15 Mar (Sun): Fun under the sun at Chek Jawa during the March School Holidays

Join us at our Chek Jawa Boardwalk outing on 15 March, Sunday. This is a very special and beautiful corner of Singapore mangroves, and the best way is to explore this place is with a nature guide. Our walks are designed for small groups of young families and friends. Best of all, this nature walk is free! Register on Eventbrite here.

Chek Jawa is rich in biodiversity, and with the help of our volunteer guides, you should be able to see lots of interesting plants and wildlife. Even though we are not going on to the shore, there is still much to see and enjoy. There are monitor lizards, fiddler crabs, tree-climbing 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: 15 March 2020 (Sunday)
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
Sign up here.

15 Dec (Sun): Celebrate the school holidays with a trip to Chek Jawa!

Join us at our Chek Jawa Boardwalk outing on 15 December, Sunday. This is a very special and beautiful corner of Singapore mangroves, and the best way is to explore this place is with a nature guide. Our walks are designed for small groups of young families and friends. Best of all, this nature walk is free! Register on Eventbrite here.

Chek Jawa is rich in biodiversity, and with the help of our volunteer guides, you should be able to see lots of interesting plants and wildlife. Even though we are not going on to the shore, there is still much to see and enjoy. There are monitor lizards, fiddler crabs, tree-climbing 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: 15 December 2019 (Sunday)
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
Sign up here.

20 October (Sun) - Join us at Chek Jawa for a free guided walk!

Join us at our regular Chek Jawa Boardwalk outing on 20 October, Sunday. This is a very special and beautiful corner of Singapore mangroves, and the best way is to explore this place is with a nature guide. Our walks are designed for small groups of young families and friends. Best of all, this nature walk is free! Register on Eventbrite here.

Chek Jawa is rich in biodiversity, and with the help of our volunteer guides, you should be able to see lots of interesting plants and wildlife. Even though we are not going on to the shore, there is still much to see and enjoy. There are monitor lizards, fiddler crabs, tree-climbing 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: 20 October 2019 (Sunday)
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
Sign up here.

8 September (Sun) - Spend your school holidays with us at Chek Jawa!

Join us at our regular Chek Jawa Boardwalk outing on 8 September, Sunday. This is a very special and beautiful corner of Singapore mangroves, and the best way is to explore this place is with a nature guide. Our walks are designed for small groups of young families and friends. Best of all, this nature walk is free! Register on Eventbrite here.

Chek Jawa is rich in biodiversity, and with the help of our volunteer guides, you should be able to see lots of interesting plants and wildlife. Even though we are not going on to the shore, there is still much to see and enjoy. There are monitor lizards, fiddler crabs, tree-climbing 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: 8 September 2019 (Sunday)
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
Sign up here.

18 Aug (Sun) - Free Guided Walk at Chek Jawa

Join us at our regular Chek Jawa Boardwalk outing on 18 August, Sunday. This is a very special and beautiful corner of Singapore mangroves, and the best way is to explore this place is with a nature guide. Our walks are designed for small groups of young families and friends. Best of all, this nature walk is free! Register on Eventbrite here.

Chek Jawa is rich in biodiversity, and with the help of our volunteer guides, you should be able to see lots of interesting plants and wildlife. Even though we are not going on to the shore, there is still much to see and enjoy. There are monitor lizards, fiddler crabs, tree-climbing 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: 18 August 2019 (Sunday)
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
Sign up here.

13 Jul (Sat) - Free Guided Walk at Chek Jawa

Join us at our regular Chek Jawa Boardwalk outing on 13 July, Saturday. This is a very special and beautiful corner of Singapore mangroves, and the best way is to explore this place is with a nature guide. Our walks are designed for small groups of young families and friends. Best of all, this nature walk is free! Register on Eventbrite here.

Chek Jawa is rich in biodiversity, and with the help of our volunteer guides, you should be able to see lots of interesting plants and wildlife. Even though we are not going on to the shore, there is still much to see and enjoy. There are monitor lizards, fiddler crabs, tree-climbing 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: 13 July 2019 (Saturday)
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
Sign up here.

