Busy January at the Marine Park!

A big start to the year as the Marine Park joins the community in Celebrating Singapore Shores for International Year of the Reef 2018. With a Marine Bioblitz, and workshop on plastics.

Visitors on Day 2 of the first public intertidal walks of 2018
Photo by Collin Tong.

A rescued baby sea turtle was released at the Marine Park. Volunteer guided walks at the Marine Park remains a big highlight. Meanwhile, the Friends of the Marine Park met up and the Kayaking Working Group made a working visit to the Marine Park.


Rescued baby sea turtle released at the Marine Park

A rescued baby sea turtle was released at the Sisters Islands Marine Park in Jan 2018. Video by NParks.

Media articles about the release on wildsingapore news.


International Year of the Reef 2018

As the Singapore marine community Celebrates Singapore Shores for IYOR 2018, NParks launched their IYOR page and says "In collaboration with the Friends of Marine Park community and other partners, is launching a series of activities and programmes to celebrate the International Year of the Reef (IYOR) 2018. The activities and programmes held throughout the year in Singapore seek to raise awareness of the impact of human activity on the marine ecosystems, instil environmental stewardship and involve you and the community in local conservation efforts.

Marine BioBlitz at the Marine Park

One of the IYOR 2018 activities at the Marine Park, this is for experienced scuba divers who want to help document the marine biodiversity of Singapore. More on the NParks website

Thanks to Chay Hoon, here's a glimpse of the first Marine BioBlitz held in Jan 2018 at the Marine Park. Debby Ng of the Hantu Bloggers also shared an encounter with the Neptune's Cup sponge, which was once thought to be extinct.

Stephen Beng shared photos of divers involved in the Marine Bioblitz.

Workshop on microplastics at St John's Island

The Microplastics Analysis Workshop included a hands on experience of field surveying for microplastics. As well as a panel discussion to learn about impact of marine trash and community efforts to address them. This event is a collaboration between NParks and the Friends of the Marine Park community as part of the International Year of the Reef 2018, and is jointly organised by NParks, the National University of Singapore and St. John's Island National Marine Laboratory.

Stephen Beng shares a glimpse of what happened.

Thanks to Liz Lim for a closer look at what happened at the workshop.

MORE photos by Rene Ong.

First two public walks of 2018

It rained on the first day of public intertidal walks in 2018. Ng Juat Ying shares: "Despite the guided walk being slightly delayed by the heavy rain, participants saw many animals during today's guided walk and were treated to a lovely sunset at the end."

Rain doesn't stop us guiding from the Jetty.
Photo by Ng Juat Ying.

 As usual, the walks would not be possible with volunteers and staff of NParks.

Photo by Collin Tong

Photo by Koh Kwan Siong.

Friends of the Marine Park meeting

Stephen Beng shares: "After establishing our shared goals and completing a fruitful workshop last year, members of the ‘Friends of the Marine Park’ network shared their ground-up initiatives at our 3rd meeting last Friday. Contributions from the Kayaking, Scuba Diving and Boating communities will help to ensure our first marine park remains vibrant yet protected. It is indeed an encouraging start to IYOR2018 where more multi-sectoral stakeholders continue to cherish our coral reefs and our very first marine park."

Kayaking Working Group trip to the Marine Park

Stephen Beng shares: "As part of the “Friends of the Marine Park”, the kayaking working group organized a meeting on the island, to share ideas on best practices, open sea procedures and how to keep our marine park cherished. Thanks to Kayakasia for arranging, and NParks for facilitating.'

More about guided walks at the Sisters' Islands Marine Park on the NParks website.

More about what to expect at a guided walk.

Why should I visit with an experienced and trained guide? Why are places limited on a public walk? Which other shores are accessible to the public? and more in this wildsingapore page.

More about volunteering with the Sisters Islands Marine Park.

Catch up with all the happenings at the Marine Park through the Sisters' Islands Marine Park facebook page. You can share your encounters, ideas and thoughts for the Marine Park here. Photos in this blog post are from those who shared on this facebook page. Thank you!