1. Vote for Singapore's National Butterfly
In line with the SG50 celebration, our Butterfly & Insect Group organised this nationwide event for the public to vote for Singapore's National Butterfly from 21 Mar 2015 to 30 Apr 2015. Voters were given a choice of 6 nominated species - the Common Birdwing, the Common Rose, the Painted Jezebel, the Common Tiger, the Common Tree Nymph and the Knight. The campaign resulted in more than 7000 people taking part with the winner being the Common Rose. The aim of the campaign was to raise awareness about the importance of our often overlooked insects to our ecosystems and to us as well as to further lead to the conservation of their habitats. The campaign was supported by Public Utilities Board and Jane Goodall Institute of Singapore with Keppel Land and Shell providing sponsorship.
The Nature Society adopted the area of the URA-designated Kranji Marshes Park under the PUB Water-bodies Adoption Scheme in November 2008. The designated Marshes area is located along the north-western shore of the Kranji Reservoir, south of the Kranji Sancturay Golf Course. The area in total is estimated at 39 hectares, with adjacent woodland, and is a major freshwater marshland habitat in Singapore harbouring a rich biodiversity in terms of its birdlife and butterflies.
NSS concentrated on opening up a much clogged pond in order to allow water birds such as the Lesser Whistling Duck and the Common Moorhen to find their preferred habitat. This restoration of the pond as an open water habitat also involved creating two small mud islands for birds. Whilst some of the clearing has to be done by machine, groups of volunteers, including some from Bloomberg, were involved in clearing unwanted vegetation from the edges and in heaping it up for transfer to a local organic farm as compost and mulch material. Success of the effort was registered by sightings of Cotton Pygmy Goose and of Common Moorhen at the pond in early 2010. Volunteers from the various NSS Special Interest Groups also engaged in base-line surveys of all types of flora and fauna at the site, and will monitor over the years to see changes. They also lead regularly monthly walks for members of the public as well as for our own members from Neo Tiew Lane to the marshes and onto the bund along the reservoir. Publications of informational booklets on the area have been printed with sponsorship from Bloomberg.
The overall project was supported by sponsorships from Bloomberg Organization and from the NEA-organized CEO Run at Semakau in 2008.
Jointly organized by IKEA Singapore, WWF - World Wide Fund for Nature (Singapore) and Nature Society (Singapore) in 2011 & 2012, the Little Green Dot Student Research Grant aimed to facilitate the development of a new generation of leaders in environmental issues by encouraging them to learn about the environment through direct study and discovery. Students from secondary (upper) schools and junior colleges were invited to form groups of 2 to 4 members, and submit research proposals to help conserve Singapore's nature. Eleven groups with the best proposals received a grant to carry out research work. Practicing environmentalists were assigned as mentors to the grant recipients to provide guidance through the the entirety of the project.
The Bird Group of Nature Society (Singapore) was selected by the Singapore Land Authority to provide precise location maps for online information on local birdwatching hotspots. The hotspots were grouped according to habitats which allows users to click on the habitats of interest for details such as directions to the place as well as photographs of the area and the biodiversity there. This was a great opportunity for the Society to reach out to the public in promoting nature appreciation and bird watching.
The bird watching map can be accessed at:
Working with the Southwest Community Development Council (SWCDC) One Million Tree Planting Programme, funded by Borneo Motors, and in collaboration with PUB and NParks, the Bird Group, Butterfly Interest Group and Plant Group of NSS contributed ecological knowledge on indigenous plants that supports local bird and butterfly life in order to create new habitats along the Sungei Pandan corridor. The aim was to create or expand existing patches of woodland, mangroves and riverine habitats and fill gaps to create a wildlife corridor along the river from the upper reaches at Ghim Moh to the lower reaches at Jalan Buroh. The various NSS Special Interest Groups also made efforts to source or grow the plants for planting and took part in planting them as well as maintaining monitor surveys afterwards to gather data for similar projects in future.
6. Family Incentive Trial
This was a research study on how family based outdoor activities can help in myopia prevention in children. The research was led by the National University of Singapore and the Duke NUS Singapore in collaboration with NParks and Nature Society (Singapore) (NSS).