At Bukit Brown for week ending 25 March 2012
Saturday 24th Introduction to Bukit Brown Tour by Post Museum, 4pm – 5,30pm, free but must register here
Sunday 25th Tour 9am – 11 am by Raymond Goh. Possibly the last organised public tour before the onset of Qing Ming so as to allow families – some for the last time – more space to pay their respects to their ancestors. Tour covers Blocks 5 and 2 where there are many tombs which are affected by the proposed 8 lane highway. Please check in here for more details and to give organisers an idea of numbers so we can mobilise more volunteers if necessary.
Cluster of Qing Tombs circa 1830s relocated twice before Bukit Brown , now staked for exhumation to make way way for 8 lane highway (photo Catherine Lim)
Birdwatching at Bukit Brown with Willie Foo (Open to Public)
Date : 25 Mar 2012
Time : 8 – 10 am
Location : Meet at the cemented open area just after the portal of Bukit Brown at Lorong Halwa. Check in here to register interest.
For useful information on how to get there and what to wear check in here
With uncertainty as to what access there will be to Bukit Brown once plans are announced on the start of work on the building of highway, various volunteer groups are revving up to answer requests for tours which have been received from the public and private organisations. There is only we fear a small window of opportunity to appreciate Bukit Brown in its full glory before the highway slices it into half.
Tours are available on special requests depending on availability of volunteer guides from various groups. Weekday tours are subject to an honorarium. Volunteer guides hold full time jobs and need to take leave to conduct these tours. Here are the contact details:
Post-Museum conducts gentle introductory tours to Bukit Brown’s culture, history and habitat which lasts about an hour. They can also customise art activities at Bukit Brown. Please email admin@post-museum.org
a.t.bukitbrown co-ordinates requests for Raymond and has volunteer guides who can provide a more in depth introduction to culture and history. Tours can be customised to cater for specific interests on request. Tours are between two and three hour in duration. Please email a.t.bukitbrown@gmail.com
Nature Society Singapore has nature rambles with delightful flora and fauna highlights as well as bird watching tours. The tours are between two and three hours in duration. Please contact hangchong@gmail.com
A series of Family Day events are in the works for the March school holiday weekends 10th, 11th, 17th, 18th are in the pipeline. Watch this space!
Hill 4 (photo Catherine Lim)
- Hill 4 (photo Catherine Lim)
This Sunday, we conquer Hill 4, not quite as indomitable as you think. A leisurely stroll of between 15-20 minutes from the Cemetery gates will take you to Hill 4 . Chat with with volunteer guides: Peter and Catherine, as they take you there, to open minds and hearts. Hill 4 is not on the usual tour but it offers the life and times of the poet and revolutionary who coined an early name of Singapore, “Sin Chew”, features a circus family, a family of 5 cats, a small brigade of sikh guards life- sized and hobbit sized, and the illustrious of Chong Pang, Nee Soon, Tan Tock Seng to name but a few. There are graves here which are also staked and slated to make way for the 8 lane highway which will slice Bukit Brown into half.
Date: 3 June Sunday
Time: 9am to 12pm
Meeting Place: Under the large and beautiful, and possibly endangered, rain tree, at the Roundabout. After the main gate, go forward another twenty metres, to the right of the SLA office
For information on how to get there and handy tips please visit
http://bukitbrown.com/
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Registration:
Our weekend public tours are FREE …
Optimally the group size is 30 participants (15 individuals/guide).
Please click ‘Join’ on the FB event page to let us know you are coming, how many pax are turning up, or just meet us at the starting point at 9am. We meet there rain or shine.
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The Bukit Brown area is about 233 hectares in extent, bordered by Lornie Road, Thomson Road and the Pan-Island Expressway. It lies just to the south of the Central Catchment Forest, being separated from it by Lornie Road and includes Singapore’s only Chinese Municipal Cemetery. With more than 1
Don’t forget to bask in the peaceful surrounds, and also chat with your guides and make friends with other participants. We are amateurs and volunteers, but we are passionate and serious about what we do at Bukit Brown, and we encourage sharing of knowledge.
Here is a map of the grounds:
http://bukitbrown.com/
We will not cover Ong Sam Leong’s (the largest tomb), nor will we visit Chew Geok Leong (with the coloured Sikh Guards). However, if there is time and repeat visitors who already know the way, they could show you how to get there.
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Please take note:
1. We will be walking mainly on paved roads. But there are hill treks so dress appropriately, especially your footwear.
2. Wear light breathable clothing. Long pants and long sleeves if you are prone to insect bites or sunburn. Bring sun block and natural insect repellent.
3. Wear comfortable non-slip shoes, as safety is important. Walking sticks are recommended.
4. Do read up on Bukit Brown before going so you have a better understanding of the place (e.g. BukitBrown.com)
5. Do bring water, light snacks, poncho/umbrella, sunhat and waterproof your electronics.
6. A towel around your neck is a necessary fashion statement at Bukit Brown.
7. Please go to the toilet before coming. There are NO facilities anywhere there or nearby.
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How to get there by MRT / Bus:
Bus services available: 52, 74, 93, 157, 165, 852, 855.
From North: Go to Marymount MRT and walk to bus stop #53019 along Upper Thomson Road. Take Buses 52, 74, 165, 852, 855
Alight 6 stops later at bus stop, #41149, opposite Singapore Island Country Club (SICC), Adam Road. Walk towards Sime Road in the direction of Kheam Hock Road until you see Lorong Halwa.
