will be at the boardwalk to share about Chek Jawa's amazing wildlife.


From monkeys to wild boar, birds to butterflies, crabs to mudskippers, and fascinating plants of the mangroves and shores, some of which are rare elsewhere. If we are lucky we may encounter otters or even a dugong. (There will be NO activities on the seashores).
Chek Jawa is also full of history. Volunteers will share about these too. Among the heritage of Chek Jawa is House No. 1, where there will be more activities for the family!


The volunteers of the Restore Ubin Mangroves (R.U.M.) Initiative and Mangrove Action Squad will also be at Chek Jawa to share about their exciting ground-up community effort to restore mangroves at Pulau Ubin!

While volunteers of TeamSeaGrass will share about seagrasses which dugongs love to eat. And how you can join them to monitor the seagrasses of Singapore.

Want to cycle to Chek Jawa Open House and learn more about what you see along the way? Join the volunteers of Pedal Ubin who will lead a guided Journey to the East which includes Balik Chek Jawa.

This Chek Jawa Open House is brought to you by the Chek Jawa community of volunteers. They include volunteers who worked on Chek Jawa before reclamation was deferred, and current volunteers with Ubin NParks, the Naked Hermit Crabs, the Toddycats/Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum as well as Restore Ubin Mangroves (R.U.M.) Initiative and TeamSeaGrass.

More about Chek Jawa.

Date: 5 Jun (Sun)
Time: 9am - 12noon
Meeting point: Chek Jawa Info Kiosk. More on how to get to Chek Jawa.

No charge, the activity is free!
No registration required, simply come to Chek Jawa.

If you have any questions, click here to ask us!

Monday, May 16, 2016

Naked Hermit Crabs celebrate Pesta Ubin

Chek Jawa is a very special place in Pulau Ubin that is teeming with life. It's a place that we come back time after time, and every trip remains special and magical.

The Naked Hermit Crabs joined in the Pesta Ubin festivities on Day One with their Chek Jawa Boardwalk event. What a wonderful trip we had! A total of 46 visitors came for the free walk. The tide was around 0.7m high during the walk, and gave us perfect conditions to observe the marine animals in the inter-tidal zone. Just look at the amazing animals that we saw from the boardwalk!

The kids spotted lots of horseshoe crabs. These two horseshoe crabs are doing well.
Horseshoe crab
In fact this one is a juvenile. The shell is roughly the size of a doughnut, and the colour of the shell is a bit brighter. As it is a young horseshoe crab, it does not have barnacles on its shell yet. Such a beautiful animal!

Horseshoe crab (juvenile)

Friday, April 29, 2016

14 May (Sat): Chek Jawa boardwalk tour with the Naked Hermit Crabs

Have you heard of Pesta Ubin?

Well, now you have! Pesta Ubin is Ubin Open House for an entire month. From 14 May to 12 June 2016. Read more about Pesta Ubin 2016 in their very own website: http://pestaubin2016.blogspot.sg/

There will be lots of Ubin activities during the Pesta Ubin celebrations, all run by volunteers and the community that cares about the Ubin way of life - a kinder and gentler way of island life.


The Naked Hermit Crabs will celebrate Pesta Ubin by organising an amazing walk at Chek Jawa on 14 May (Saturday).

Specially for kids and families! A trip to Pulau Ubin is incomplete without a visit to Chek Jawa, one of Singapore's richest ecosystem. Join the Naked Hermit Crabs for another one of their amazing walks and experience what nature has to offer!

Fun for the whole family!

Keep a lookout for wild boars, insects, lots and lots of crabs, spiders, snakes, fishes, perhaps a jellyfish or two in the sea, and not forgetting the birds in the forests and flying high above us. There is always so much to see from the boardwalk!

Lots to discover at Chek Jawa Boardwalk!

Date: 14 May (Sat)
Time: 9.30am
Meeting place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin. More on how to get to Pulau Ubin and Chek Jawa.

