Visitors and locals in Singapore can look forward to more green space with the opening of the Dairy Farm Nature Park.
Developed by the National Parks Board (NParks), the 63-hectare nature park will provide an alternative recreational venue to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and help to reduce visitorship pressure on the Reserve.
Mr Mah Bow Tan, Minister for National Development, officially opened the park this morning.
Set in a rustic environment with trails for hiking and mountain biking, the park features special amenities such as the Wallace Education Centre, which houses a learning laboratory and an interpretative centre, a nature trail where visitors can learn about the park's flora and fauna and a former quarry transformed into a wetland with a viewing platform for visitors.
The Wallace Environmental Learning Lab (WELL), housed in a former cowshed, is established by NParks and Raffles Girls' Secondary School. WELL is a holistic programme where primary and secondary school students will be able to discover Singapore's natural heritage through interesting hands-on activities.
Teachers will be able to conduct various educational programmes from half-day workshops to overnight learning camps.
This is the first time that such programmes are offered in parks, made possible by sponsorship from Glaxo Smith Kline, NParks said in its media statement.
As for the newly transformed Singapore Quarry, the wetland has attracted many fauna, including the Little Grebe as well as many species of dragonflies.
Eco-Link
During the event, Mr Mah also unveiled plans by NParks to develop the Eco-Link, an ecological corridor that will span across the Bukit Timah Expressway and re-establish the linkage between BTNR and Central Catchment Nature Reserve (CCNR).
The first of its kind in the region, the Eco-Link will enable an effective exchange of plant and animal genetic materials between the two reserves.
In the longer term, the bridge will help restore the ecological balance in the fragmented habitats and reduce the loss of valuable biodiversity.
Linking two high points on opposite slopes, the overhead ecological bridge will be shaped like an hourglass and planted up like a forest habitat. Measuring 50 metres at its narrowest point, the Eco-Link will enable animals, birds, and insects to move freely within the vegetated areas along the bridge and travel between the two reserves.
This will help the plant species to successfully propagate by way of pollination and dispersal by the animals.
A hiking track will be developed on one side of the bridge as a recreational green belt for human visitors to enjoy, and this will also serve as an alternative entry to the western part of CCNR.
A tender for the Eco-Link project will be called by the end of this year, and the development is expected to start by the third quarter of next year.