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!

14 Apr 2019 (Sun) - Chek Jawa, here we come!

Join us at our regular Chek Jawa Boardwalk outing on 14 April, Sunday. This is a very special and beautiful corner of Singapore mangroves, and the best way is to explore this place is with a nature guide. Our walks are designed for small groups of young families and friends. Best of all, this nature walk is free! Register on Eventbrite here.

Chek Jawa is rich in biodiversity, and with the help of our volunteer guides, you should be able to see lots of interesting plants and wildlife. Even though we are not going on to the shore, there is still much to see and enjoy. There are monitor lizards, fiddler crabs, tree-climbing 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: 14 April 2019 (Sunday)
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
Sign up here.

Great day at Chek Jawa on a Saturday morning

We had a great day at Chek Jawa with about 20 visitors on 23 Feb 2019. So happy to meet with enthusiastic visitors. Very lovely people!

We saw lots of animals including monitor lizards, an Oriental Whip snake, fiddler crabs, tree-climbing crabs, wild boars and macaques. Strangely, we did not see mudskippers in the mangrove and at the coastal side too. Not sure why.

The sun was out, the sky was a beautiful blue, and lots of fresh air. It's a good day to be out enjoying some nature!

One of the kids in the group spotted a pair of needlefishes in the waters just after the beacon. The fishes are about 40 cm long. What a treat to be able to see theses fishes!

We saw lots of long-tail macaques before and after the walk. The guides took the opportunity to remind visitors not to feed the monkeys.

A shout-out with thanks to our volunteer guides - Sumita, Ria, Xiang Tian, LK and our intern, Francine, for guiding!

Also, check out the video that Ria made of the walk: https://wildshores.blogspot.com/2019/02/black-water-at-chek-jawa.html#.XHZanogzY2x



Do join us at our upcoming events in March:

10 March, 2019 (Sunday) - guided walk at Berlayar Creek by trainee guides

16 March, 2019 (Saturday), 4 to 8pm - a community event organised by Celebrating Singapore Shores. Come and meet the wonderful people who are involved in marine conservation and education in Singapore! No registration is needed.

That's a wrap!

Instead of the usual run-of-the-mill post on the flora and fauna we saw, we’ll share about why Naked Hermit Crabs’ walks are so rewarding for guides. As volunteer guides, we enjoy what we do when we see adults whose faces light up with the same curiosity and excitement as our younger participants.

Our guide, Sumita, sharing about who we are and
why we do walks at endangered shores such as Chek Jawa

Photo by: Liz Lim

Photo by: Ria Tan

One of our guides, Chen Xi, shared with us that "I enjoy guiding with NHC because I get a chance to introduce people to the plants and animals they may not know about. It's also a good way to have a nice walk outdoors and relax."

The sight that always takes our breath away

Photo by: Liz Lim

Excitement!

Photo by: Ria Tan

Photo by: Ria Tan

We’ve been guiding at Chek Jawa for almost a decade and no two walks are ever the same. On most occasions, you’ll catch our guides being surprised about things we don’t expect to see. Another of the Naked Hermit Crabs, Xiang Tian says, "I enjoy guiding because the places we guide at are great to visit and we never know what we're going to see on our walks! The places we guide at are also at risk, so it's meaningful to show people what is there before it is gone.".

Sometimes we just enjoy the things
Ubin has to offer, such as organic Ubin jackfruit!

Photo by: Ria Tan

Looking forward, we hope to continue raising awareness about our vulnerable shores and to lend our voice to safeguarding our beautiful shores. We have a lot of exciting things coming up in 2019. Watch this space and our Facebook for our 2019 walk dates!

Over 60 participants and 7 guides joined us
at our last walk for 2018 at Chek Jawa, Pulau Ubin!

We-fie by one of our participants, Jimmy Ng

Rainy romp around Chek Jawa!

