For those who missed the screening on TV or who do not own a TV set at home (I know a few people), here's a very low quality recording of the program. Yes, it's low quality for a reason ;) So you cannot scrutinize our complexion on the close up shots of course! *grin*
Taken at House No 1, Chek Jawa, Pulau Ubin on Sunday 13 Apr 2008.
More about the day's trip at:
"Chek Jawa boardwalk with Outward Bound Singapore: Part 3" Adventures with Naked Hermit Crabs
"Chek Jawa boardwalk with Outward Bound Singapore: Part 3" WildFilms
Yes you heard me right and no your eyes are not deceiving you. You can now upload videos on flickr! Only short clips of 90 seconds are allowable and limited to Pro users (paying customers). Nonetheless, I feel less pressure putting short unedited clips on flickr than on youtube. So here's a good way to start my collection of videos on flickr! I've uploaded a video of Tanjong Rimau, Sentosa during the first NHC recce at Sentosa a year ago! It was also before the beacon got broken into two. A future classic in the making?
During tomorrow's guest lecture, I will try to use all my new toys and web services. Recording my talk with my new digital voice recorder, podcasting it and uploading some videos on flickr video! Not forgetting putting up my slides on slideshare! Maybe I can now make a slidecast
Update @ 1.34pm 9 Apr
For the buffaloes out there, here is what you are looking at.
View Larger Map
I could not resist using more webapps but here's google map showing an aerial view of the surrounding places that may have been spotted on the video. The placemarker (the blue tear drop) indicates where the video was taken. You can see labrador park and the port beyond. The green beacon you see is situated at the tip of Sentosa, which is also known as Tanjung Rimau. Tanjung is malay for the coastal feature of a "cape", defined as a "strip of land projecting into a body of water". To further orientate yourself around the map, Sentosa is the piece of green at the bottom of the map.
This photo is taken a few meters down from where the video was taken. Ignore the marine trash but you can see some of the coastal platform near the bottom left of the picture
Tanjung Rimau is a wonderful rocky shore and cliff habitat, totally natural and one of the last remaining ones. Of course, looking at labrador, there you have actually the last mainland cliff in Singapore. It would look similar to what you see here. What I'm standing on is actually a coastal platform which means the waves has cut it flat very beautifully. The grooves just means that some minerals within the rock is more soluble than others and thus formed the feature which you see here.
This photo is taken on the other side of the cape (tanjung), facing Indonesia and the rest of the southern islands. The video was taken on the side of the cape facing Singapore [refer to placemarker]. Yes this is Sentosa, hard to believe isn't it?
For more photos of the area, see my flickr photos.
Michael Switow (co-founder, One Singapore), Lois Ng (Studio You), Eunice Olsen, Monkey, Ivan, Vernetta Lopez (President, One Singapore)
Wanna know how this photo came about?
Here are your 5 options:
1) Watch Eunice Olsen's talk show, Rouge, on Channel 5, 20 April 2008, 10pm
2) Read the Naked Hermit Crab's blog entry by Ivan (in green)
3) See my photos and Leykun's photos from today
4) Read my adventure with the film crew at Semakau last week!
4) Wait for my review of the episode a week before the episode airs.
Pardon me for my prolonged silence on this blog. As many of you may know, I am currently up to my neck in juggling graduate research, paperwork, teaching, 2 new paid jobs, classes and all my many blogs. While I've been silent on this one, I have been writing here, here, here, here and here where I recently gave some tips of things to do on Earth Hour 2008.
On top of that, together with Ivan, I will be appearing in all my glorious nakedhermitcrabbiness on Eunice Olsen's new talk show, Rouge, that airs every Sunday at 10pm on Mediacorp Channel 5. The studio filming will be this Sunday and the episode will air on April 20, 2008 as part of an Earth Day special.
Yesterday, together with a group of other crabbies, this monkey had a glorious morning at Pulau Semakau with a group of Commonwealth Youths and a group of students from Duke University led by Dr Dan and Dr Stan. On top of that, I had the film crew from Rouge following my group around while we explore the shores. It was my first time at Semakau but it was fun anyways. We saw lots of fan worms, jellyfish, nudibranch (Jorunna funebris), anemones (no nemos!), and lots of sponges, corals and what nots. Unfortunately I didn't have the good fortune to see the shark, stingray or knobby sea star.
Images taken from the Naked Hermit Crabs.
Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to use my camera much while I was trying to juggle the group, the crew and trying to enjoy my first time at Semakau. I am also pleased to say that I only got 1 sandfly bite out of the whole adventure! woohoo!
At the end of the day, as mentioned in my Daily Green Actions, "my favorite green action today was addressing 30 people at once, asking them to share their thoughts for the shore with us on paper". And of course getting the opportunity to confer upon Dr Dan, the first honorary crab membership ever! I felt I could have done it better since the gesture was kinda lost on most people. Ah, must improve my public speaking abilities. *sheepish*
If you have been wondering why there are no more Daily Green Actions update on this blog or if you are following the blog only via RSS reader, you may have not realized I've added the Daily Green Actions as a feed on the top of this blog. Alternative, for RSS subscribers, you can subscribe to this feed instead for Daily Green Actions update. You can also add Leafmonkey as a friend on Twitter. I am still looking for a better way to integrate the two instead of spamming my own blog. Please bear with me and know that I have not given up... yet!
Last Friday, the monkey under the workshop arm of the Naked Hermit Crabs, organized a workshop on Blogging for Nature for advanced users at NIE/NTU. Many animal friends and naked crabbies were recruited to share on various tools and social network services beyond blogging.
