Vol 3 No 1
Jun 96
Nature's Nest Architects at Sungei
Buloh
A Close Look at Nature: speech
by Dr Aline Wong
Events for
Clean & Green Week: Spot-Art Competition and Treasure Hunt
Wader Ringing Programme:
Shoot the Birds! Photography at Sungei
Buloh
Wader Watching at the Main Hide
VIP visits
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Events for
Clean and
Green
Week
Morning
Spot-Art
competition (primary schools) and Treasure Hunt (secondary schools and
junior colleges) were organised with the help of volunteers. In spite of
the rain, response for the morning was very good: 184 students from 46
schools turned up. Spirits were high and participants took the wet
conditions and schedule changes in their stride.
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Spot-Art Competition Winners
1st place: Miss Joanne Khoo Puay Yin
(age: 9) Singapore Chinese Girl School
2nd place: Miss Wong May Ee
(age: 7) Juying Primary School
3rd place: Miss Liu Lilin
(age: 11) Yu Neng Primary
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Afternoon
After lunch, students toured the Motorola Green Bus. Prize-giving for the
morning's winners and presentation of plaques to the participants of
"Our Waterways" programme followed shortly after. Students from
Alexandra Hill Primary School performed an eco-skit set to dramatic music.
This occasion, graced by Senior Minister of State (Health and Education), Dr
Aline Wong, ended with a tour of the Park for all guests. After this, the
Resource Recyling Package, developed by the Public
Education Department (Ministry of the Environment), was distributed to school
representatives.
Looking for Gems
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By Amos
Teo, one of the
members
of the Treasure Hunt Team, Raffles Institution
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It
was raining cats and dogs when we—three fellow students and two
enthusiastic teachers—arrived at Sungei Buloh Nature Park on that gloomy Monday morning. Most
people hate Mondays (Monday mornings, especially), but it was different for
us as we knew we were going to enjoy ourselves, win or lose.
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School Nature Treasure Hunt Winners
Secondary School category
lst place: Raffles Institution
2nd place: Katong Convent
3rd place: Nan Hua Secondary School
Junior College category
1st place: Anglo-Chinese Junior College
2nd place: St Andrew's junior College
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We had to attend a briefing so that participants were made aware of the
Treasure Hunt procedure and rules. This was the first time I have seen the
place packed full of students, teachers and volunteers. We were given time to
look through the clues before we were officially flagged off.
The rain had subsided by then, but the trails were very muddy and there were
many puddles of water to avoid. It was quite funny, looking around and
realising that the other teams were also walking gingerly, trying to avoid
stepping into the puddles. Early on, we had decided the best strategy was not
to bother with too many nitty-gritty details and we also skipped the trip to
the Heronry on Route 2. This helped us to save a lot of time. We filled in
those sections by inferring on the answers, after which we handed in our
answers to the volunteer marshalls at the Outdoor
Classroom.
The highlight of the day was the speech given by Dr Aline Wong. I felt it was
good to have such an important guest-of- honour attend this event. In this
way, public awareness is raised. At the end of the day, we were drained, yet
satisfied. It was an enriching experience for me, and the many students who
had never been to Sungei Buloh,
or participated in such activities before. I hope that there will be a
similar activity next year.
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