A Close Look
At Nature

Excerpts from the speech given by Senior Minister of State (Health and Education), Dr Aline Wong on 6 November 1995 during the Clean and Green Week Schools' Event.

There is so much in Sungei Buloh which offers us a chance to take a good close look—the flocks of migratory birds stopping over at the Park; the mangrove plants flourishing at the water's edge; the myriad crabs, shells, fish and other creatures thriving in this habitat. Sungei Buloh is home to about 500 species of plants and animals.

Sungei Buloh is an excellent place to educate the young about nature. The park is designed to bring us close to nature, yet minimise disturbance to it. Sungei Buloh is like a window on our natural heritage.

The Park stands at the mouth of a river. If we do not look after the river upstream, rubbish debris would flow into the Park and disturb the ecosystem. A lot of effort, time and money has been spent in cleaning up our water courses in Singapore. Aquatic life has returned to waterways which were once so polluted that the water in them was black and smelly. Through the "Our Waterways" programme, schools have adopted some of the water courses in Singapore, and are monitoring the water quality and documenting the aquatic life.

Clean and Green Week is an annual event for Singaporeans to reaffirm our commitment to the environment. The schools, governmental and non-governmental organisations, as well as the business community are all involved. I am pleased to see the volunteers from the Biotechnology Department of the Ngee Ann Polytechnic helping out in the event. It is only fitting that we should work together closely to care for the environment and our natural heritage.

Individually, we can do our bit through through simple, daily actions. For example we can sell our newspapers to the rag-and bone man, write on both sides of paper recycle our drink cans, buy environmentally-friendly products, or even simply by not littering.

It is said that young children are able to make out the details of a hawk's lumage from a distance with their naked eyes. Let you who are young close look at nature and see how wonderful and intricate it is. Care for it and keep it so that in time to come, your children's children will still be able to enjoy it as you have today.