Celebrate World Water Day with a mangrove cleanup @ Sungei Pandan, Sat 26 March 2016: 7.30am

In celebration of World Water Day, volunteers with the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore (ICCS) will be conducting a cleanup at Sungei Pandan mangrove on Sat 26 March 2016: 7.30am–10.30am.

Register here!

 

What is World Water Day? World Water Day is a day designated by the United Nations to highlight the importance of water and to advocate sustainable management of water resources. It is celebrated on 22 March annually.

Why cleanup? Humanity needs water and wetland habitats are an integral part of the water cycle on this planet. Wetlands habitats are especially precious in Singapore and trash causes adverse impacts to wildlife, releases harmful chemicals and are an unsightly presence we should not tolerate! Coastal cleanups are conducted by volunteers around the world to remove this trash, raise awareness of the plight of our oceans and waterways and motivate us to rethink our habits in daily urban living towards sustainable practises.

In Singapore: Water conservation efforts by PUB have seen Singapore’s per capita domestic water consumption dropped from 165 litres per day in 2003 to 150 litres. The agency is targeting a goal of 147 litres by 2020 and 140 litres by 2030.

Sungei Pandan Mangrove: Sungei Pandan is a small but precious mangrove located in south-western Singapore at the mouth of the Sungei Pandan, and draining into the sea at West Coast. In order to protect this site, the annual ICCS was extended to Sungei Pandan mangrove in 2008 and the bulk of the historical trash load has been removed. However, it is still burdened by an annual recruitment of marine trash and year-round coastal cleanups like the World Water Day cleanup help to make the ecosystem a more hospitable one for marine life – including the very special smooth-coated otter!

Itinerary

• 07:00 – Bus pick up at (1) Kent Ridge MRT [Bus stop ID: 18071, NUH] and (2) Dover MRT [Bus stop ID: 19031, Dover Stn]
• 07:30 – Arrive at Jalan Buroh B25 bus stop and unload all logistics from the buses. Participants collect logistics – a pair of gloves and trash bags.
• 07:45 – Safety Briefing for participants and the wet weather plans (carry on unless lighting threat). Identify the Trash Disposal Point (TDP; forward margin of Jalan Buroh B25 bus stop).
• 08:00 – Cleanup begins.
• 08:45 – Check on hydration levels; is everyone feeling okay?
• 09:30 – Cleanup ends. Transport bags to the TDP.
• 09:45 – Debrief including summary of trash collected.
• 10:00 – Participants to clean up with water they bring to wipe themselves down.
• 10:10 – Bus transports participants back to Dover and Kent Ridge MRTs.

Meeting Points at Dover and Kent Ridge Stations for shuttle bus pick-up and drop-off.

Location of Jalan Buroh B25 bus stop, indicated by the red triangle.

Things to note

1. Transport to Pandan Mangroves, gloves, trash bags and weighing scales will be provided.
2. For those intending to drive, do note that there are not public parking facilities nearby.
3. You must wear hard-soled covered shoes or booties to to protect your feet from hazards.
4. A change of t-shirt is recommended after a sweaty workout.
5. Long pants are recommended to protect your legs from insect bites and mud, but bermudas are fine.
6. Water-proof your belongings.

Things to bring

1. Water bottle (with at least one litre of water)
2. Hat and/ or sun block
3. Raincoat/ poncho (we will work in rain)
4. Towel – wipe off sand and mud
5. Extra water to wipe yourself down

Preparing for the cleanup

1. Sleep early the night before
2. Have a good breakfast – it’s hard work!
3. Be punctual – we are unable to wait for latecomers; tide waits for no one!
4. Refer to this recce report of SP2 for more information on the cleanup site.

Find out more about Singapore World Water Day 2016 here.
Thank you for caring for our planet this World Water Day!

Register here!

Celebrate World Water Day with a coastal cleanup at Pandan Mangrove, Sat 21 Mar 2015: 4.00pm!

In conjunction with World Water Day, volunteers with the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore (ICCS) will be conducting a cleanup at Sungei Pandan mangrove on Sat 21 March 2015: 4.00pm – 6.00pm.

Registration for the World Water Day mangrove cleanup has closed! 

Thank you to everyone who has signed up!

