Project Green Dot

Marina Barrage

(photo courtesy of Project Green Dot)

Built across the mouth of the Marina Channel, the Marina Barrage is Singapore’s 15th reservoir and first in the city. With a 10,000 hectare catchment area, which is one-sixth the size of the total land area, this city catchment is the island’s biggest and most urbanised. The Marina Reservoir seeks to increase Singapore’s water catchment areas from half to two-thirds of the country’s land area. As the brainchild of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew’s vision nearly two decades ago, the Barrage has created a freshwater reservoir out of damming the mouth of the Marina Channel.

This first-ever Singapore reservoir in the city takes a different spin on the conventional nature-themed reservoir:

‘Interweaving greenery with city chic, the Marina Barrage gives you the height of technological sophistication in the throes of urban vibrancy. Situated at the heart of the up and coming Marina South district, this colossal architectural masterpiece is a must-visit. Take a stroll through the barrage’s vast compounds and come face to face with stunning engineering equipment. Visit the intriguing gallery and discover how the barrage ingeniously prevents flooding to the city’s low-lying areas. Or simply stand atop the green roof to take in the sweeping Singapore city skyline.’ (PUB Website)

What to do there:

Students will first be given a guided tour of the Marina Barrage, including its Sustainable Singapore gallery. After which, Students will be allowed free time to roam around the premises to take photos. Before the day ends with a mass picnic at the green roof, students are to submit a brief reflection write-up on the benefits of the Marina Barrage to Singapore.

I’m Lovin’ It!

A McDonald’s lunch!  A sure favourite for our younger fast-food generation. Our trip down to McDonald’s@Ridout Tea Garden located along Queensway plans to show participants how a daily meal in one of Singapore’s most frequented restaurant is in fact, closely related to the topic of nature.

Firstly, participants will be served a typical McDonald’s vaue meal, in addition, salad servings will be provided.  Amidst the Japanese Garden landscape, participants can enjoy their meal while looking at terrapins sunbasking in the Koi-filled pond. A question to ponder is how natural is such a landscape in the middle of a busy Singapore neighbourhood?  Is eating fast-food like McDonald’s in a “natural” setting bring them closer to the very essence of nature?

The second part of our trip to McDonald’s is an open kitchen tour in the McDonald’s kitchen itself. We look at the ingredients used in servings and its global network of suppliers. Past tours have been guided by managers of the kitchen who claim that McDonald’s only serves ingredients that are permitted by AVA.  In fact, they go one step further to provide “healthier” choices for their consumers, such as using 100% vegetable oil with no trans fat used. Our participants an think about how credible McDonald’s is in responsibly sourcing for ingredient and whether the stict animal welfare standards are adhered to. Lastly, its advertisements of environmental conservation is put into questioning as participants look through the fast-food restaurant itself and judge its policies and practices.

(photo courtesy of Project Green Dot)

Environmentally conscious decals can be found all over within McDonald outlets all over Singapore, and probably the world!

What to do there:

Participants will have their McDonald lunch and are allowed to explore the vicinity.  They will be given the task of looking for native Singaporean plant or animal species within the Garden.  After lunch, there will be a guided tour organised by McDonald’s called the Open Kitchens Tour for approximately half an hour.

Obstacle Course

External view of dormitory at Dairy Farm

Mountain Biking around the area of Dairy Farm

Abseiling down a tower at the adventure centre in Dairy Farm

Rock Climbing up a tower at the adventure centre in Dairy Farm

(photos courtesy of dairy farm adventure centre)

Taking a short break after lunch, we’ll head down to the adventure centre at Dairy Farm to carry out some outdoor activities led by EDU Outdoor Activities. The activities will allow participants to try out vertical challenges such as Rock Climbing and Abseiling, and mountain biking. The purpose of this part of the trip is to bring out the idea of Man conquering nature through the successful completion of “climbing the mountain”, after pushing their own physical limits.

What to do there:

The participants will try their hands at Rock Climbing, Abseiling and Mountain Biking. The high element activities will be led by facilitators from EDU Outdoor Activities.

Tai Chi @ Dairy Farm

Students will get to spend their night in Dairy Farm Adventure Center, owned by the Ministry of Education. It is located at the fringe of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, near the Dairy Farm Quarry. Compared to their homes in the highly urbanized Singapore, experiencing a night in Dairy Farm will be drastically different! One can get closer to nature and experience its serenity and the harmonious relationship with nature.

What to do there:

Students will start off the following day with a session of Tai Chi. Tai Chi is a Chinese exercise system that uses slow and smooth bodily movements to achieve a state of relaxation of both body and mind through the balancing of one’s natural energy (气） Taiji is almost always practiced outdoors surrounded by nature (trees). It will be apt for participants to have a go at this exercise that opens their mind to the essence of the human body. What a great way to start the morning! A volunteer from the Cheng San Community Club’s Taijiquan Association will come down to demonstrate and lead us in a short session on Taijiquan.

