Blue Water Volunteers

Christmas greetings from the Reefwalk team

2007-12-11T10:31:00.000+08:00

Made by Juanhui

BWV website is down

2007-12-11T09:29:00.000+08:00

Dear friends, if you came here looking for our old website, I'm sorry to say that it is currently down due to some problems with the domain name registration.

Please watch this space for more information regarding our activities.

For general enquiries, please send an email to reef@bluewatervolunteers.org

To subscribe to our mailing list, please send a blank email to bluewatervolunteers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Dress up as your favourite plant or animal!

2007-09-25T20:35:00.000+08:00

Or fungus, protist or bacteria...who are we to discriminate eh? Plus get to meet Jane Goodall in person!

Here's the blurb from the organisers:

Greetings from the Jane Goodall Institute, Singapore!

You are invited to join Dr Jane Goodall and friends at an event to advocate for our wild plant and animal species at The Singapore Wildlife Stampede on November 2^ndat the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Join in the parade dressed as a plant or animal, or just come picnic at the Palm Valley and see Dr Goodall in person.

Let us know you are interested by emailing: Elizabeth eberdz@gmail.com or Lynette lynette_cdz@hotmail.com

Or register on-line at our website http://wildlifeparade.wordpress.com/

Act for Earth!

Join the Singapore Wildlife Stampede on November 2 led by Dr. Jane Goodall (primatologist and conservationist) and her friends. Suitable for kids 5 to 95!

Parade: 4pm Jacob Ballas Children's Garden en route to Palm Valley, Singapore Botanic Gardens

Picnic: 5pm Palm Valley, Singapore Botanic Gardens

Dress up as your favourite endangered plant or animal and advocate for our wild habitats!

Bring an eco-picnic and see Dr. Goodall in person with her chimpanzee mascot, Mr H.

For more information and to register, http://wildlifeparade.wordpress.com/

To find out more about Dr. Jane Goodall and her work, check out http://www.janegoodall.org/

Help us make this an eco-friendly event:

BRING re-useable drinking bottles, natural mats not plastic, & homemade picnic food

- reduce picnic disposables & litter

- reuse old materials for costumes

- recycle after parade

Help us create a better awareness about our fragile Earth and her endangered wildlife.

Blog announcement

2007-04-23T22:58:00.000+08:00

Dear all, if you are at our blogger website, please be informed that our ReefWalk blog has officially moved to our website. You can now view it at http://www.bluewatervolunteers.org/bwv-community. Remember to update your bookmarks.

If are viewing this from the BWV website, thank you for supporting us and do check this space again for further updates on our activities.

Previous contributors please keep a look out in your emails for instructions, with a username and password. If you don't receive one, it could be because you have not posted anything in the past year or so. Please send an email to me to request for one.

See what happened during Earth Day!

2007-04-23T11:45:00.000+08:00

If you weren't at our Earth Day celebration at the Botanic Gardens on Sunday, you certainly missed a lot of fun stuff! Check out the report and photos on the Habitatnews blog. And we'll post our own report once the organising committee recovers!

Earth Day Celebrations!

2007-04-09T06:03:00.000+08:00

Click on the poster for more details!

How big can a nudibranch grow?

2007-02-22T23:40:00.000+08:00

Most of the nudibranchs that I've seen thus far are rather small probably less than 100mm but this spanish dancer which we saw on our 20 Jan ReefWALK beats them all.

Since many of them are brighly coloured, which indicates that they don't taste nice, why aren't most of them of such sizes? hmm...

Have you hugged a slug today?

2007-02-10T03:16:00.000+08:00

Here’s a reminder to all fellow Reefwalkers and anyone else reading this. You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone, so don’t wait till it’s too late to appreciate what’s right there in your own 'backyard'. Appreciate your family and friends, treasure your loved ones and hug your cat today! Put your talents and resources to good use, and give back to the community and Mother Earth. Most of all, appreciate nature, be it the last piece of natural shore left in Singapore, what’s left of our forests, our tiny but ‘rich’ offshore islands, or even something as simple as clear blue skies and fresh air.

I’ve been living in Dubai for the past seven months, and I miss Singapore nature so much that I have recurring dreams of it. I’m not exaggerating. I have 2 to 3 dreams a month about rocky shores, little slugs and ‘stars’, and all the other little treasures you can spot on the shore during low spring tides. The dreams are so vivid, I wake up wanting to put my booties on right away and run out in the dark armed with my torch and chopsticks!