What is World Water Day? World Water Day is a day designated by the United Nations to highlight the importance of water and to advocate sustainable management of water resources. Why cleanup? Humanity needs water and wetland habitats are an integral part of the water cycle on this planet. Wetlands habitats are especially precious in Singapore and trash causes adverse impacts to wildlife, releases harmful chemicals and are an unsightly presence we should not tolerate! Coastal cleanups are conducted by volunteers around the world to remove this trash, raise awareness of the plight of our oceans and waterways and motivate us to rethink our habits in daily urban living towards sustainable practises.

      

Sungei Pandan Mangrove: Sungei Pandan is a small but precious mangrove located in south-western Singapore at the mouth of the Sungei Pandan, and draining into the sea at West Coast. In order to protect this site, the annual ICCS was brought to Sungei Pandan mangrove in 2008 and the bulk of trash has been removed. However, there is still an annual recruitment of marine trash so year-round coastal cleanups like this World Water Day hope to address.

Map of Sungei Pandan Mangrove in relation to Singapore. The site we will work on is Sungei Pandan 2 (SP2)

Volunteers will be picked up from Kent Ridge & Dover MRT bus stops and transported to this Jalan Buroh B25 bus stop which will be our briefing and trash disposal site.

Itinerary

15:30 – Bus pick up at (1) Dover MRT – on the side of Singapore Poly) and (2) Kent Ridge MRT – Opposite NUH) 16:00 – Arrive at Jalan Buroh B25 bus stop and unload all logistics from the buses. Organize everyone into groups of 4, apply insect repellant, collect gloves, trash bags, ICCS data cards, and other required logistics. 16:15 – Briefing and identification of Trash Collection Point (TCP). Brief of wet weather plans (which is to carry on unless there is a lighting threat) 16:30 – Cleanup begins 17:30 – Transportation of trash to TCP (next to Jalan Buroh B25) 18:00 – End of clean-up. Trash is weighed and discussion/ reflection time. 18:30 – Participants clean up. No toilets or other amenities nearby so participants must bring a small amount of water to wipe themselves down. 18:45 – Bus transports participants back from Jalan Buroh B25 to Dover and Kent Ridge MRT.

Map detailing the meeting points at Dover and Kent Ridge MRT:

Things to note

1. Transport to Pandan Mangroves, gloves, trash bags and weighing scales will be provided.
2. For those intending to drive, do note that there are not public parking facilities nearby.
3. You must wear hard-soled covered shoes or booties to to protect your feet from hazards.
4. A change of t-shirt is recommended after a sweaty workout.
5. Long pants are recommended to protect your legs from insect bites and mud, but bermudas are fine.
6. Water-proof your belongings.

Things to bring:

1. Water bottle (with at least one litre of water)
2. Hat and/ or sun block
3. Raincoat/ poncho (we will work in rain)
4. Towel – wipe off sand and mud
5. Extra water to wipe yourself down

Be prepared:

1. Sleep early the night before
2. Have a decent lunch – it’s hard work!
3. Be punctual – we are unable to wait for latecomers; tide waits for no one!
4. Refer to this recce report of SP2 for more information on the cleanup site.

Thank you for caring for our planet this World Water Day!

Sign up here by the 11th of March 2015 if you want to join us!

Singapore Paddle Club (SPC) @ Pulau Tekukor clears some 30 bags of trash

Kelly Ong, ICCS South Zone Captain writes,

On the morning of 13th Sept 2014, a passionate team of 22 environmental heros from the Singapore Paddle Club (SPC), lead by Rob Palmer, gave their routine paddle training a deeper meaning by conducting a beach cleanup at Singapore’s Southern island Pulau Tekukor! Whilst this island is inaccessible to public visitors, it is still plagued by much marine trash brought in by the tides.

The cleanup was a huge success after a morning’s hard work and everyone beamed with pride after clearing close to 30 bags of trash which consisted of mostly plastic water bottles as well as abandoned fishing nets that pose a serious threat to marine wildlife. The bags of trash were then painstakingly transported to St John’s Island to be disposed of properly by Sentosa Development Corporation.

The paddling heros ended their cleanup in high spirits. The International Coastal Cleanup Singapore team salutes to their great efforts and we look forward to more of such cleanups to come from SPC!