The Past
August 2011
Thursday, 25 August 2011
Unknown plant
Common Name: Palm Tree
Scientific Name: Cocos Nucifera
Characteristic of Palm Trees: mostly tropical plant
There are over 2500 species of palms. Most Palm are tree-like, with single trunks and either fan shaped or feather shaped compound leaves.
Palm Tree
Common name: Ixora
Scientific name: Ixora coccinea
Interesting facts:
-There are over 400 types of ixora!
-It's name is derived from an indian deity.
Unknown Plant
Bird Nest Fern
The Bird's Nest Fern has a short stem which bears a rosette of fronds to form a "nest". The stem is usually not visible from the top. The nest traps fallen leaves and other debris which eventually decompose to humus. Beneath the nest of fronds is a large spongy, mass of roots which are covered by the reflexed dead leaves. In this way, the plant provides its own food and water and can continue to grow in a soilless condition as long as it is not left to dry out for too long.
Peacefully blogged at 07:54
Wednesday, 24 August 2011
Part A: Introduction to Jurong Lake Park
Jurong Lake is a 70ha freshwater lake and reservoir located in the western region of Singapore formed with the damming of Sungei Jurong further downstream. The lake serves as a reservoir contributing to the water supply of the country. It lies next to the Lakeside MRT station, which derived its name from this geographical feature. The lake is surrounded by parkland, which serves as a recreational ground for nearby residents in Jurong East and Jurong West New Towns.
There are several tourist attractions located near or even within the Lake, including a Chinese Garden and a Japanese Garden, which are located on their respective islands within the lake, as well as the nearby Tang Dynasty Village, which has since closed down. Amenities such as the Jurong East Swimming Complex, Jurong East Stadium and Jurong Point Shopping Centre are also relatively nearby. Fairway Country Club lies further south along Yuan Ching Road
Peacefully blogged at 07:37
Some of the animals found in Jurong Lake Park
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Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Prosobrachia
Order: Mesogastropoda
Family: Ampullariidae
Genus: Pila
The picture above shows traces that this unknown bird has passed by this area before. It is a feather of an unknown species of bird. This tells us that there might be chances that this bird will return to Jurong Lake Park again.
Plantain Squirrel: Callosciurus notatus
We suspect that this squirrel might be a Plantain squirrel.
An interesting fact about the plantain squirrel is that it is the most commonly seen squirrel in Singapore. It is brown with a red belly and has a black stripe on each side. Moves around with a single chips, each accompanied by a vigorous flourish of the tail. It is approximately 15-22cm. Its diet consists of fruit pulp and seeds, flowers or leafy shoots, supplemented with arthopods. It is active during the day in the middle and lower storey of the forest, usually solitary.
Its habitat is Gardens and forest habitats including mangrove.The threats they face is habitat destruction.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Sciuridae
Genus: Callosciurus
Species: Callosciurus notatus
Unknown species of dead fish. The flies helps decomposers to decompose the dead fish.
An unknown species of water snail which is crawling slowly in the small body of water found in the drain at Jurong Lake Park.
Peacefully blogged at 07:37
Positive Impacts of Man on Jurong Lake Park:
Recycling bins are placed at obvious places for park users to throw away recyclable items. They are grouped by "cans", "plastic" and "paper" so that park users can throw them away according to their classified group.
Negative Impacts of man on Jurong Lake Park:
Litters such as plastic bottles, plastic bags, food wrappers and styrofoams are found at Jurong Lake Park. Park users have been littering Jurong Lake Park instead of throwing them away at appropriate bins. They should not litter the as it is harming the environment of Jurong Lake Park. Plastic bottles, plastic bags and styrofoam are not biodegradable and are not able to decompose, thus, it will harm the environment.
Too much fishing can cause harm to the lakes as the water level may decrease and there will be exposed shorelines. The populations of fishes will decrease thus causing harm to the ecosystem as the food chains may be affected.
There are dead fishes found in the lakes. Flies are feeding on the dead fish and aiding decompostion. Fishermen throw the fishes they do not want into back into the lakes and this is how decomposition starts. The smell of the decomposing dead fish is also very revolting.
The constuction works has its pros and cons. The pros are that they are able to upgrade the facilities of the park and the park users are able to use better facilities in the park. This will help to attract more visitors to the park. The cons are that construction work may cause air pollution and air pollution may harm the environment to the park and cause global warming.
Peacefully blogged at 07:36
Even though " no littering " was stated clearly on the signboard, we can still find litters all around the park. I think that we, as park users, should appreciate nature and stop littering. There are a lot of bins around. We can always walk to the nearest bin or hold the rubbish until we find one. Although PUB had put up sign boards to tell people what they should not do, people are still ignoring them.
plastic bags are thrown all around
beer bottles can be seen among the grass
Peacefully blogged at 07:36
Credits to:
Chanel: In charge of Blog Design and write up in Part B and C.
Adina: Photographer and in charge of write up in Part B and C
Jia En: Photographer and in charge of write up in Part E
Claudia: In charge of write up in Part D
Acknowledgements
Photographs are taken in Jurong Lake Park
Peacefully blogged at 07:35
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