Singapore and Dubai are similar in some ways – its waters and reefs damaged by constant offshore dredging and reclamation works. Singapore added 20% more land to its original size or 135km2 as of 2003, with plans for adding 99km2 more by 2008 (PlanetArk.com). Likewise, the total coastline of the UAE is 60km, and new offshore projects (such as the 'Palm' islands and 'The World') will add over 1,000km!

Divers would know that the Gulf region has some really superb dive sites. However, these are located on the East Coast of the UAE and Oman. So for a non-diver like me who needs her regular dose of reefwalking, there’s nothing! I’m starved for free and easily accessible 'wild action'! There’s only Jumeira Beach, which is mainly reclaimed and artificial. Like wah… so nice and clear and blue… Just the thing ignorant tourists love. Just the thing a Reefwalker might have nightmares about. Nothing to spot or seek! Notice how the beach is so flat and white. No rocks, no little crabs scurrying about, no little holes in the sand… The beach is so barren you don’t even see seaweed! One can probably make money from literally selling seashells on the seashore.

So Singapore, this is what you’ll have to live with in the future if all our beaches and offshore islands opt for the ‘tourist-attracting’ plan. The next time you wanna see a sea sponge or sea star, you may have to pay to see them in a huge state-of-the-art aquarium. Of course there’ll still be marine life in Singapore waters. Some of them will adapt and hang around till the silt and sediment finally clears in many, many years time, if ever. Some of them will pack their bags in search of a new home away from Singapore. Most of them will die.

And I fear one day, future Reefwalkers and Singaporeans will have to go through what I’m going through now. Waking up in the morning after a vivid “blue” dream, sulking the whole day as I think of “back when”. Most people may think of Singapore as a concrete jungle, but we actually still have a lot of natural areas. Little diamonds in the rough scattered all over the island. Changi Beach may not be a 'tropical seaside paradise', but it's still 'heaven' to me, and home to a variety of seaweeds, seagrasses and sea creatures. The mosquitoes at SBWR can eat you alive, but the chance to appreciate the biodiversity here is more than worth it. So the next time you have a day off or even half a day off, dedicate it to nature! Spend a few hours exploring one of our shores or Sungei Buloh or Bukit Timah. Go “sayang” a goby or fondle some seaweed for me! And most importantly, share your experience with everyone - family, friends, neighbours, students, co-workers, MPs…

Guess who we saw at Sisters?

2006-12-21T14:48:00.000+08:00

Reef Friends Survey- Sisters' Islands Dec 2006

2006-12-19T12:04:00.000+08:00

Last Saturday, the monsoon rains took a rest as BWV's ReefFriends Survey team went out to the Sisters' Islands. It didn't bode too well in the beginning, with scientific officers pulling out of the dive, leaving me alone to hold the fort, with a reduced team (we had to cancel one boat) and 2 sites to finish in one day. So much for a lepak lepak trip back to Singapore waters :).

Nevertheless, we had 3 SO's in-training on board, 2 newcomers to Reef Check who were going to learn how to lay tape on-the-job, and a boatful of divers brimming with enthusiasm and confidence (at least, that's what I was saying to myself...)

People ask what it's like to dive in S'pore again after a field trip to the Florida Keys, and the answer is- it was GREAT! The vis was really nice, so clear that I didn't need to use my white balance function on the shallow transect. Plus I really missed seeing my nudis!

Phyllids are sweet...

As is this polka dotted Jorunna

And what's this next to the transect tape?

Our little team of 9 was the epitome of efficiency, and we were done with our first site (Sisters Laut) by lunchtime, just as the current was picking up. Marco, the head RF coordinator, was testing out a new scheme to expand the number of fish and invertebrate species we survey, including nudibranchs and featherstars. Lots and lots of the latter today! Maybe because the currents got pretty strong?

Some of the feather-stars were tiny!

Half an hour later, the tape-laying teams bravely descended into the currents to start the second transect at Sisters Darat. The timing was perfect, such that by the time the benthic survey came around, there was hardly any water movement at all....

Benthic survey means recording immobile stuff like this hard coral!

