2017 schedule - Naked Hermit Crabs turn 10!

We are turning 10 this year! 10 years of bringing you the fun and FREE nature walks at Chek Jawa Boardwalk and Pasir Ris Mangroves. We couldn't have done this without the constant support and encouragement of our visitors. Sometimes we felt like giving up, and sometimes we went slow to give ourselves some rest. But we're still here, and we hope we have done a little for the ground-up conservation efforts of our nature places in Singapore, especially for threatened natural shores such as Chek Jawa.

It gives us much joy to share what we know about the plants and animals that live in the fragile coastal ecosystems of Chek Jawa and Pasir Ris Mangroves. Sign up for our walks and get to know Singapore's own biodiversity from volunteers who care about such things.

Here is our schedule for 2017. All walks are held at Chek Jawa Boardwalk (Pulau Ubin) unless stated otherwise.

25 Feb (Saturday)
18 Mar (Saturday) - school holidays
22 Apr (Saturday) changed to 15 Apr (Saturday) - Pasir Ris Mangroves
20 May (Saturday) we plan to train new guides in May for the Jun Balik Chek Jawa
3 Jun (Saturday) - Balik Chek Jawa. No registration needed. Simply show up at Chek Jawa and we will have guides to show you around.
1 Jul (Saturday) changed to Pasir Ris Mangroves instead of Chek Jawa
19 Aug (Saturday) new date
3 Sep (Sunday) - school holidays - Pasir Ris Mangroves
15 Oct (Sunday)
25 Nov (Saturday) - school holidays
16 Dec (Saturday) - 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

If you have any questions, feel free to write to us at nakedhermitcrabs at gmail dot com.

Happy nature exploring!

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

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...

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.

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...

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...