Today we went to MacRitchie to have a trail during our sabbatical. In this trail, we had learnt the biodiversity in MacRitchie as well as the forms of sports that we see in MacRitchie and how does it affects the biodiversity.
So firstly, we had great explanations by the guide that guided us through the trail, Ms Grace Leng. We went through almost half of the MacRitchie Reservoir and through this trail, we have seen the wide biodiversity, ranging from animals to plants. Also we got to see the pollution from the activities of mankind to the reservoir.
Firstly, I will be talking about that wide range of biodiversity there. We got to see the Tembusu tree, one of the significant trees that we do see in Singapore. When we went, we got to see the tree bloom, and the flowers gave off a very fragrant smell, which we got to know from the guide and also had a first-hand experience in smelling it. It gave off a sweet scent. This Tembusu tree, based on the guide, is also found on the back of Singapore's $5 dollar note. Next we also got to see animals such as monkeys, as well as some marine animals. All these contributes to the biodiversity in MacRitchie. However, there are also human activities around MacRitchie that affects the biodiversity.
The activities in MacRitchie that we had seen are kayaking, jogging, and also people feeding the animals there.
Firstly, kayaking is a great sport for people to exercise there. It is good for the health of humans. However, it also can be detrimental to the environment. This is so as when people kayak, they will also pollute the water, as when they kayak, the waves may push the dirt under the water and pollute the water.
Next, Jogging is also a very good exercise that can train your body. However, it may cause the biodiversity there to die off, as when the people jog, they might unknowingly step on some plants, take for example, grass. When these grass are stepped on frequently, they will die off. Therefore, jogging may be detrimental towards the biodiversity. However, if carefully look on, it will be a win-win situation, where the person benefit physically and the biodiversity do not get destroyed.
Lastly, we also saw people feeding animals there. This is a very serious case and should be taken into great consideration... So why do these people want to feed. They might feel that feeding is not wrong as they are giving the animals food to eat, so they will not need to find food, and also maybe face competition with the other animals. They might also think that this is a form of "good deed". However, unknown to them, after these animals are used to be fed by these people, they might be used to these people feeding them and hence, lose their ability to find food and also be over-reliant on humans to feed them. And when humans do not feed them, they will then try their best to steal food from the humans, and inevitably, this will cause the humans to get injured during the process. And if animals like monkeys scratch a human, that person may have a risk of being infected with AIDS.
In all, I felt that this trail was very enriching as well as good for us to learn about the positive and negative impact of humans activities on the rich biodiversity in MacRitchie, and also the reservoirs in Singapore. And also I STRONGLY recommend all who had not joined this trail to join as it is fun yet enriching.
Images time!
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