Biggest turnout ever at our Pasir Ris Mangroves tour

100 visitors. What a fantastic turnout of families and friends to our evening walk at Pasir Ris mangroves walk on 25 May, 2019! We had to take 2 wefies - thanks to our enthusiastic guide, Che Cheng.

Wefie #1 by Che Cheng

Wefie #2 by Che Cheng

Captured the wefie moment - by Ria

Highlights of the walk include two sightings of the shore pit viper. In fact, the first pit viper, spotted by a visitor in Sumita's group, is a cute tiny one, not more than 10 cm long. Its triangular head is so distinctive even though it is just a baby snake. What a special treat! The other shore pit viper was spotted on the mangrove mud, slithering away in a hole in the ground. Please know that the shore pit viper is a highly venomous snake, so do stay far away from it if you spot one.

2 Jun 2019 (Sun) - Balik Chek Jawa

Once a year, and only once a year, during Pesta Ubin, volunteers from several groups come together to offer a Chek Jawa Open House. Free, no registration required, simply come to Chek Jawa!

Date: 2 Jun (Sun)
Time: 10am - 2pm
Meeting point: Chek Jawa Info Kiosk
More details here: tinyurl.com/balikcj2019

Volunteer guides will be stationed all over the boardwalk to share about Chek Jawa's amazing heritage  and wildlife. 

See you at Balik Chek Jawa!

1 June (Sat): Want to learn how to be a nature guide? Come join the Chek Jawa Familiarisation Tour with the Naked Hermit Crabs!

Have you ever wanted to experience what it’s like to be a nature guide? Looking for an interesting activity for your family to take part in during the holidays? The Chek Jawa Familiarisation Tour is here for you! No prior experience is needed. Sign up now! After you have completed the Familiarisation Tour on 1 June, you will be able to participate as a volunteer at the Balik Chek Jawa Day on 2 June. Come join us and make a difference for nature!
Join us to help make a difference for nature!

What is this Familiarisation Tour about?

To help prepare you to contribute to Balik Chek Jawa on 2 June (Sun), this tour introduces you Chek Jawa and hopes to build your confidence to share at one station of your choice along the boardwalk.

It is also a chance to interact with like-minded people and more experienced nature guides while coming up with new and exciting ways to share about our shores. The tour will take you around the Chek Jawa coastal and mangrove boardwalk.

Why should I join this familiarisation tour?

By joining this FREE tour, you will not only learn about the wildlife at Chek Jawa, but also have a chance to contribute to Balik Chek Jawa by learning how to be a nature guide! 

Your help is needed during Balik Chek Jawa:
(a) As guides at various spots or wandering the boardwalk
(b) To help at activities at House No. 1 or at TeamSeagrass or RUM booths

Training Session
Date: 1 June (Sat)
Time: 8.00 am-12 noon

Meeting point: Changi Point Ferry Terminal (near Changi Village)

We will head over to Chek Jawa together.

SIGN UP HERE!

Registration closes on 25 May 2019

Continue reading for more information on what you can learn, and who is eligible to join the tour!

You will learn:
- How to spot wildlife
- Guiding tips
- Tricky guiding situations, e.g. dealing with 'difficult' visitors
- You are expected to read up the bulk of the information on your own. Links to online resources will be provided.

Who can join the Familiarisation Tour?
- Participants should be 19 years old and above.

- Younger participants may participate if accompanied by a parent/guardian during both the familiarisation tour and Balik Chek Jawa.

- Families are welcome to join the familiarisation tour and volunteer at Balik Chek Jawa.
- Individual participants under 19 years of age will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
- Participants must commit to help at Balik Chek Jawa on 2 Jun, 2019 (Sun).

What is Balik Chek Jawa?

Part of Pesta Ubin, Balik Chek Jawa is a FREE Open House at Chek Jawa. Volunteers (you!) will be stationed all over the boardwalk to share about Chek Jawa's amazing wildlife. There are also lots of fun activities for kids and the family at House No. 1, Chek Jawa's Visitor Centre (There will be NO activities on the seashores).

Date: 2 Jun (Sun)
Time: 10am - 2pm
Meeting point: Chek Jawa Info Kiosk.
More details on Balik Chek Jawa 2018 here.

Click here to see what happened at Balik Chek Jawa last year!

25 May (Sat) - Free guided walk at Pasir Ris Mangroves

This March, the Naked Hermit Crabs are specially organising a very special nature walk at Pasir Ris Mangroves on 25 May, Saturday. This is a FREE nature walk on the mangrove boardwalk at Pasir Ris Park.

Sign up now on Eventbrite! Don't miss the opportunity to see some wildlife in action! Pasir Ris Mangroves is conveniently located 10 minutes away from Pasir Ris MRT station. We only do Pasir Ris Mangroves two to three times a year, so don't miss this opportunity!

Ria explains to her participants that the best way
to find owls is to look out for their puke pellets
that usually contains undigested matter,
such as bones, feathers or plant matter
Photo by Nicholas Yeo.

This puke pellet contains a shrew's skeleton
(a type of rodent)
Photo by Nicholas Yeo.

One of the spotted wood owls
Photo by Nicholas Yeo.

They aren't always easy to spot so guides usually point
them out. With a bit of patience and sharp eyesight,
the visitor finally spots the owls.
Photo by Nicholas Yeo.

Kapok! The kapok tree produces pods that burst
to expose a cottony interior.
Photo by Nicholas Yeo.

A grey heron heading back to the roost sight.
Photo by Nicholas Yeo.

Taking in the sights and sounds at the shore
Photo by Nicholas Yeo.

Everyone was intrigued by the crab moults
Photo by Nicholas Yeo.

There are many creatures look out for in the mangroves, such as mudskippers, tree-climbing crabs, snails, herons and monitor lizards. The best part of the nature walk is at the end when we get to the small jetty over the river. There is a lot of animal activity in the evenings. We have seen young monitor lizards crawling into their nests as they settle in before nightfall. Sometimes, you may even spot kingfishers, jellyfishes and water snakes! It really is quite exciting for the children to be able to see these animals in the wild.