The invert folks got excited upon seeing this m0nster sea cucumber along the transect line, but alas, it wasn't one of the four edible Reef Check target species.

Amazingly, we wrapped the second survey by 4pm with all data intact! And this concludes the Reef Friends Southern Islands Survey for 2006! More to come next year!

So Reef Check and LIT-trained divers- Where are you??? We need you for future survey dives! Do sign up by emailing reeffriends-subscribe@yahoogroups.com with your name, survey experience (e.g. expedition trip), and dive gear rental requirements. Or write to the Reef Friends coordinators, who are all friendly people, at reeffriends@bluewatervolunteers.org.

WHAT AN INSULT!

2006-12-02T12:57:00.000+08:00

These recent news on the proposed development of the Southern Islands have got many people on their feet, e.g. BlueBabe, WildSingapore. There are many ways to think about this issue, and I am trying hard to not jump out of my chair, thinking of various ways these developments can be good for anyone, e.g. more jobs created, more tourists, less nature areas to worry about, more money saved not diving in Singapore etc... many many more...

So I tried to put myself in the shoes of a natural plant/animal in the Southern Islands... like a coral, or a reef crab, or just a simple protist like a dinoflagellate/zooxanthella. You know, looking at things from different perspectives mah... It seems that those people with the ideas are saying that Singapore's natural environment in the Southern Islands are not good enough to bring in the visitors... WHAT AN INSULT!

The simple coral with its zooxanthellae, and the associated reef crabs apparently bring in more than AU$2 billion a year for Australia. So they think resorts are great... wait till tourists check into the possible luxurious resorts in the islands and find themselves bored to death! No fish to fish, no reefs to dive, no rocky beaches to walk on, etc. - only white artificial sand that I can buy and put at home even... These remaining biodiversity has survived all the #$%# prior developments/reclamation (remember I'm speaking on behalf of the corals and crabs - explains the expletives) with such resilience, just to be unappreciated at the end. WHAT AN INSULT!

Let's see who get's the last laugh... Probably not the natural organisms above (but I bet they would if they could). I would, at least from watching tourists who can only eat, sleep and walk along white sandy ARTIFICIAL beaches in the future (possible) Southern Islands.

More news on Southern Island development plans

2006-12-01T00:56:00.000+08:00

Channel NewsAsia 30 Nov 06
Villas and marine park are possibilities for the Southern Island development, say experts
By May Wong

At least one angle talks about preserving the marine environment around Kusu and adjacent islands... I suppose that is good, though I don't see how building resorts, spas, golf courses (??) or an artificial rainforest can take place on such a small island without adversely affecting the already stressed out coral reefs there.

Based on this line in the news article- " This comes after the Singapore Tourism Board revealed it wants to get ideas on how to develop the six islands. They include the Kusu, St John's and Sisters' Islands.", the authorities want your input and ideas! If you care about the marine diversity of the Southern Islands, do take the time to speak up on their behalf.

Email reach@reach.gov.sg or start a post on the REACH website. To contact STB, submit an email through this form- http://app.stb.com.sg/asp/mis/cont.asp

Kusu: Playground of the rich?

2006-11-30T02:47:00.000+08:00

News on upcoming plans for the Southern Islands, including our dear Kusu:
http://www.wildsingapore.com/news/20061112/061129-1.htm

Should we celebrate or panic?

More in a bit...

BWV ReefTalk 30 Sept

2006-09-15T23:08:00.000+08:00

A tribute to Singapore's coral reefs. PART 2 (Another Appendix)

2006-08-19T12:47:00.000+08:00

This post is inspired by Hawaii's designation as a marine reserve, and a little by "Diving in Singapore: A tribute part II" at The Blue Tempeh.

I'm back in Hawaii again... but this time I'm not going to dive, because I don't think the diversity is worth my cash (and I'm broke anyway...). I've learnt my lesson...

But it doesn't hurt to snorkel, and so I did, every other day here at Coconut Island where I'm attending a workshop. As expected, water is somewhat clear, with vis about 15m. Mind you this is snorkelling near shore... In Singapore, if there's a place you can snorkel and see the benthos from the surface, I'd be very surprised... of course this excludes your fish tank and Underwater World.

This time I was initially quite happy cos this time, it's reef I'm looking at, not some wreck with near-zero coral cover... So I see Pocillopora damicornis (present in Singapore too)...

