Name : Eco & Nature
Group Members :
U Kwang Siong (Group Leader)
Kiang Jiexuan Don
Elaine Yeo Wenxiu
Ruth Chew Su Chern
Freya Gazder
Khairunnisa Binte Mazlan
School : Temasek Polytechnic
Disclaimer : This blog is for a school project and the information provided is correct at time of blogging.

Green Transports

Another thing you really need to know when you come to Singapore is how to get around. Agreeably, not many blogs about travel talk about transportation within the country but we feel it may be useful to you when you come to visit.

We know that when it comes to transport and being eco friendly at the same time, it gets a little hard and often we choose comfort over protecting the environment. In Singapore, however, it is becoming increasingly easier to travel and be green simultaneously.

Public transport in Singapore is incredibly easy to use. This is especially true for tourists because most tourist attractions are close to bus stops and train stations. And fear not, our public transport systems in Singapore are among the best in the world. They are clean, easily accessible and safe.

There are three types of transport that you may consider using while you are here and they are Taxis, Busses and Trains.

Busses and trains cover most of Singapore but since there are hundreds of busses going to hundreds of different places, it can get quite confusing unless you have a bus guide which you can pick up at any bus stop and most money changers in Singapore. If you have access to the internet on your phones or in the hotel room before you leave, you could always check the route you should take to your destination on gothere.sg. The link to the site is available in the links section. The site gives you the shortest or cheapest route to get you to wherever you want.

The best thing about these busses and trains is that since it is for mass transport, you could travel without feeling guilty that you may be polluting the environment. In addition, the trains run on electricity and are therefore eco friendly.

As for taxi’s, they are easily accessible except at peak hours. If you really need a taxi at peak period, you can call for one at any of the following numbers:

CityCab, 6552 2222
Comfort, 6552 1111
Premier, 63636888
SMART, 6485 7777
Tibs & SMRT, 6555 8888
Trans-link, 6555 3333

Some of these taxis are run on natural gasses so they are environmentally friendly but they can be pricy especially at peak hours.

We hope this has helped you with the planning of your visit to Singapore and helped make the tedious process of thinking about what to do while you’re here a little easier.

Ruth blogged at 8:01 PM

Sightseeing & Attractions

Bukit Timah Nature Reserve

Introduction

Basically, the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve are bounded by 4 reservoirs; MacRitchie Reservoir, Lower Peirce Reservoir, Upper Peirce Reservoir and Upper Seletar Reservoir. It serves as a water catchment area, and at the same time, helps to maintain the quality of water in the reservoirs. The Central Nature Reserve Branch of the National Parks Board manages both the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. In total, they cover an area of approximately 3,043 hectares. Singapore’s highest hill Bukit Timah, of a height of 163m, can also be found in these reserves.

Together with the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, the Reserve is the home for over 840 species of flowering plants. These include towering trees, climbing palms, ferns, orchids, gingers, and strange blooms such as Black or Bat lily. In addition, the Reserve is also the home to over 500 species animal such as long tailed Macaques or monkeys. Other special treats are the Flying lemur (Colugo) and squirrels. Forest birds include the Striped Tit babbler, the Fairy bluebird, drongos and bulbuls. It is also one of the largest patches of primary rainforest left in Singapore today.

Getting there

By BusSBS service 170. TIBs services 67, 75, 171, 173, 184, 852 and 961. Alight along Upper Bukit Timah Road, opposite Bukit Timah Shopping Centre and Beauty World Centre, or along Jalan Anak Bukit, opposite Courts furniture store, and walk to the end of Hindhede Drive.

By CarTravelling from the city, follow the direction of Upper Bukit Timah Road towards Woodlands, make a u-turn just after the Courts furniture store and turn left into Hindhede Drive. Limited parking is available at the foothill of the reserve. To minimize our impact to the reserve, especially on weekends, you may like to take the public transport instead.

Recreation

Some of the activities that are available at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve include trekking & nature walk, photography, heritage trails & guided tours, and bird watching. Through trekking and sightseeing in this nature reserve, you can enjoy a relaxing atmosphere, which is a totally different experience from your everyday lifestyle. In addition, photography is also allowed. Thus, one can capture the fond memories and unique scenes during the time there. Apart from that, strolling, running, and hiking also available in this nature reserve. This reserve is popular among athletes, who are training for mountain climbing.

Some Tips for Your Safety and Enjoyment

- Be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes and light clothing. You might want to carry a backpack containing a water bottle and insect repellant.

- It is wise to keep to designated trails and roads. Hikers are advised NOT to use the biking trail for hiking.

- Open fires and camping are prohibited.

- Seek the advice of Rangers, Officers and Nature Wardens who are here to assist you.