No charge, the activity is free! You just need to sign up at the Online Registration Form, and wait for a confirmation from the Crabs.

Friday, April 1, 2016

5 Jun (Sun): Balik Chek Jawa

The Naked Hermit Crabs are taking part in Balik Chek Jawa!

All are welcome to visit Chek Jawa! Volunteer guides will be at the boardwalk to share about Chek Jawa's amazing wildlife. From monkeys to wild boar, birds to butterflies, crabs to mudskippers, and fascinating plants of the mangroves and shores, some of which are rare elsewhere. If we are lucky we may encounter otters or even a dugong. (There will be NO activities on the seashores).

On a free guided walk of Chek Jawa by the Naked Hermit Crabs (Photo credit: Ria Tan)
Chek Jawa is also full of history. Volunteers will share about these too. Among the heritage of Chek Jawa is House No. 1, where there will be more activities for the family!

Dugong Ambassadors event at Chek Jawa in 2008 (Photo credit: Ria Tan)
The volunteers of the Restore Ubin Mangroves (R.U.M.) Initiative will also be at Chek Jawa to share about their exciting ground-up community effort to restore mangroves at Pulau Ubin!

This Chek Jawa Open House is brought to you by the Chek Jawa community of volunteers. They include volunteers who worked on Chek Jawa before reclamation was deferred, and current volunteers with Ubin NParks, the Naked Hermit Crabs, and the Toddycats/Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum.

More about Chek Jawa.

Date: 5 Jun (Sun)
Time: 9am to noon
Meeting point: Chek Jawa Info Kiosk. More on how to get to Chek Jawa.
No charge, the activity is free! 
No registration required, simply come to Chek Jawa.

If you have any questions, click here to ask us!

Thursday, March 31, 2016

16th Apr (Sat) - Free guided walk at Chek Jawa Boardwalk

The third free walk for 2016 at Chek Jawa Boardwalk is coming up on 16th April, Saturday. Come and explore the famous Chek Jawa Wetlands with us. We have been doing these monthly walks since September 2007! Click here to sign up.

Our guides will help you find lots of interesting mangrove and marine animals. Even though we are not going on to the shore, there is still much to see and enjoy. There are monitor lizards, fiddler crabs, spiders, rare plants, wild boar, mudskippers and lots of fruit trees. If we are lucky, we might even spot the Oriental Pied Hornbill, White-bellied Sea Eagle and the giant Atlas Moth.



Date: 16 April (Sat) 
Meeting time: 9.30am 
Meeting place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin 
Duration of walk: Around 2 hours 
Cost: Free (small donations are accepted)

Click here to access the Online Registration Form for Chek Jawa Boardwalk.

And read on for more information ....

Saturday, March 19, 2016

Our Chek Jawa walk in March


The weather is getting hotter and hotter but this did not deter 84 eager visitors to join us bright and early on this Saturday morning (19 March)! There were a number of children on this walk and it is certainly heartwarming to see the young ones so interested in nature.

Everyone taking out their phones and binoculars, trying to capture a good look and picture of...



THIS. Look at how intricately designed this web is. Credits to Speedgo Photography. Do check out the Facebook page here for some high definition photos! (If you would like to share or feature your photos with us, don't hesitate to drop us a message, we will be happy to!)

As usual, we HAVE to take a group photo!

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

19 Mar (Sat) morning: Free guided walk at Chek Jawa Boardwalk


Finding a place to go to during the weekend of this March school holidays? Look no further! Join the Naked Hermit Crabs as we explore Chek Jawa and get the chance to spot many marine and terrestrial critters! Click here to sign up.





Date: 19 Mar (Sat) 
Meeting time: 9.30am 
Meeting place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin 
Duration of walk: Around 2 hours 
Cost: Free (donations are accepted)

Click here to access the Online Registration Form for Chek Jawa Boardwalk.