Then there's this one, Montipora capitata (range extends to Singapore)...

And then there's Porites compressa...

This one is pretty cool, cos its endemic to this area... But then, the whole island seems to be just that, and that's it! Everywhere else I've looked is so homogenous, it's scary... Then I recalled Singapore's reefs... Let's see it again...

Wow... I'm so missing Singapore reefs...

I had said this previously, "So I was thinking, if the Hawaii state government decides to reclaim land and cover their reefs, say hypothetically land is limited... maybe just the one shown above, what would the response be? Not pretty... people all over the world would probably make noise... "

Well, this didn't happen. But the opposite did... Northwestern Hawaiian Islands went under US environmental protection in June, becoming the world's biggest protected marine reserve... stretching 2,250 km and covering 362,600 sq km. That is an awful lot of land! And what? There's less than 50 species of hard corals there???!!!

Hey!!! Singapore has almost 200 species!!! And we can't even hold off destruction of the reef at Pulau Ular... Is it that hard to confer protection to just a small little offshore island? Like Pulau Hantu is only 12.2ha... The potential for ecotourism is so great... I mean, suckers like me would pay US$103.12 to attempt to see 50 species of corals (I saw only 2 btw...), I'm quite sure there are people who are craving to see 4 times that diversity in Singapore (it's actually more, cos diversity is probably thousands of times greater if we account for area)... Perhaps with some clearer waters... If only we could halt or slow down coastal development and reclamation in Singapore...

Sigh... I wonder when decision-makers up there will become as proud as nature lovers in Singapore of the wealth of marine life here...

Chek Jawa Coastal Clean-up 2006!!

2006-07-24T13:17:00.000+08:00

Saturday morning 22 July dawned bright and sunny. By noon, dark clouds started to gather over the east of Singapore. Though we said that we would continue with the coastal clean-up today regardless of rain or shine, was crossing my fingers hard and hoping there would be no lightning later on....

Chek Jawa is like a little tradition for BWV. It started in 2002, when Siva asked if I was interested in doing a clean-up there. Since returning Youth Expedition Project members needed to do a local community project post trip, and I had just concluded a reef survey expedition to Sabah (BLE1), I thought,"Why not?". From 10 volunteers and 200kg of trash, it has grown into a bigger event, with Jani organising a major activity in 2004 involving 68 volunteers, collecting a total of 1.6 TONNES of trash! Why marine litter? Left alone, non-biodegradables accumulate over time, causing untold harm to the marine environment!

This year, 35 members of the public stepped forward to help the Chek Jawa mangroves get rid of a scourge that doesn't seem to go away. Jani took a team to the back mangroves of the visitor area, while Grace and Mingsheng handled the long stretch of shore next to House No. 1. And of course, we had the tireless How Choon Beng and other members of the NParks Ubin team to help with logistics, transport, and the hands-on action itself.

How did we do this year??

Summary of trash items collected

Guess what's the most common trash item on Chek Jawa?

Thankfully, the weather held out all the way; by 2pm we had cloudy skies with occasional spots of sun, which was just perfect for a clean-up session- not too sweltering. The volunteers were raring to go, and after a short briefing in the container office next to House No.1, everyone took their gloves, made-on-the-spot writing boards, datacards, and trash bags, filed out and speedily proceeded to their clean-up section.

Mingsheng briefing his group before starting work

For Groups 2 and 3, it was the first time we had done a clean-up in this area, and the amount of trash found was pretty amazing.

Someone left his entire campsite intact

Plastic bags are found even on the trees

The sheer amount of plastics was just too overwhelming to count as they were coming in, so we piled everything on the upper shore to be counted later.

Look! I have more!

One hundred and one, one hundred and two.....

Over at Section 1, we thought that since we've been clearing that area for 3 years, most of the larger debris would have been taken out, but Jani's group still managed to find some odd things- like a fire extinguisher!

Group 1's loot

Hard at work in the mangroves

One and a half hours later, the tide was coming in, but the volunteers were still out trying to get the last pieces of abandoned nets and ropes out from the tangle of the mangrove roots.

One more rope!

Group 3 braving the ants on the ground

Some people find picking trash especially enjoyable!

Even a friendly local 'fishmonger' came to help

One volunteer commented that "we really generate a lot of trash!" after seeing the mountains of plastic and whatnot massed up on the shore.