From South: Go to Botanic Gardens MRT and walk to bus stop #41121 at Adam Road, in front of Singapore Bible College. Take Buses 74, 93, 157, 165, 852, 855. Alight 2 stops later at bus stop, #41141, just before Singapore Island Country Club (SICC), Adam Road. Cross the bridge, walk towards Sime Road; follow the road until you see Lorong Halwa.
By car:
Turn in from Lornie Road, to Sime Road. Then, turn left into Lorong Halwa.
Parking space available at the largish paved area near the cemetery gates.
New activity for this Sunday, Eco Stations with Beng Chiak of Nature Society, hunt down ants and insects and understand their relationship to plants and trees, how trees host other living things and nature’s self help system! Check out more details here
Eco-Stations (photo NSS)
Family Day, we did it last Sunday on March 11 and we now know we can do it even better. Up sized buffet of activities from guided tours to treasure hunts, to arts and crafts, haiku composing for all ages and nature gems for the whole family. Adults must be accompanied by children for treasure hunts!
Please read handy tips for a more enjoyable day, there will be a quiz before you can join – just kidding – but do, DO read it for safety precautions!
The pied piper who will return your children but only if your go along! (photo Victor Yue)
The Guests of Honour (photo:Peter Pak)
The storyteller Bala spins a tale of "The Giving Tree" (photo: Catherine Lim)
The event begins at 9 am and will end by 12.30 pm.
Report to the Skih Guard for registration (photo Catherine Lim)
Tours will be done differently, instead of one long guided tour, there will be 4 stations to stopover and participants may drop out anytime they want to sample other delights. Student volunteers will usher participants from station to station in 2 rounds of tours one starting at 9 am and the second at 9.30 am. They will also point out directions to those who want to return to the roundabout.
Please download this map and take note that the 4 stations covered in the route are group 1, group 3, group 4 and group 12. Constraint by time guides may not be able to cover every tomb in each group. The estimated schedule if you visit every station is 2 hours. This is the timetable with estimated times and guides :
9.oo at Sikh Station – introduction by Catherine (Second tour starts at 9.30 am if there are more than 10 people and follows the same schedule as tour 1)
a)9.15 at group 1 – by Peter (second tour eta 9.45)
b)9.50 at group 3 – by Raymond (second tour eta 10.20)
c).10.30 at group 2 – by Yik Han (second tour 11.00)
d) 11.10 at group 12 – by Charles, this last station will be capped by a short uphill (easy) to the jewel in crown Ong Sam Leong’s family grave site and group photo. ( the second tour eta 11.50 will be led Catherine and Peter )
This gives you some idea what some of your guides look like:
Catherine - needs to be fed, along the way if possible
You can 't miss Peter - he's a barrel of fun
Charles (left) Raymond (right) - The Tomb Whisperers, the most knowledgeable.
For the treasure hunts starting at 9.30am, look out for :
Claire, one of the movers and shakers of the volunteer corp
Your Emeritus Zoo Keeper of Bukit Brown – She is responsible for collecting “animals” for the treasure hunt and the design.
Yes, Ai Loon loves animals!
Watch this space for more details of Family Day activities by co-organisers: SOS Bukit Brown and Nature Society, Singapore
Our youngest participant with Astro Boy, our guest of honour (photo:Claire Leow)
Bukit Brown’s first family day on Sunday 11 March had “children” of all ages exploring nature and culture in the open air classroom of life – Heritage, Habitat,History given full expression
The pied piper who will return your children but only if your go along! (photo Victor Yue)
Lets take a break before we continue (photo:Claire Leow)
found something, did we? (photo:Claire Leow)
show and tell (photo:Claire Leow)
(photo Claire Leow)
The adults were also at show and tell by Raymond (photo:Victor Yue)
show and tell with Yik Han in red (photo: Victor Yue)
Meanwhile Charles runs through his lines with the Sikh Guard, while he was kept waiting (photo: Victor Yue)
And the reason it was running late was because at the first station, Peter was loathed to let them go, at least not before a group photo!
They were off to a flying start with guide Peter who "warmed" everyone up including himself
Meanwhile at the Art Station……
(photo:Claire Leow)
(photo:Claire Leow)
Back at the art station, the children proudly display their work with a beaming Mum ( photo:Claire Leow)
Since there was no age limit Peter decides to get into the act and a kodak moment with a French exchange student who went on the tour
The children had moved on to a spot of Haiku composing
Albert Lee discusses the finer points of Haiku with mother Collete Wong ( photo Vicky Tan)
Haiku Station (photo Vicky Tan)
(photo Cuifen)
(photo Claire Leow)
And then children of all ages gathered to hear the story of The Giving Tree
The storyteller Bala spins a tale of "The Giving Tree" (photo: Catherine Lim)
Thank You to our Student Volunteers from SIM! (photo Claire Leow)
Thank You to Ai Loon, Zoo Keeper Emeritus and treasure hunt designed (photo Claire Leow)
Thank You Everyone who came! (photo Catherine Lim)
Post script: In her hands she cradles a pair of binoculars, she holds the vision for our future. Let Bukit Brown be her legacy. Give her a chance to decide what she wants to do with this legacy.
Bukit Brown is her legacy. photo by Georgina Chin
Dateline Monday 27 Feb, 2012
Chasing away Monday Blues at Bukit Brown, is our Accidental Photographer aka Georgina Chin. She claims Bukit Brown as her backyard and it is where she is often to be found bird watching, or happily snapping away at other species.
ladies in black sharing their beau - from L to R Georgina,Astroboy, Melissa
Two regular runners - a healthy lifestyle adds a natural and happy glow
Georgina thought this runner was "hot" - wonder what she means 😉
Students from Nanyang in their outdoor classroom. According to Georgina, they were doing research
Greater Coucal - a rare sighting!
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