Saturday, February 27, 2016

Awesome first Chek Jawa walk in 2016

After taking a break in January, the Crabs are happy to be back conducting the first walk of 2016.

There were 56 enthusiastic visitors who made that long journey from Singapore to Chek Jawa. I have always called the journey "a skip, hop and a jump" because you have to get to Changi Village first, then 'hop' on to a bumboat, and finally 'jump' to Chek Jawa on an island taxi. Hardly anyone complains about the journey, which kind of tells us just how much Singaporeans love Chek Jawa! Bravo to the visitors!

Golden Orb Spider
Even before the walk began, the visitors were admiring the Golden Orb Spider and its splendid web. The weather has turned drier this week, and the guides were expecting to find more spider webs, and we did! Spiders are known to conserve energy by avoiding the task of building webs during the rainy season. The rain would spoil their webs easily, and the spiders would end up spending more energy to build and re-build webs.

Group photo of walk on 27 Feb 2016, Chek Jawa
Here's the happy group photo before we set off for the walk. Our walks are suitable for families as well as for grown-ups.

Flowers of the Attap (Nipah) Palm

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

2016 - Free guided walks at Chek Jawa Boardwalk with the Naked Hermit Crabs

2016. A new year! Another year of commitment to bring people from all walks of life out to admire and learn about the rich biodiversity around our mangroves and coastal areas. We want our visitors to get excited about conservation issues concerning our natural shores.

We love Chek Jawa and Pasir Ris Mangroves, the two coastal areas that we conduct public walks at. It gives us much joy to share what we know about the animals and plants living in the fragile ecosystems there. Do sign up for our walks, and have a first-hand experience of Singapore's natural biodiversity. Best of all, our walks are totally free!

The 2016 dates for the Chek Jawa tours are now set:

27 Feb (Sat) - Update 12-Jan: We are changing the date to 27-Feb instead of 20-Feb. 
19 Mar (Sat) - school holidays
16 Apr (Sat)
14 May (Sat) - Celebrating the first day of Pesta Ubin!
5 Jun (Sun) - Balik Chek Jawa Day, 9am to noon. No registration needed, simply come to Chek Jawa.
16 Jul (Sat)
13 Aug (Sat)
17 Sep (Sat)
15 Oct (Sat)
19 Nov (Sat) - school holidays
17 Dec (Sat) - school holidays

Registration for our walks are done online through Google Forms. We open registration one month at a time, as soon as we finish the previous one.

Click here to access the Online Registration Form for Chek Jawa Boardwalk.

This is the normal schedule at each Chek Jawa Boardwalk trip:

Meeting place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin
Meeting time: 9:30 am
Duration of walk: 2 hours
Fees: No charge for now, but small donations are accepted

As for our walks at Pasir Ris Mangroves, we run them a couple of times in a year, usually during the school holidays. Announcements for the Pasir Ris Mangrove walks are made a few weeks before the event. Do look out for these announcements.


Now for a quick update of the fun we had in 2015.

We had a fantastic year of guiding in 2015. What an awesome year! In total, we held 10 Chek Jawa walks and 4 Pasir Ris Mangrove evening walks. How many visitors came for our walks in 2015? 711 people in total! 

At the same time, we are over the moon that several new (and enthusiastic!) volunteers joined us in 2015. The new guides have given our group a dose of much-needed renewed energy. We love every single one of our "Crabs" - the affectionate term for our volunteers. Thanks, guys and gals!



So, what are you waiting for? Sign up for our Chek Jawa Boardwalk trips now. We welcome small family and friend groups.

Click here to access the Online Registration Form for Chek Jawa Boardwalk.



In the meantime, enjoy the moments captured during our walks in 2015 through these photos.....

Fiddler crabs

Knight butterfly (female)

Jellyfishes

Mudskipper

White-rumped shama

Great-billed heron at Chek Jawa mudflats




Visitors looking at a Marbled sea snake that suffered a fatal injury

Visitors looking at the wild piglets




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