Ruth blogged at 5:59 PM

A Green & Cozy Stay

One of the most important things you need when you come to Singapore is, of course, a place to stay. Accommodation in Singapore is relatively easy to find but finding the perfect hotel, which we know is key to having the perfect holiday, may be a bit harder. To try and make that a little easier, we want to recommend a few hotels, which you may enjoy.

The Naumi Hotel

Naumi is a small boutique hotel positioned at the point where the financial district meets the shopping district. It is about 20 minutes away from the airport and is close to Suntec City, Raffles City, Marina Square and the rest of Orchard road.

Naumi boasts a wide range of rooms catering to its guest’s individualistic tastes. These rooms include corporate suites, luxury suites and the executive patio suite. One of its most impressive features, for the ladies at least, is an entire ladies floor. These rooms come fully equipped with satin room accessories, designer skincare products and aromatherapy.

The best thing about Naumi, though, is that it is an eco friendly hotel. Apart from winning the National Parks Skyrise Greenery Awards 2008, they make special attempts to ensure that they are environmentally friendly. Some of these practices include intelligent management of air conditioner controls, participating in earth hour and not using any plastic packaging in the hotel.

The cost of the rooms in Naumi is between SGD 285.00 to SGD 655.00*, depending on your choice of rooms per day.

Naumi may just be the key to your perfect holiday. For more details, you can visit their website (the link of which is located in the links section of our blog) or contact them at the following contact numbers:

Address 41 Seah Street
Singapore 188396
Contact (Tel) +65 6403 6000
(Fax) +65 6403 6010

The Royal Plaza on Scotts

It is located along Scotts road, just a short walk away from Orchard road. It is the ideal location for those of you who are coming to Singapore to experience one of the things we are best known for, our Shopping district.

With a business center, gym, swimming pool and babysitting facilities, this hotel is prepared to meet all your needs regardless of whether you are in Singapore for business or pleasure. Room prices range from SGD 250 per night to SGD 450*.

Just like Naumi, though, Royal Plaza is an eco friendly hotel too. They have received the ASEAN Green Hotels Recognition Award amongst the many other awards that include those for service excellence.

Their environmentally friendly practices include participating in Earth Day, encouraging recycling and ensuring that they use energy efficient technology, like energy saving light bulbs and cooling towers. They promote the idea that you can go green without compromising your comfort. They have also participated in several other environmentally friendly movements like the “Singapore Green Month”.

Again, more details of the hotel can be found in the links section or you may contact the hotel at the following numbers.

Address 25 Scotts Road,
Singapore 228220
Contact (Tel) +65 6737 7966
(Fax) +65 6737 6646

The Siloso Beach Resort, Sentosa.

Siloso Beach Resort is located in the center of Siloso Beach on the island of Sentosa. From rates as low as SGD 180 to SGD 560*, this resort is perfect if you want to get away and relax.

Equipped with a spa, romantic packages and the sheer beauty of its location, the resort caters mainly to couples that want a place to relax and spend time together.

Again, the thing we like best about the resort is the fact that it is environmentally friendly. They feel that it is very necessary, especially in today’s profit centered culture, where the environment is often neglected for economic gain, to be stringently green and protect the land. They encourage their staff as well as their guests to reduce their carbon footprint.

One of the key ways it does this is in their heat-exchange system and gardens on top of the rooms that, besides making the place look beautiful, absorbs heat from the sun and therefore cooling down the rooms.

Also, apart from the usual cutting down on use of electricity and water, the resort is home to several animals. “Eddy” the peacock, several frogs, squirrels and birds are often seen at the resort. The resort also has a collection of rare and exotic plants species.

This resort is the perfect place for your relaxing holiday and more information about it is in the links section. You can also contact them at the following numbers.

Address 51 Imbiah Walk Sentosa
Singapore 099538
Contact (Tel) +65 6722 3333
(Fax) +65 6722 3322

*All room rates are subject to tax and prevailing tax.

Ruth blogged at 4:24 AM

Let's Go Eco-Shopping!

One thing that you cannot miss when visiting Singapore is shopping. What is a better way to shop than going to an eco-friendly mall?

City Square Mall, a newly establish shopping centre, is the FIRST eco-friendly, and by far one of the largest malls in Singapore. Opened in September 2009, City Square Mall has attracted not only the locals but also middle-income tourists. Even before its grand opening, City Square Mall was awarded the Building and Construction Authority’s Green Mark Platinum Award.

What to do there?

City Square Mall offers a huge variety of local and international cuisines. With 40 Food & Beverage outlets like McDonald’s, Subway and 2 food courts, Kopitiam and Banquet, visitors do not have to worry about going hungry while shopping.

With 300 shops catering to the different needs of the customers, shopping has never been such fun. Shops like Metro, which is a favorite departmental store for the locals, offers a wide selection of stuff ranging from cosmetics to toys to clothes and even cooking utensils. After a day of shopping at City Square Mall, there is a very slim chance of you going back empty handed.

What's Unique?