We were glad to be joined by 45 enthusiastic participants for our Chek Jawa walk on 14 October, who came for the walk despite the rainy weather! We were also pleased to be joined by the Channel 8 crew, who came along to film our walk for their ‘Frontline’ segment.

Rain or shine, the walk will go on!
Photo by Ley Kun Wong

A participant being interviewed by Channel 8
Photo by Ho Xiang Tian

You can check out the segment we're featured on Toggle! We're featured from 16:50 onwards.

Even in the rain, there’s still plenty to see at Chek Jawa, such as the mud lobster mounds and the animals living inside!

A large mud lobster mound.

Look out for holes in these mounds! It may just be the home of the tree-climbing crab, which climb up tree trunks during high tide.

A tree-climbing crab near its burrow.
Photo by Chen Xi

One of our eagle-eyed participants spotted a dusky-gilled mudskipper, which you can recognize from its small size and reddish fins.

A dusky-gilled mudskipper on a branch.
Photo by Chen Xi

From the top of Jejawi tower, we could see many different kinds of birds flying above and around the mangrove canopy. One of the birds we saw was the oriental pied hornbill, which was resting in a tree.

The hornbill sure has a large beak!
Photo by Ria Tan

Another bird we spotted was the great billed heron, which was flying across the mangrove shore. These large birds wade around in the water with their long legs to find fish to eat.

The great-billed heron in flight.
Photo by Ley Kun Wong

There were also many different mangrove plants we could see along the boardwalk. These plants are adapted to growing in the salty, waterlogged mangroves and have special features such as breathing roots to take in oxygen from the air.

Mangrove trees growing near the shelter.
Photo by Sabrina Zhou

Along the edges of the coastal boardwalk, we could see little balls of sand arranged outside holes in the ground. These sand balls were made by the shy sand bubbler crabs, which hid in their holes as we came close. If you stay still enough, you might just see them come out!

A shy little crab.
Photo by Chen Xi

We also managed to find some halfbeaks swimming around near the boardwalk. It’s easy to mistake them for leaves floating in the water.

Leaves or fish?
Photo by Chen Xi

One of our guides, Evan, was able to spot a common sandpiper along the shore. You’ll need a good eye to find it.

Spot the sandpiper! (Answer is at the end of the blog post)
Photo by Chen Xi

When we ended our walk at House Number 1, it was still drizzling, but we were all glad that we could still have so much fun despite the rain.

 

Big thanks to all the participants who came for the walk with us as well as the Channel 8 crew! Thanks also to the guides Ria, Ley Kun, Sumita, Xiang Tian, Evan and Chen Xi for making the walk possible; as well as Ria, Ley Kun, Xiang Tian, Chen Xi and Sabrina for the photos!

Please look out for our next walk in November! Registration will open next week so look out for updates on our Facebook page.

P.S. Did you find the sandpiper? It’s right in the middle of the photo, on the brown rocks!

Over here!

14 Oct (Sun) - Free guided walk at Chek Jawa Boardwalk

Join us our regular Chek Jawa Boardwalk outing on 14 October, Sunday. Come explore this very special and beautiful corner of Singapore mangroves with us. Just gather your family and friends, and have someone do the signup on behalf of the group. Best of all, this nature walk is free! Register on Eventbrite here.

Chek Jawa is rich in biodiversity, and with the help of our volunteer guides, you should be able to see lots of interesting plants and wildlife. 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: 14 October 2018 (Sunday)
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
Sign up here.

For more information on what to expect at our Chek Jawa Boardwalk outings, and when preparing for your visit, please make sure you read our post specially written for you.

More photos in the next section.

9 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 at our online form! After you have completed the Familiarisation Tour on 9 June, you will be able to participate as a volunteer at the Balik Chek Jawa Day on 10 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?

