Nature Society: Nature in Our Heartland exhibition
From 26 August to 10 September 2017, Nature Society organised an exhibition called "Nature in Our Heartland" in Punggol. I happened to be around the area during one of my event shoots and decided to drop by for a visit.
There were poster boards describing various habitats and wildlife species found in Singapore. Here is some of the information presented:
Butterflies
Singapore currently has 330 species of butterflies, compared to 475 in the past.
The loss can mainly be attributed to habitat loss as many of them live in the forest.
26 are threatened: 16 are critically endangered, 4 are endangered and 6 are vulnerable.
Grasshoppers, crickets and katydids
They are also known as flower-visiting orthopterans and play an important role in pollination.
Straw-headed Bulbul
This bird is currently endangered due to the pet bird trade.
It is now only found in Singapore, Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia.
Singapore has more than 200 individuals with half concentrated in Pulau Ubin.
Coral reefs
Singapore's reefs mainly consist of 255 species of hard corals.
The Neptune Cup Sponge, which was thought to be extinct, can be found in our local waters.
Over 100 reef fish species live in our reefs.
Mangroves
Singapore currently has 960ha of mangroves left, which covers lesser than 1% of our land cover. This is in contrast with 7500ha in the past.
Our mangroves sequester an equivalent of carbon emissions of 621 089 people.
Our natural mangroves are found at Pulau Ubin, Mandai mangroves and Sungei Khatib Bongsu (near Yishun).
Managed vegetation
As a garden city, managed vegetation occupies 27% of our land area.
The exhibition was largely catered to the young. However, I was attracted to the booth selling guides and magazines, and managed to pick up this gem at only $5!
It is an old version, but nevertheless I had so much fun browsing through it and identifying the common plants in Singapore. I am really glad I decided to visit the exhibition!