Still counting plastic bags...

Group 2's loot

After bagging all the litter, the work was not done yet. We still had to weigh all the trash we collected.

It worked out to be a total of 882.8KG!!!

THANKS EVERYONE, for all your hard work!!
You've each made a BIG difference to the marine flora and fauna of Chek Jawa.

Let's hope we leave Chek Jawa a much better place, and that these numbers will decrease over time. More than only cleaning up our shores, we can reduce the amount of non-biodegradables in the environment by NOT littering, and encouraging friends and family to do the same.

On a another note, Singaporeans produce 1kg of trash per person per day! That's staggering! It means 4.8million kg of trash everyday! Where do we find the space to put it all?? Unless we want to keep converting our seas into landfills, the alternatives are pretty simple- cut down on excessive packinging in our lives and ask corporations to do the same, re-use as much as we can or choose biodegradable options, recycle as much as you can, and informing the people around you of these options! One person is enough to make a difference!

Post ReefTalk Reports...

2006-06-11T18:40:00.000+08:00

BWV ReefTalk 29th April 06 - Green & Marine by Dr Shawn Lum

Are seaweed/algae plants? Is seagrass related to the grass on land? Shawn clarifies the 'myths' of marine primary producers in a light hearted & engaging slide show.

Shawn & his formidable brolly! Who needs a laser pointer?

Da audience is listening...mainly walk-ins into the library. I think it's Shawn's characteristic flowery shirt that pulled them =o>

Our beautiful posters of local marine life & habitats! The neatest display ever! Many Thanks to library@Orchard for hosting us!

ADEX 2006 - 21 to 23 April

The response has been really good for BWV at ADEX! Hope more of the people in Singapore as well as out of this 'lil red dot have been enlightened by all the effort from volunteers who tirelessly talked & shared our amazing shores & marine life to those yet seen or heard. Thanks lots to everyone who putted in to this event!
(inclusive of those who presented, those gotten ill 'cause of too much talking &/or forgoing their meals, those who helped transport, set up & packed up REx, those who supported us despite the inability to come down to crowded
Suntec on a weekend, etc.)

Day 2 (22 Apr) RT Part I Zeehan on Nemo & Neighbours

Yes, it's Da Face of BWV giving her signature Nemo talk!

Ms REx (ReefExhibits) doing what she does best!

Caroline (booth volunteer) & her BWV-marine themed shirt

Vincent (booth volunteer) delightfully 'entertains' the patrons of our REx

More queries, more sales, more interest from da people

Day 2 (22Apr) RT Part II Jeff on Life as a Marine Biologist

Quote: "Let's welcome Da ONE & ONLY MARINE BIOLOGIST in Singapore!!!"
In case you are wondering, Jeff is NOT the only one here ok.
Not to mention the swarm of local marine enthusiasts around!

Da ever popular 'Play our game' game was a hit at ADEX!

Avid fans of Some local Dive Federation, awaiting excitedly for the presentation to start

The fan base stretches to the right row

For her hard work, our REx coordinator won a highly sought after lucky draw prize! So did many of our booth volunteers & members. Come volunteer & maybe you'll be
inflicted with the good luck!
*Disclaimer: BWV does not guarantee the striking of any lottery, ToTo, 4D
or any personal bets made by a volunteer.

Day 3 (23Apr) RT Part I Jani on Uncovering Spore's Submerged Secrets

Ms ReefFriends addressing the future of our nation

A captivated audience!

Day 3 (23 Apr) RT Part II Ria Tan on Life on the Edge

Our honorable guest speaker Ms WildSingapore starts dispensing her 300 worth of slides!

In the beginning, there were a few...

...which grew to a few too many!
(Actually they were awaiting the results of the hourly lucky draw,
but then again if the ppt/photos were lousy, people would'nt bother to listen anyway right right??)
Well, let's just say we have good strategy to attract the masses heheh =ob

Yes, we do have reefs & amazing marine life in Singapore!
You can find them on our mainland, northern & southern islands!
Check out http://www.wildsingapore.com/places/index.html

Playing the 'Play our Game' game, winning prizes & of course our lovable Gillian

Grace introducing the OCEANS to a young booth visitor

Dividing the spoils after 3days of exhibiting, presenting & talking non stop.