Flowering durian trees at Chek Jawa

Every Naked Hermit Crab is always different and you never know what you're going to see! During our walk yesterday, we enjoyed the sight and smell of durian flowers all around us on the ground and up in the trees. As most of us enjoy the taste of durians, we were grateful for the presence of bats and their role in helping pollinate durian flowers. You can read more about that here.

Durian flowers (Photo by Ley Kun Wong)

Photo by Liz Lim

18 March (Sun) - Free guided walk at Chek Jawa Boardwalk

Join us our regular Chek Jawa Boardwalk outing on 18 March, Sunday. Come explore this very special and beautiful corner of Singapore mangroves with us. Just gather your family and friends, and have someone do the signup on behalf of the group. Best of all, this nature walk is free! Click on our Online Registration Form.


Chek Jawa is rich in biodiversity, and with the help of an experienced volunteer guide, you should be able to see lots of interesting plants and wildlife. 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: 18 March 2018 (Sunday)
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

For more information on what to expect at our Chek Jawa Boardwalk outings, and when preparing for your visit, please make sure you read our post specially written for you.

More photos in the next section.

Celebrating a decade of fun at Chek Jawa!

Photo by Ria Tan

For our final walk of 2017, thirty participants joined us as we celebrated our 10th anniversary of guiding at Chek Jawa! Over the decade, Naked Hermit Crabs has grown with many old and new guides joining the family and learning from one another.

A picture of our visitors right before we started our walk!
(Photo by Liz Lim)

To further commemorate our tenth birthday, we took similar shots of old photos from 2007 during the walk to find out how much Chek Jawa has changed over the years. Here are some of the 'before and after' photos!

The once sparse vegetation in front of Jejawi Tower completely covers the tower today.
(Photo by Ria Tan)

Young trees planted in 2007 have become tall and lush.
(Photo by Ria Tan)

The coastal boardwalk still offers beautiful views all year round!
(Photo by Ria Tan)

Taking in the views
(Photo by Liz Lim)

We were also graced by the presence of a Gerard's water snake (Gerarda prevostiana), which was spotted by one of our participants. This was the first time this species has been recorded on the island! This is the only recorded snake species that loops its body around its prey and tears the prey into smaller pieces rather than swallowing its food whole [1].

Gerard's water snake (Gerarda prevostiana)
(Photo by Sumita Thiagarajan)

Searching for food
(Photo by Sumita Thiagarajan)

We spotted loads of tree climbing crabs as we walked along the boardwalk as well. One of them was even seen eating a very special meal: a snake moult!

Crab eating a snake moult
(Photo by Liz Lim)

The Nipah Palm has always been a crowd favourite, with one of the visitors excitedly exclaiming "It's atapchee!" when they saw the plant! They were also fascinated by a young Nipah Palm that had just started out its life.

Young Nipah Palm!

It was one of the highest tides we have ever seen and there were many mudskippers taking refuge on the roots of the mangrove trees!

Can you spot the mudskippers?
(Photo by Liz Lim)

Mudskipper
(Photo by Liz Lim)

On the coastal boardwalk, we were greeted by a Collared Kingfisher and Common Sandpiper that were resting by the rocks. One group had even seen a White-bellied Sea Eagle swoop out of the trees above them on its way out to hunt some fish!

As it was our 10th anniversary, many visitors had written well-wishes for us!

An extremely cute card by one of our participants!

(Photo by Ria Tan)

Some lovely drawings from a family
(Photo by Ria Tan)

Finally, we would like to thank Ley Kun, Ria, Sumita, Ivan, Liz, Chen Xi, Dayna and Xiang Tian for helping us to guide the participants on this very special walk! Also, big thanks to Ley Kun, Ria, Sumita, Dayna and Liz for your amazing photos of this walk. Lastly, we'd like to thank all the visitors for joining us on this very special day and we hope you've enjoyed yourselves!

(Photo by Ria Tan)

See you in 2018 for more fun walks!


[1] Jayne, B. C., Voris, H. K., & Ng, P. K. (2002). Herpetology: Snake circumvents constraints on prey size. Nature, 418(6894), 143-143.