Being an eco-friendly mall, City square mall has adopted the `green’ features that not only help to save the environment but also help in reducing the total expenses of the mall.

1. Eco-roof that harnesses solar power and rainwater while keeping the plaza cool.

2. Eco-restrooms that save water and electricity. Instead of using water to flush the urinal, a pneumatic waste removal system is used that cleans without any residual smells.

3. Sensors to control lighting levels and monitor the carbon monoxide levels in the air.

4. A central air-conditioning facility.

5. The introduction of “Eco-tiles” which is a composite recyclable product that is manufactured with sustainable resources.

6. A butterfly garden where people can learn more about wildlife.

7. Children could play and learn more about the different types of flora and fauna at the same time in the `Living maze’.

8. `Eco-wall’ where the young and old can learn hands-on about the 3Rs (Recycle, Reduce, Reuse).

9. Anchor tenants are encouraged to look onto the green features. For example, the NTUC FairPrice Supermarket, have dedicated checkout lanes for visitors who bring their own bags. An auto-recycle station for bottles and cans is also available in the Supermarket. The station sorts out the recycled items automatically, which makes recycling easier.

Through this, City Square mall aims to save energy usage by about 39 per cent. In line with the sensors, which monitor the carbon monoxide levels in the air, it aims to cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 5,700 tonnes annually. This amount is approximately equivalent to 25,750 trees absorbing.

How to get there?

Address: 180 Kitchener Road, Singapore (208539)

By MRT: The nearest MRT station is Farrer Park Station (Purple Line).
It's a 5 mins walk from the station to the mall.

Free Shuttle Bus Service is also available from these 2 pick-up spots:

(1) Toa Payoh MRT Station and Novena MRT Station, from 10am to 10pm (20mins Interval per pick-up*)

(2) Lavender MRT Station From 10am to 10pm (30mins Interval*)

*subject to traffic conditions

Ruth blogged at 5:29 PM

5 things you should know about Singapore and its Environment.

1. We are sheltered from Natural disasters.

- Our strategic location on the map has sheltered us from any natural disasters other than the occasional flood in certain areas due to heavy rain.

2. Singapore is home to the world’s largest bat.

- The world’s largest bat, the Flying Fox, live in Pulau Ubin.

3. Bukit Timah Nature Reserve has more species of trees than the whole of North America.

- There are over 840 species of flowering plants and over 500 species of fauna.

4. Bukit Timah Hill is the highest natural point on the island at 165m.

- You will get to see a spectacular view of Singapore at the top of the hill.

5. We are famously known as the cleanest city in the world.

- Singapore has put in place many laws to ensure its cleanliness.

Some laws would include:

· Chewing gum in Singapore is prohibited
The sale of gum was prohibited after chewed gum was stuck to lift buttons and on the train stations, and was carelessly disposed of.

· It is illegal to smoke in public places.
This was an effort taken by the Singapore Government in moving towards a smoke-free lifestyle in Singapore.

· Littering is also illegal in Singapore
You may face a hefty fine and a CWO (Corrective Work Order) for repeat offenders if you litter in Singapore.

Singapore has put a lot of effort into promoting and ensuring that it stays clean and green. Although the laws put in place may seem outrageous to some, it has benefitted Singapore and its environment a great deal. We hope that your visit to Singapore will be a pleasant one and that you will be able to enjoy Singapore’s eco and nature as well.

Ruth blogged at 4:02 AM

An Introduction

Hello, we are a group of students at Temasek Polytechnic © and we are involved in a project to promote the clean and green environment in Singapore to potential tourists. The members involved in the group are U Kwang Siong (Group Leader), Khairunnisa Binte Mazlan, Kiang Jiexuan Don, Freya Gazder, Elaine Yeo Wen Xiu, Ruth Chew Su Chern.

Each week we will be posting something related to eco and nature in Singapore. We will be covering a range of topics ranging from nature spots in Singapore to environmentally friendly shopping destinations. Hopefully this will help you plan your trip to Singapore and make your eco friendly trip to Singapore a lot easier.

Singapore is known for the way we value our environment. We may have a lack of land area and natural nature spots but we would sure to do our best to make up for that. All our roads are lined with trees, nearly every neighborhood has its own nature reserve, we are responsible in the way that we dispose of our garbage and we have a clean and green week every month. Coupled with the “bring your own bag” day every Wednesday, we can see that Singaporeans treasure their environment a lot.

To conclude, we hope that you will be able to visit Singapore and understand why it is known as the “Green City”.

Watch this space for more posts that may help you with your plans to visit Singapore. But, in advance,

Ruth blogged at 11:57 PM

TAGBOARD CODE HERE. WHEE TAGBOARD.

Naumi Hotel
Royal Plaza
Siloso Beach Resorts

Photos
City Square
Bukit Timah Nature Reserve
Green Transport
Design: sixseven
Stock Photo: riktorsashen