First Chek Jawa Boardwalk trip for 2011

Hi friends!

We are holding our first Chek Jawa Boardwalk trip of 2011 on 8 Jan (Saturday). Give yourself a treat and get out to enjoy one of Singapore's beautiful natural shores. No, there are no al fresco coffee joints in Chek Jawa; no beach-front seafood restaurants either. Chek Jawa is a natural shore where you will still see inter-tidal marine life and mangrove swamps. As in many of our past trips, we expect to see fiddler crabs, mudskippers, fishes, mangrove tree-climbing crabs, monitor lizards, and, if we are lucky, the critically-endangered Oriental Pied Hornbill and otters.

Date: 8 January, 2011 (Saturday)
Time: 9:30 am
Duration: about 2 hours
Meeting Place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin
Cost: Free (you have to pay for the bumboat and taxi rides to get to Chek Jawa)

Write to nakedhermitcrabs@gmail.com to register for the walk.


Please keep your group small, preferably fewer than 10 people, so that we can welcome as many family and friend groups as possible. If you are organising a corporate event, we encourage you to hire the professional nature guides.

2011 - Free Chek Jawa Boardwalk trips on the 2nd Saturday of each month

Good news! The Crabs have decided to continue with the free Chek Jawa Boardwalk trips in 2011.

Looking back at the time when we started this project..... Our very first outing with registered guests was to visit the reef shore at Tanjong Rimau, Sentosa, on 5th June 2007, Environment Day. And our first Chek Jawa Boardwalk trip was on 9th September that same year. Time flies! We have done more than 3 years worth of monthly trips, bringing possibly more than 1000 people (we've lost count!) to Chek Jawa to appreciate the natural beauty of one of Singapore's wild coastal areas. We have also trained several new guides who now volunteer with us, and who are eager to share what they know of Chek Jawa with you.

Mark these dates. Write to us at nakedhermitcrabs@gmail.com if you wish to join us for a walk.

8-Jan (Sat)
12-Feb (Sat)
12-Mar (Sat) - school holidays
9-Apr (Sat)
14-May (Sat)
11-Jun (Sat) - school holidays
9-Jul (Sat)
13-Aug (Sat)
10-Sep (Sat) - school holidays
8-Oct (Sat)
12-Nov (Sat)
10-Dec (Sat) - school holidays

Meeting Time: 9:30 am

Meeting Place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin

Duration of walk: Approximately 2 hours

Cost: No charge still

Group size: small friends and family groups. Sorry, we do not do corporate groups nor events.

Families enjoying an outing to Chek Jawa

In a country that is so obsessed with shopping and the trappings of a city life, it is heartening to see so many of the visitors to our outings at Chek Jawa express their love for nature and wild places. And they bring their families along - the young and the young-at-heart - to enjoy a morning amongst the mangroves and coastal areas.

It is the school holidays, and we had a total of 50 visitors and 7 guides (including Alan from NParks who helped us too).

As the roving photographer today, I was able to take many photos of the groups along the trail.

Here's one of PY and her group as they set off from the meeting place.

Free Chek Jawa Boardwalk trip on 27-Nov-2010 (Saturday)

We are opening our registration book for visitors who wish to join us this month at our nature trip to Chek Jawa.

It is a boardwalk trip (sorry, not a shore trip), but there are plenty of animals and plants to spot. Do read about our past trips to get an idea of what to expect of a typical boardwalk trip to Chek Jawa. One of our visitors wrote in our guestbook, "The best kept secret of Singapore... Explore till you drop!! Real wildlife and ecosystem observation within secure limits".

Date: 27 November 2010, Saturday

Time: 9:30 am

Duration: 2 hours

Meeting Place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin

Cost: still free for now

Write to nakedhermitcrabs@gmail.com to register for the walk.

Please keep your group small, preferably fewer than 10 people, so that we can welcome as many family and friend groups as possible. If you are organising a corporate event, we encourage you to hire the professional nature guides.

Chek Jawa intertidal walks for whole 2011 open for booking on 1-Dec (organised by NParks)

To all our visitors and friends,

If you are interested to book a Chek Jawa shore walk in 2011 with NParks, please note that the booking date is on 1-Dec-2010. Don't miss this opportunity if you have always wanted to book an intertidal trip. Chek Jawa is a magical place where you can view wonderful inter-tidal marine life.

Read Ria's wildshores blog for an excellent explanation of how the booking works - http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2010/11/chek-jawa-intertidal-walks-for-whole.html

And the NParks website for Chek Jawa is in this link - http://www.nparks.gov.sg/cms/popup/pulau-attractions.html

Through the eyes of our visitors

It's been three weeks since our monthly nature trip to Chek Jawa Boardwalk on 23rd October. One of our visitors, Jimmy, forwarded a zip file of wonderful photographs taken during the trip. So, with permission from the photographer, Tan Wei Sheng, I am sharing his photographs with you here. Enjoy!

Free Chek Jawa Boardwalk trip on 23-Oct-2010

Are the final semester exams over? If you're free, plan a trip to Chek Jawa this coming Saturday, 23rd October, 2010. Come with your family or friends. Let the Naked Hermit Crabs introduce you to Chek Jawa without getting your feet wet.