(source: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1383/1433961833_b3df99b5a8.jpg)

SPI Ghoulish Trail

The Ghoulish Trail led by volunteer guides from the Singapore Paranormal Investigation is a tour of Singapore’s urban legend landscape. The tour will bring our participants around the area of Dairy Farm Road about 200 metres before the highway entrance to the BKE expressway. It is a plot of natural space, within which an old abandoned derelict house can be found. The Spirit Tree stands just a few metres away from the Dairy Farm House.

Thereafter, participants will walk through tall wild grasses to encounter the wind bottles - hundreds of water bottles hanging on sticks or small fig plants. The real purpose of the bottles is unknown. It is said to be placed there by workers to warn people about the drain that lay just beyond the bottles, or otherwise said to warn people about the house as it coincidentally resides in the space between the House andthe Spirit Tree.

The purpose of the trip is not to spook and freak people out, but it encourages participants to think about the supernatural in a dimension that they probably have not done before - the supernatural as something natural, or a mere social construct. They will consider the role played by nature in creating the elements of supernatural such as the darkness, and the absence of humans. This perception of nature is linked to the colonial forms of thinking about nature, whereby nature is pristine when it is void of human presence. Perhaps, when we consider the supernatural as a social construction of nature, we may be less fearful of it because it is not real. Or is it?

What to do there:

Go on the trail, and see what there is to see, hear what there is to hear, and feel what there is to feel! A discussion about the supernatural will be done during a debrief following the trail.

Our interview with a volunteer of SPI:

Union Farm Eating House

We will stop at Union Farm Eating House for dinner. From the exterior, this restaurant goes almost unnoticed, blending into the foliage along the busy Clement Road, when contrasted to its adjacent urban development, Maju Camp and SIM. It is only after careful notice that one will spot the 60s-looking signboard that says Union Farm Eating House.

Situated on a privately owned piece of land, this Eating House has a long history since the 1950s. As its name suggests, it started off as a farmhouse that rears chickens, situated in the middle of a kampong village. In the past, this farmhouse was non-profit-making. The past owner used to invite the kampong villagers over to try his ‘Paper-wrapped Chicken’. The farm became a gathering place for Kampong villagers. The chickens in the farm were slaughtered on the spot to make the speciality dish while the fellow Kampong villagers would sit around to chat and wait for the meal to be cooked.

Such communal spirit and village life died down in the 1960s as the farm was converted into a restaurant opened to the public. Government-initiated urban development replaced the Kampongs around Union Farm Eating House, causing this private-owned space to be the only remnant of the vanquished ‘natural’ past.

In an interview with the existing owner, he claims that Union Farm Eating House allows Singaporeans to relive their nostalgic memories associated with the Kampong life. Besides that he claims that customers love the rustic setting of the place because it provides them an escape from the busy urban life.

What to do there:

Students will get a chance to try the signature ‘Chee Pow Kai’ dish that is passed down through generations. While enjoying their food, the owner of the place will give a brief history of Union Farm Eating House. Students are to note down 3 significant changes to the place from past to present.

D’Kranji Farm Resort

(brochure of D’Kranji Farm Resort)

D’Kranji Farm Resort is Singapore’s newest installation of an Agri-tainment farm. The term agri-tainment might be unfamiliar to most Singaporeans, but is a growing industry on a global scale and defined as ‘any agricultural business or activity designed to entertain the public’.

At the resort, guided farm tours are available to visitors at a nominal fee. Such tours cover goat, crocodile, vegetable, fruit and frog farms—made up of both farms found on the premises of the resort, as well as neighbouring farms located within the Lim Chu Kang area where D’Kranji Farm Resort resides. However, the amazing facilities provided at the farm resort are arguably the most attractive drawing factor for most visitors. These encompass a magnificent resort offering farm stays in villas ‘thematically styled to embrace the different elements of life—metal, wood, fire, water and earth with a hinge of Balinese design’ accompanied by ‘luxurious bedding and garden amenities…personalized attention and services’ and a whole string of other relaxing and entertaining facilities. Food and beverage outlets are also aplenty, with a beer garden, seafood restaurant dishing up local favourites, and even a coffee museum for an enriching drink. There’s even an artificial prawn pond where visitors can try their hand at fishing for an affordable $15 an hour.

Sounds too good to be true, especially for us busy city dwellers? We say, prepare to be greeted by a disturbingly quiet D’Kranji Ghost Town.

What to do there:

Students will be taken on an educational farm tour by the guides of D’Kranji Farm Resort. Before proceeding to their next location, students will be given free time to explore the premises and note down 10 features of the farm resort—examples could include the aesthetic design or the facilities offered—which coincide with features of urban cities.

Farm package includes:

• Hay Dairies Farm
  • Live Viewing of Goat Milking
  • 200ml goat’s milk & Hay Dairies Souvenir
• Aero-Green Vegetable Farm
  • Educational video about aeroponic technology
  • Farm Walkabout
  • 1 bottle of vegetable juice
• Crocodile Farm
  • Guided Farm Tour
  • 1 door gift
• 1 bottle of farm – produced refreshing herbal grass tea or fruit juice from D’ Kranji Farm Resort

courtesy of D’Kranji Farm Resort