BWV ReefTalk 3rd June 06 - Jocara Indian Ocean Quest by Caroline Durville Potter

Caroline shared with the audience ups & downs of living on board their sailboat, Jocara and related exciting stories & adventures from the Potter family's Indian Ocean Quest.

Missed the talk? Dig up more on the online diary @ www.jocara.net

ReefFriends survey dive at Semakau

2006-05-30T17:11:00.000+08:00

Last Sunday I took part in the BWV ReefFriends survey dive at Pulau Semakau. We had two boats and Jeff and I were the scientific officers for our boat. Just after we finished laying the shallow transects for the survey, we chanced upon a bubu (fish trap). It was on the reefslope and didn't have any buoys or lines attached to it. According to the Blue Tempeh, it is likely to be abandoned, or it would have been difficult to relocate and retrieve anyway.

As Jeff and I circled it, I saw something appear and quickly disappear within it. The visibility that day was pretty bad so I couldn't quite make out what it was. But after hanging around for a while, I realised it was a big cuttlefish!

HELLO!

Did I ever mention how much I love cuttlefish? Not as food, of course... Anyway. We circled the trap looking for the door and cuttlefish followed us from within. When we found the door and opened it, it came out immediately and hung around us for quite a while. This is it just after emerging through the door.

It was about 30cm long (with tentacles)

Check out the patterns on its body. It's exactly the same algae-covered, hexagonal patterns as the trap! How delightfully clever! My mum couldn't believe it and insisted that it stayed inside so long that the algae had grown on its body. In actual fact, the cuttlefish is able to change not only the colour, but also the texture of its skin. Amazing!

Inside the trap there was also a red-egg reef crab. But that one needed to be cajoled out the door (actually more like gentle prodding).

Big crab!

1000th visitor to Kusu Reef Walk!

2006-05-17T14:05:00.000+08:00

The day started "normally" enough at 4am ... picked up Han Chong and his friend Grace (who apparently had a nice nap in the back of my van on the way there) from my place to Pasir Panjang Ferry Terminal ... only to find that the gate to the carpark was closed!! A frantic and haressed Ming Sheng finally got cars organised to ferry people through another gate, and Bernard managed to rouse the security guard to open the locked gates. The minor bump in the road set us back by 30 minutes, but we managed to make that up with a very fast ferry ride (about 25 min).

Guides and participants waiting outside the carpark gates of the Pasir Panjang Ferry Terminal.

Torches, something you normally don't carry around, came in handy this morning ... I bet the inhabitants of the lagoon thought that E.T. was visiting them :)

So, the walk started in darkness for most groups, but soon the sun peeked over the horizon and by the time it showed its merry face, we were about half done with the walk. I had originally been tasked to take photos to fill in the gaps for our guide training presentation, but was roped in to guide last minute due to an over supply of visitors. Nonetheless, I managed to get some photos:

Limpets on a rock. Limpets are mollusks that seal themselves in with a small amount of water so they don't dry out while the tide is out. In WW2, scuba commandos would sink enemy ships using "limpet mines" - mines that that had a strong magnet and were stuck to the bottom of ships.

Barnacles are crustaceans that spend all of their adult life on their backs ... they stick their legs out into the water and filter food particles. Unlike the limpets (which has a single complete shell) the barnacle's "shell" is composed of a series of plates. The hinged "doors" at the top of the shell lock tight when the tide goes out, trapping a small amount of water.

Some of the guides having a well-deserved breakfast after the walk.

This walk ended on a high note for the Reef Walk programme, as we celebrated the occassion of our 1000th visitor to Kusu. As previously reported by Ming Sheng, BWV was formed on 14th February 2004, Reef Walks commenced on 14th November 2004, and this was our 14th reef walk. A happy coincidence of the number 14!

Ying Ying, our 1000th Reef Walker! Congrats and thanks for your support! Also, check out MS in our BWV polo-T!

We also celebrated the graduation of our latest batch of guides, and also presented certificates of appreciation to people who have helped previously with the Reef Walks, either as organisers or as trainers.

Trond, one of our graduating guides, who is also doing his Masters degree at NUS.

Yihao, one of the many who received a certificate of appreciation (for his previous work in the Reef Walk committee).

