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…
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…
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 
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!
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 
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!
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..