Naval Base Secondary School

My Reflections

I really enjoyed myself throughout the whole project. As this is the second project that I am doing at Sungei Buloh, I have to say I am quite familiar with how things work and go about there.

A reforestation project. There are many things that I have seen, heard and learnt from this whole programme. From interesting and informative workshops to going into the depths of the many acres of Sungei Buloh to plant and reforestate an entire area of land, I understood the full meaning of the importance of Mother Nature and how to protect our land and resources.

I am thankful to all my teachers who have given me this great opportunity and their never-ending help and guidance to my team mates and I during the period of time we embarked on this endeavour. The presentation skills, plant sketching and speech workshops, and having to get my first and perhaps only taste of planting a tree in my entire life made my journey of discovery an even more exciting one.

To be able to be part of this team of young nature ambassadors may bear much responsibility but it also enriches my quest for knowledge and perseverance to continue this long and winding road of nature conservation in Singapore. I have also made many acquaintances from the other schools joining me on this journey. Although we are working on different topics or sections for this project, I am glad to be able to have made these new friends, as I believe we are all one family working towards one goal, and that is to understand Mother Nature and protect her from the harm of human activities.

Ada Yen Li Yi
Naval Base Secondary School

My friends and I have thoroughly enjoyed the projects we have embarked on with Sungei Buloh. We have learned a lot from both the Birds In Wetlands Project and the Reforestation and Reach Out Project.

I feel very fortunate at being given the opportunity to be so close to nature, which is my passion. From learning more about the flora and fauna of the mangroves, to developing skills like sketching and presenting what we have learned, I feel I have broaden my horizons and contributed to the conservation effort in Singapore. Perhaps we can influence more people to contribute to this effort.

Anand Sukumar
Naval Base Secondary School

The first thought I had when I was told I was selected to be in the Reforestation and Reach Out Project at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve was dread of the mosquitoes. As I had been involved in the “Birds In Wetlands Project” with the Wetland Reserve in 2004, I knew very well the buzzing of the stinging insects. I did not relish the idea of putting a layer of insect repellent on my skin because of the stickiness (or maybe it was just plain laziness). I hoped that the project would be as interesting as the “Birds In Wetlands Project”.

When we were brought to the back mangroves and shown the area that we were to reforest, I immediately forgot the stinging winged insects and thoroughly enjoyed walking through the back mangroves and immediately started having new ideas on how the outdoor classroom could be used. We were told that we needed to reforest the area because there were too many of only a few types of plants in that area. The task seemed almost impossible because the area still had the original trees. It was difficult to picture a new reforested area with more types of plants. The list of plants we were given sounded alien to me as they were mostly in scientific names.

We learnt about the back mangrove plants, and brainstormed for educational materials to motivate young children to learn more about the back mangrove plants too. We were scheduled to reforest the area (the real back-breaking work) in December, and I was looking forward to it. We reached out to the rest of the Navalite community and managed to get over thirty other students who were just as excited about planting the new trees to pledge their help. However, after I came back from my class chalet in early December, I had a high fever. I could not join my friends, however my teachers were kind enough to bring back a Sungei Buloh Reforestation Project t-shirt for me. I really hope I will have the opportunity to help in a reforestation activity again.

Candy Kong Hui Jie
Naval Base Secondary School

The Sungei Buloh reforestation and Reach Out Project was a very interesting experience. During the first trip we made there, we were introduced to the staff, who were very friendly. They introduced us to the back mangroves of the Reserve and briefed us on the project. We were very excited about the whole project.

We learned many skills and important information about Sungei Buloh’s mangrove swamp. At the second workshop, we learned about plant sketching and plant identification. It was very good because we learned a lot about how to tell which plant was which, and how to draw the plants. We were also taught about the plants and even the wildlife there. We even learned about the interesting history of some of the plants.

The whole project was a very good learning experience and a very fun one too. The actual reforestation activity was the most fun because we finally got down and dirty, and planted a total of 35 trees! It was the first time any of us had ever planted a tree. I will never forget the experience!