As a final note, you will notice our guides spotted our brand new, hot off the press polo-Ts ... a nice solid navy blue colour, the polo-Ts had a simplified BWV logo embrioded on the front, and, for those who requested, our names on the right sleeve. This would give our volunteers a greater sense of identity and presence at our events.

I am sure the next group of reef walkers will have as good a time as we did at the next Reef Walk on May 28. Thanks for all your support and see you all soon!

More than 1000 visitors to the reef!

2006-05-02T00:00:00.000+08:00

On 30 Apr 2006, the Blue Water Volunteers celebrated their 1000th visitor to Kusu Island's ReefWalk! It's especially special because this is the 14th public ReefWalk and... BWV was formed on the 14th of February, 2004! and ReefWalk on the 14th of November :)

This is a significant milestone for the BWV, as we are still new, young (at least at heart), and of course still a lot to learn. Not to mention that all volunteers have their own full time commitment, be it in work, study, family etc. Having guided more than 1000 people to the reef in their backyard, in less than 1.5 year, is definitely something worth cheering for. It also shows how much people love us :D

Of course these can never been done without the support of our very own volunteers. Commemorating our 1000th visitor rewards the effort and countless hours you put into training, meeting, preparation, emailing, etc. to make all these happened. And most importantly, it acknowledges our passion, faith, and whatever we've done for what we love...

Coexistence of nature and development, and human who trying to seek balance between

Special thanks must also go to our sponsors WildSingapore and PADI-AWARE. Without their funding, we would not achieved our primary objective, which is to raise public awareness on the marine environment of Singapore, and produce a cool breed of guides, who manage to translate complicated facts into digestible information for their laymen visitors, as well as making learning fun and exciting.

To sum up this post, let's see what some of our visitors said:

"It has been a really intriguing and enriching experience! Thanks for organising and look forward to more", Ying Ying (the 1000th RW visitor :)

"WOW! Seeing coral without diving - great, awesome!", Ranee

"This is an excellent walk! Well worth the 'waking up at an unearthly hour'! It's amazing how much nature & marine life exists in S'pore. Thank you for organising the walk", Seetha

"Thanks for bring alive a seemingly dead place! We had fun!", Ber Luen & Gwen

Well.. We thank you all for your support!

*Akan datang* Look out for the personal account of this special walk from Papa Jeff, the papa of BWV and RW.

Interested in joining RW or BWV? See our website, join our mailing list, and be the first to know of the latest happenings!

Out with Teachers with St Anthony's Primary (29 April 2006)

2006-05-01T14:55:00.000+08:00

Yes, BWV reef guides were out once more at Kusu Island on 29 April 2006 with a group of 24 teachers and their families from St Anthony's Primary. The school had asked BWV to organise the reef work as one of the activities of the school's Science Department' s 'Environmental Awareness Through Care and Protection' project this year.

It was great to be with these enthusiastic teachers who decided that at least for that morning, they're on the listening end of the talk. Besides the usual marine life found at Kusu, this time we saw an exceptional number of Portunus pelagicus a.k.a. Flower crabs. However, none of the crabs are for picking.

Well, we didn't spot any dugongs during the walk. Dugongs were previously common and there were some encounters in local waters. But we're hopeful that with increasing environmental awareness and polution controls, some will take permanent residence one day the waters off our Southen Islands.

We also had a group of BWV ReefWalk trainees who were there for their practical test! And four of them will be awarded their certificates of graduation at the next public ReefWalk on 30 April 2006. And if you're wanna know more about becoming a ReefWalk guide, visit our website or drop us a note.

The rehearsal (by kukubird):

Welcoming us were the common sea stars (Archarster typicus)

Trond explains the stars

Yong Xiang talking about the Napolean's Hat seaweed (Avrainvillea sp.)

The anemone shrimps (Thor amboinensis) checking out on the budding reef guides

Our first sighting of a sandfish sea cucumber (Holothuria scabra) at Kusu!

Sasirat showing a hermit crab(?)

I can live here, forever..

A day out at Kusu Island (1 March 2006)

2006-04-04T20:14:00.000+08:00

Accompanied Ria and the Wild Films crew to Kusu Island during the early March lowtide together with a bunch of students from Duke University and their professor, Dr Dan Rittschof.