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 boars, 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: 23 October 2010, Saturday

Time: 9:30 am

Duration: 2 hours

Meeting Place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin

Cost: still free for now

Write to nakedhermitcrabs@gmail.com to register for the walk.

And then there were four hornbills

Looking back at our last blog post, I wrote that if we were lucky, we might spot the gregarious Oriental Pied Hornbills during our monthly guided trip to Chek Jawa Boardwalk. We must have been REALLY fortunate; we saw four Oriental Pied Hornbills on one tree during our trip on 25th September, 2010. Here is proof of the sighting!

Can't see four hornbills? Scroll down and view the next photograph.

Join us - Chek Jawa Boardwalk trip on 25-Sep-2010

Whoa! It's time for our monthly free walk at Chek Jawa Boardwalk again!

It's going to be frenetic weekend in Singapore next week with the Formula-One races down at the city circuit. If you're the type who seeks to be far from the madding crowd, then Chek Jawa with its mangroves and abundant intertidal wildlife may be the perfect place to escape to. Join us at this free walk. You should be able to see fiddler crabs, mudskippers, many bird species, perhaps, if luck is on your side, you might even spot the gregarious Oriental Pied Hornbills.

Write to nakedhermitcrabs@gmail.com to indicate how many people are coming for the walk. This trip is designed for small family and friend groups.

Date: 25 September 2010, Saturday
Time: 9:30 am
Duration: 2 hours
Meeting place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin
Cost: still free for now

The coastal segment of the boardwalk at Chek Jawa

Upcoming trip to Chek Jawa Boardwalk - 28 Aug

It's another month and time to get out to Chek Jawa Boardwalk again!

Come and join us for a free nature outing. We invite small family and friend groups to join us.
Registration is required. Please write to nakedhermitcrabs@gmail.com

Date: 28 August 2010, Saturday
Time: 9:30 am
Duration: 2 hours
Meeting place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin
Cost: still free for now

Hornbills, monitor lizards and jellyfish in Chek Jawa

We were worried that none of our visitors would turn up for the walk. The weatherman predicted "thunderstorms and gusty winds", the sort that give floods in Orchard Road, and we got even more worried when we saw dark clouds on our way to Pulau Ubin. But it turned out to be a perfect day for a trip to Chek Jawa. No rain, no thunder, no lightning, just gusty winds! And we had 16 visitors!

The intrepid visitors were Eleanor and her friends, and a bunch of RGS girls with their teacher. With us too were Sing Yee, Elizabeth, Shaun and Wei Xuan from RJC who had attended the Guides of Singapore Shores workshops for the past 3 weeks. They wanted to see some real-life guiding in action and so we invited them to join us for this trip. We split ourselves into 2 groups with Ria and CH guiding Eleanor and friends as well as the Fab Four (so named by Ria in her blog post!), while PY and I took the cheerful team of girls from RGS.

Make a date with the Crabs - Saturday, July 24th

Join us for our monthly nature walk at Chek Jawa Boardwalk in July!

Learn more about the biodiversity of the flora and fauna in Singapore. After all, 2010 is declared the International Year of Biodiversity by United Nations, and we are celebrating its significance by helping to raise awareness of the importance of conserving biodiversity for human well-being. You too can be part of this. Bring your family and friends out to get away from the urban landscape and to enjoy a wild and natural place in Singapore.
 

Date: 24 July 2010, Saturday
Time: 9:30 am
Duration: 2 hours
Meeting place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk, Pulau Ubin
Cost: still free for now

Registration is required. Please write to nakedhermitcrabs@gmail.com

Families enjoying Chek Jawa Boardwalk

We had a good turnout at our monthly boardwalk trip in June. There were about 50 visitors, mostly families with children, a few groups of friends, and even some visitors from the USA.

Here is a fabulous photo of the Sng family on the boardwalk. They were wonderful visitors who asked lots of good questions, showing great interest in the animals and plants that we saw. And Grandpa Sng regaled us with his own stories of how he used to eat salted mangrove crabs with 'teochew muay' in his younger days. Unfortunately, this tradition of eating pickled mangrove crabs has stopped in the last 40-50 years, probably due to widespread loss of mangrove habitats and hence less access to large, economically viable supplies of these crabs.

Here is a photo of Grandpa Sng and the small durian that he found under the tall durian tree closest to the CJ Information Kiosk. Like a true expert, he gave it a shake and a sniff, and declared that there was little flesh in the durian.

26 Jun 2010 - Chek Jawa Boardwalk for you

The school holidays are ending! But wait ..... there is still one more nature walk to do before everyone buckles down for serious work in semester 2. Come and explore Chek Jawa Boardwalk with the Naked Hermit Crabs.

Date: 26 June 2010, Saturday

Time: 9:30 am

Duration: 2 hours

Meeting place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk

Cost: the Crabs are not charging

2010 is a rather special year; it is the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB). There is still so much to learn about biodiversity in our little country. Chek Jawa remains a precious refuge for plants and animals thriving in its various ecosystems. If you have been following our blog, you will know that we regularly encounter mudskippers (lots of different species!), fiddler crabs, mud crabs, hornbills, kingfishers, eagles, sunbirds, jellyfishes and many kinds of fishes in the water. And if you think plants are boring, we hope to show you a couple of interesting ones in Chek Jawa.

