Open for booking: Chek Jawa intertidal walks Jul-Dec 2010

A special shore with lots of history and a wide range of things to see and do, low tide guided walks on Chek Jawa for Jul-Dec 10 is now available for online booking.

Oil spill spread and clean up: a summary

A little more than a week after the oil spill hit shores, the authorities have declared it cleaned up and that the waters at Changi and the East Coast have "returned to normal".
I've finally got a breather from field trips, and thought I should do a round-up of the spread of the oil slick and what was done to clean it up. In other posts, also how did the spill affect people, how will marine life be affected and can it happen again?

Oil spill: Effects on people

Fishermen were affected by the oil spill in Johor and Singapore. Mainly because the oil would gunk up their nets.

People fishing on Changi on 26 May,
two days before slick was reported on this shore.

I've finally got a breather from field trips, and thought I should do a round-up of the how the oil spill affected people. In other posts, also on the spread of the oil slick and what was done to clean it up, how the spill may affect wildlife and can it happen again?

Is it OK to fish and eat fish? What about our drinking water? Health effects?

In Singapore, OK

Oil spill: What long term effects on our marine life?

What do authorities and experts say about the environmental impact of the oil spill?

Ghost crab on oil slick, seen on Tanah Merah on 27 May.

I've finally got a breather from field trips, and thought I should do a round-up of the spread of the oil slick and what was done to clean it up. Also how did the spill affect people and can it happen again?

Oil spill: Can it happen again?

Can another spill happen again? Will we be ready for a big one?

A large Liquified Natural Gas ship passing the Chek Jawa beacon,
taken from the Chek Jawa boardwalk on 22 May.

I've finally got a breather from field trips, and thought I should do a round-up of the spread of the oil slick and what was done to clean it up. Also how did the spill affect people and how the spill may affect our marine life.

Shore lovers check up on Chek Jawa after the oil spill

Ordinary people continued to visit Chek Jawa and other shores affected by the oil slick. To document and share what they saw.
"Today I saw two Great-billed Herons on Chek Jawa, curling their necks in embrace. They stopped and embraced four times while walking together in the lagoon." Photo and story by Joseph Lai.

Here's a compilation of what has been shared, links also on the Oil Spill Facebook page

Clean up on oily 'orphaned' Tanah Merah

Today is World Environment Day and 19 people responded to Andy Dinesh's call for action. Hurray!
The objective is to remove oil-coated plastic trash on Tanah Merah. This stretch of 'motherless' shore, as aptly described by November, is not cleaned as regularly as well-patronised shores like East Coast Park. This is doubly tragic as there is probably more marine life at Tanah Merah shores.

Help wanted - clean up at Tanah Merah 5 Jun (Sat)

There is a huge accumulation of plastic and other marine debris on Tanah Merah shores. Unlike the East Coast Park beaches, Tanah Merah is not cleaned daily. And yet, there is probably more marine life at Tanah Merah shores.

Accumulations of plastic on Tanah Merah, seen in Oct 09

Andy Dinesh is organising an urgent coastal clean up tomorrow, which is also World Environment Day, focusing on removing "plastic bottles and other light debris most of which are coated with crude oil from the shore as these are likely to remain in the ecosystem unless they are removed."

You CAN make a difference!

Marvellous mangroves of Pasir Ris

Today I gained a much better appreciation of the marvellous mangroves of Pasir Ris, during a walk with the people who made this mangrove possible.

How's Tanah Merah doing after the oil spill?

Today, a small team revisit Tanah Merah about a week after the oil slick first hit this shore.
The corals seem mostly to be doing fine. The water is clear, and not as yellow as on the day after the spill hit. Although comprising artificial seawalls and reclaimed sandy shores, Tanah Merah has an awesome reef!

Oil slick from the sky?

This morning, as we pass by the petrochemical plants on Pulau Bukom before dawn, we see that flaring is still going on.
At sunrise, the size of the 'cloud' over Pulau Bukom is more apparent.

Coral bleaching on our Southern shores?

It was heartbreaking to be away from the oil spill affected areas the last three days.
But we were committed well before the spill to trips to our Deep South. Alas, another tragedy seems to be unfolding there.