That was great fun! It was almost like attending an outdoor marine biology class, and Dr Rittschof provided several fascinating details on the marine life that we found on the inter-tidal reef flat. I was so absorbed and caught up in trying to distill as much information as I could that I finally gave up trying to take pretty pictures at the same time :).

But managed to take a few below, happy viewing!

Soft corals of Kusu

See how pretty they are in water with their polyps out!

The moon snail- placid-looking but a ferocious predator of smaller snails

For some reason, the tidal pools seem to be full of flatworms, all trying to meet each other? Maybe the water was full of pheromones, or the new moon is just such a romantic time.

Love is in the air….

…And for these nudibranchs too!

We found a nice big sea hare next to the jetty pillar to round off the evening. This one squirts purple ink!

Up on shore, a ghost crab freezes in the glare of our torchlights. A rare sight!

First step to create marine sanctuary on Pulau Hantu (?)

2006-03-31T22:59:00.000+08:00

The Straits Times 31 Mar 06

CONSERVATIONISTS hoping to create a marine sanctuary on Pulau Hantu have embarked on the first step...

Plans are under way to create a simple sand filtration system to eliminate most of the sediment from the water flowing into the lagoon, creating a clear water habitat. The SEC's $100,000 census is the first phase of what it hopes will lead to the creation of a marine sanctuary nestled within the lagoon of Pulau Hantu...

Also speaking at the media conference, the president of the Nature Society of Singapore, Nominated Member of Parliament Geh Min, lauded the effort. She said a nation's 'true progress' is measured by how well it balances its natural heritage with industrial development. 'Project Noah is an attempt to show that we can have it all - a successful port, industries and nature.'

--------------------------

"Natural heritage" ???!!!
Where??? What???

Sounds more like a giant aquarium tank...
I think I might already have a name for it though: Underwater World II (not in Sentosa, and likely to cost more than $19.50?)

Well... at least something is being done...
Effort: 100%
Imagination: 99%
Logic, science: ?

A tribute to Singapore's coral reefs. PART 1 (An Appendix).

2006-02-28T19:15:00.000+08:00

This post is inspired by "A tribute to Singapore's coral reefs. PART 1." at The Blue Tempeh, and is an appendix as it will not be as extensive as that.

I recently paid US$103.12 for 2 dives at Hawaii while on some other business there. I think many would as well. The dive boat was full, with some of the divers diving for many consecutive days, and raving about how diverse Hawaii's reefs are. Well, upon entering the water, I was immediately wowed by the clarity of the water. Clear blue, something that Singapore has failed to maintain...

But as I made my descent, I see this...

How many species in this picture? I only see one... (Pocillopora meandrina)

Well, I did see another... (Porites lobata)

But that is about all at two dive sites located at the south shore of Oahu... let's take a look at Singapore... St John's Island...

Need I say more? The number of species is so high we can see different species fighting to stay here... competition between coral species is tough here, but they have done well to stay for the past hundred million years or so...

Coral competition and the dead zone between them

Unfortunately, competition has increased, between reefs and man... obviously humans are at an advantage in Singapore because we have fancy ships and lots of sand from elsewhere to respectively ram against and pile on top of these poor animals...

So I was thinking, if the Hawaii state government decides to reclaim land and cover their reefs, say hypothetically land is limited... maybe just the one shown above, what would the response be? Not pretty... people all over the world would probably make noise...

Now as you read this, some reef in Singapore is going to be lost, but who makes/made noise? Hmm... maybe a few people who petitioned and a lone ranger in parliament.

The thing is, I don't even think where we dove in Hawaii was a reef, just some corals scattered on lava rocks... but thousands are willing to fork out that kind of money to dive there (many times over), and likely protest if it's under threat. As mentioned in The Blue Tempeh, Singapore is situated near the "Coral Triangle", and corals are plenty here. 197 species here vs less than 50 in the whole Hawaiian archipelago (Veron, 1995). But the truth is, not many know we have reefs, let alone understand this fact... Reefwalk just received its 1000th visitor to Kusu. But that's as much as such programmes can do (including Chek Jawa walks and some others)...

It's time we start raving about the 197 coral species we may still possess, before its gone, forever. We ought to be charging 4x US$103.12 or receiving 4x thousands of visitors to Singapore reefs for the 4x more diverse corals here. Ok, that's not how we should do business, but you get my point...

Those of you reading this probably knows more or less of this... time to go beyond the usual crowd.