$5,000 seed funding for volunteers among new initiatives by NParks to cultivate community ownership

Seed funding of up to $5,000 will be provided by the National Parks Board (NParks) for volunteers to kickstart activities that cultivate community ownership and stewardship.

This is part of the efforts to increase opportunities for the wider community to participate in City in Nature-related initiatives. The seed funding will be granted through the Nature Kakis Network – a platform for passionate volunteers to self-organise various programmes such as webinars on living with nature, monthly tree planting sessions, and nature walks at Pulau Ubin and Jurong Lake Gardens.

The fund can be used to cover the training of the network’s members to self-organise activities for the community, the material costs of activities, such as event materials, and publicity collaterals to recruit more members to grow their chapter.

It will be supported by donations to NParks’ registered charity and IPC, Garden City Fund.

The Nature Kakis Network has expanded to various constituencies across Singapore following its first group in Boon Lay. As of now, there are eight established Nature Kakis chapters which include Bukit Gombak, Marymount, Moulmein-Cairnhill, Nee Soon South, Pasir Ris, Punggol and Taman Jurong.

Interested members of the public can visit the Nature Kakis Network website if they wish to join an established chapter or initiate a new chapter within their precinct.

NParks has also launched several other initiatives in its aim to bolster ecological connectivity and promote community stewardship.

These new initiatives will help facilitate safer movement of native species between areas, reduce vehicular-wildlife collisions, enhance human-wildlife coexistence, and support wildlife conservation in Singapore.

A new eco-pedestrian bridge will be developed to connect Bukit Batok Nature Park with the Rail Corridor, which leads to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.

The new bridge is designed for dual pedestrian-wildlife use and will provide the public with connectivity between the two green spaces. The bridge will also be designed in a way that will help facilitate wildlife crossings to reduce the amount of vehicular-wildlife collisions.

Deterrent measures for vehicular-wildlife collisions will also be implemented at wildlife hotspots at Mandai Road exit, Bukit Panjang exit, Dairy Farm exit, Upper Bukit Timah Road, Old Mandai Road and Sembawang Road in the form of exclusion fences and hedges.

These hotspots were identified after an analysis of a number of vehicular collision incidents involving critically endangered species such as the sunda pangolin and Raffles’ Banded Langur.

Two new nature parks will also be developed within the Bukit Batok Nature Corridor, the 9 ha Bukit Batok Hillside Nature Park and the 16 ha Bukit Batok Central Nature Park.

These areas will be sensitively enhanced to strengthen the connectivity between the Central Nature Park Network and Tengah Forest Corridor.

The new parks aim to provide a more conducive environment for biodiversity and more sources of food and shelter for native wildlife.