Dominick Choo Wan Sheng
Naval Base Secondary School

My schoolmates and I started this project in late September 2004. It was organised by Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve (SBWR). When my teacher told us about the project, we were keen to know more.

On our first trip to Sungei Buloh for the briefing for the Reforestation and Reach Out Project, we saw that four other schools would be working on the project too. This made it even more interesting as we could make new friends. Ms Jeanne was very friendly. First, she introduced us to the project that we were going to do. She also showed us a video clip on SBWR. She told us that parts of Sungei Buloh needed to be reforested as some of the plants were in a bad condition, and some areas needed to be populated with more species. It was then that we realized that we were actually going to plant the new trees and saplings. We were given some information on the areas we would be reforestating. My school would be in charge of the back mangrove area.

The following week, we went back to SBWR. We had plant sketching to do. It was fun touching all the different kinds of plants. We needed to sketch out the plants. All of us had a great time sketching. Then Ms Jeanne told me personally what I needed to do with the plant names she gave to us. I went home and found information on the plants.

When we went back to school, we presented our project to the other students in the school during the school assembly, and called for volunteers to help us in the reforestation. We managed to get more than thirty schoolmates to pledge their help.

Our next meeting was on 24th November 2004. We brainstormed and came up with ideas on educational materials we would prepare to motivate other students to learn more about the back mangroves of Sungei Buloh. We decided on a children’s colouring book so that young children can start early to learn about the beauty of nature and the importance of conservation.

On 3rd December all of us gathered and planted plants in the back mangroves of Sungei Buloh. It was fun, and of course tiring as well. I planted 8 plants. Naval Base Secondary students planted 35 plants all together. It was a really meaningful experience for me, and I am sure all the other Navalites too. I hope we will get to do it again.

Nesaar B Mohamud Ali
Naval Base Secondary School

I am very pleased to have had the opportunity to continue on another project with Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. I have learned so much about the vegetation and wildlife of mangrove swamps, and I am so glad that I had the opportunity to share what I have learned with other students.

We got to know many people from the project, such as Miss Jeanne, Uncle Tay and students from the other schools, such as the Canadian International School and Yishun Junior College.

From the project briefing, I was convinced that my schoolmates and I could do a good job at spreading the message of the importance of conservation. We were taught sketching and presentation skills, and had the opportunity to be creative in developing educational and informative materials. For example, we were taught how to identify and observe plants and their leaves and flowers. I produced a few drawings which I am proud of.

Our team decided on creating a colouring book for lower Primary students because we felt that the love for nature should be cultivated from an early age. The day of the actual reforestation was the most exciting time. We were given long-sleeved shirts which were very nice and useful (to keep the mosquitoes at bay!). It was a truly fulfilling experience. My partners and I planted a total of 5 trees out of the 35 that my whole school team planted. I hope to have the opportunity to be close to nature again.

Norbashitah Bte Samsudin
Naval Base Secondary School

The workshops that I attended showed me a lot of things regarding the flora and fauna of mangrove swamps. I love Geography, and so I was very keen to embark on this new project with Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

The people at SBWR really helped us a lot by preparing us for the project. They taught us how to identify and observe the back mangrove plants, sketch the leaves and flowers of the plants and even how to present our project. The presentation skills workshop was very helpful. We can use what we have learnt in future as well.

We managed to get quite a lot of students from our school to help in our reforestation effort, which was a very good thing. It motivated us to do even more to spread the message of conservation. We held assembly talks in our school, and shared our experiences with our schoolmates.

click on respective school's name to view the educational materials

I really think that given another opportunity, we can plant even more trees and do even more to educate people on conservation of our mangrove swamps and other natural areas. Not only are projects like these fun and interesting, they are very meaningful. We learned other incidental lessons such as the importance of teamwork, and the benefits of bonding as a group. I hope such projects will continue to be made available for Navalites.

Rosental Goh Bee Geok
Naval Base Secondary School