World Biodiversity Day at Chek Jawa Boardwalk

It is World Biodiversity Day today, and many families joined us for this month's nature outing to Chek Jawa Boardwalk. What a great bunch of folks they are! For many of them, this is the first time they are exploring a nature area together with their families.

Although it takes a skip, hop and a jump to get to Chek Jawa, the Crabs are always happy to see parents making the extra effort to bring their kiddos to see a spot of nature. As usual, Chek Jawa does not disappoint.

nature walk at Chek Jawa Boardwalk - every 4th Saturday

Here are all the dates for our monthly Chek Jawa Boardwalk trips for the rest of 2010. We have fixed them to take place on the fourth Saturday of every month.

22 May (Sat) - World Biodiversity Day
26 Jun (Sat)
24 Jul (Sat)
28 Aug (Sat)
25 Sep (Sat)
23 Oct (Sat)
27 Nov (Sat)
25 Dec (Sat) - Christmas Day [Cancelled]

Meeting Time: 9:30 am
Meeting Place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk (Pulau Ubin)
Duration of walk: approximately 2 hours
Cost: Still no charge.

Registration is required. Please write to nakedhermitcrabs@gmail.com

Chek Jawa Boardwalk - birds, caterpillars and mudskippers

A group of 14 visitors signed up for our monthly Chek Jawa Boardwalk in April, and Ria and LK were more than happy to show them around our favourite patch of mangrove in Chek Jawa. The group leader was Lynette and she has brought a group of friends from a Buddhist centre to enjoy a touch of nature away from the bustling Singapore city. "Great choice!", say the Crabs!

24th April - Chek Jawa Boardwalk trip coming up!

The Naked Hermit Crabs introduce you to Chek Jawa without getting your feet wet. 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 boars, 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.

Please write to us at nakedhermitcrabs@gmail.com to register.

Date: 24 April 2010 (Saturday)
Time: 9:30 am
Duration: 2 hours
Meeting Place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk
Cost: Still no charge

Coming up .... Chek Jawa Boardwalk trip on March 27th

Come and join the Crabs on their monthly walk at Chek Jawa (Boardwalk only). Write to nakedhermitcrabs@gmail.com to register.

Learn more about the biodiversity of the flora and fauna in Singapore. 2010 is declared the International Year of Biodiversity by United Nations, and we are celebrating its significance by helping to raise awareness of the importance of conserving biodiversity for human well-being. We are a firm believer of "You can't save something if you know nothing about it"! Come celebrate biodiversity with us! Bring your family and friends. Get away from the urban landscape (enough of Orchard Road!) and enjoy a wild and natural place in our own little backyard.

Date: 27 March 2010 (Saturday)
Time: 9:30 am
Duration: 2 hours
Meeting Place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk
Cost: Still no charge

A walk on Chek Jawa Boardwalk in February

Sorry for the late post! No, the Crabs have not been hiding in our shells. We have been busy busy Crabs. During the February Chek Jawa walk, a few of us went out exploring with 3 visitors (many signed up but did not show up. Sigh.)

The residents of Chek Jawa Wetlands did not disappointed us. We were absolutely delighted to spot the male Oriental Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris) a few times during the 2 hours that we were there. He was feeding on the fig tree, resting on the palm trees and flew over our heads several times. Here are pictures of this magnificent bird.

4th Saturday - Free nature walk at Chek Jawa Boardwalk

We are open for registration of our monthly (February) free nature walk at Chek Jawa Boardwalk! Write to nakedhermitcrabs@gmail.com.

Learn more about the biodiversity of the flora and fauna in Singapore. After all, 2010 is declared as the International Year of Biodiversity by United Nations, and we are celebrating its significance by helping to raise awareness of the importance of conserving biodiversity for human well-being. You too can be part of this. Bring your family and friends out to get away from the urban landscape and to enjoy a wild and natural place in Singapore.



Date: 27 Feb 10 (Saturday)
Time: 9:30 am (Note the change to '9:30 am'!)
Duration: 2 hours
Meeting Place: Chek Jawa Information Kiosk
Cost: no charge for now.

Saturday CJ walk with NIE Green Club

The January walk took place last Saturday on 23 Jan 2010. As we are in the process of changing our schedule, we did not give enough time to advertise our walk and we had zero visitors! I'm sorry if some of you were planning to attend our January walk and missed it. Please do join us at the next one on 27 Feb (Sat).


Luckily for us, we had our friends from the NIE Green Club join us on a training outing.

Take a nature walk. 2010 is International Year of Biodiversity!

2010 has been declared by United Nations as the International Year of Biodiversity. The main purpose is to raise awareness of the importance of conserving biodiveristy for the well-being of all humankind.

Think about it: Surely we DO NOT want to be the ONLY species of animal left on this earth? It is a sobering thought, indeed!

Coming for one of our nature walks is a good way to start this special year.