There were buckets of adult humor and geeky web 2.0 fun as typical in any conversation with the monkey. Here above is duck talking about his pussy as a flickr example while the barnacles display their evolved prowess in copulation on youtube!
The workshop was organized in 3 parts - introduction, tools and how to disseminate your content beyond blogs. For continuity and participation beyond the class, the participants get to collaborate on google document for a list of web resources. The class is also supposed to participate in the Blog Action Day for Environment on 15 October.
Originally the idea was for the advanced students to be tutors for the beginner workshop next friday. However, there are just not enough volunteer tutors so I guess we'll have to work doubly hard next week!
Read more about last friday's workshop details on the Naked Hermit Crabs blog. July from NIE Green Club, our host for the event, also blogged about it.
Shortly after the talk on Secret Shores of Singapore at the Theatrette in Sungei Buloh, Ria and I quickly don our workshop cap and made a beeline for the workroom at Sungei Buloh. Thanks to the coordination, hosting and especially food(!) provided by the staff of Sungei Buloh, we have arranged for a "Sharing Nature with Ordinary People" workshop for volunteers from SBWR, Naked Hermit Crabs and just about everywhere else! Several toddycats were also present, especially familiar faces from my Pedal Ubin group.
I couldn't capture everybody in the room with my camera but it was a huge crowd!
Although we only anticipated 24 people for the workshop, almost 40 turned up! There were a total of 39 people including myself and Ria. It was an excellent sharing session where guides of all experience level comes together to share problems and solutions for different type of situations a guide encounters out there in the "wild". Mainly with different type of visitors.
The workshop started with a general overview of where everybody are from - at least those 24 who preregistered - what their favourite and least favourite aspects of guiding were and a short discussion of each aspect. Discussions really got on the way with animated conversations and contributions from everybody when we broke out into smaller groups. Each group was tasked with a different type of visitors.
Group 1: "School Children" group
Group 2: "Photographers" group
Group 3: "Foreigners" group
Group 4: "RC" group
Group 5: "Mixed Families" group
We overran the time a little towards the end because there were just too much to share. I guess I forgot to introduce to the group that I was actually the note taker for the workshop so I guess people were wondering why I'm walking around taking photos of them! My job was to "instantly" transcribed the points discussed into the round up slides and other general miscellanea. All in all the sharing session had its share of laughter and good ideas! I think we all took away something useful from the workshop. We were expecting some role playing from the groups but darn, none gave us the pleasure of watching them play out the situations prescribed to them. I think next time we'll have to give specific instructions! *grin*
Feedbacks are still coming in from the participants but so far it's been very encouraging and we definitely hope to do this again for the other guides who were actually out on our shores and forests while we were at the workshop! We have not forgotten you - more workshops are definitely in the works.
Photos can be seen at my flickr set.
It's been exactly a week since the last day of the Naked Hermit Crab walk series ended on 7 June 2007. While this post does come a bit late in terms of its newsbreaking quality which citizen journalism is supposed to be known for, I suppose this will serve as an editorial and feature equivalent.
The last day was a particularly exciting one. As I was not guiding that day, I had the leisure, and pleasure, to wield my camera and snap to my delight. While I was happily documenting the day's event and organisms encountered, I was also the hunter/seeker for the group but honestly I think I serve my purpose on earth as a guide as I simply don't have any catching or spotting abilities. Well I did catch a juvenile damselfish, relative of the anemone clownfish, and caught 2 other fish fry and some sea lice but that's another story to be told later. But if I were ever to survive in the wild, I think my hunting skills lack sorely. Yet while hai-ren and I lament about our poor catching skills, we wonder why people with ill intent are usually so much "luckier" as sometimes we cannot even spot the organisms lurking around. I can only conclude that time, experience and the ugly lure of money make people do all kinds of things.
Hairen looking for fish and athropods as hunter/seeker for the day
Can you spot the goby? It's not easy without some help!
Why am I talking in depth about this? Well a few days ago I thought to write about the day's events and as I was looking at the photo of hairen trawling the shores for finds, I suddenly realized that had the photo been seen out of context, it would be almost incriminating. If you, like me, feel that poaching should be strongly clamped down on, then yes, it is important to see the distinction of our roles.
Sights are marked out. See only, no touch!
However, when I saw a granny amongst our participants go down near a rock during the walk and instead of admiring the sight, started to take out a pair of prongs and knock away at the shellfish and snails to collect them in a big bag within her hands, I felt this strong urge to scream my horror. It made me reflect that had I brought my parents who often did this as a kid, how do you tell them that the shore is now a museum - see only, no touch - when decades ago, this was their market, fresh for the picking where the only cost is your labour?
Inculcating respect in kids in a wholly different way
How many children did I tell not to pick the shells where growing up, parents and kids stroll beaches for the sole purpose of "shell collecting" because it was the activity to do? How much can one or two shell hurt you ask. Well one shell collector too many seek out live animals to find the biggest and most beautiful shells to sell on the market. Shells are also homes to animals and eventually break down and become part of the coral sand, a source of sand nourishment for our constantly and naturally eroding beaches. In fact, Seacology recently published a list of "10 things to do to save our world's islands" and listed not taking shells home as one of the ways to save our beaches!
That aside, it's was a wonderful day with many photographic rewards. In fact, early in the day we spotted a dark layer of smog settling over the industrial estate of jurong island and the west of Singapore. I am happy to say that the post I wrote on the topic got me tomorrowed! In fact, Jen Lee called me the other day asking more. Those interested will be happy to know I'm digging more into the topic.
The clouds were simply spectacular that day
Despite being not very good at catching swimming crabs, it was still a day full of wildlife encounters from the regulars like the water monitor lizard we met at the seawall to the collared kingfisher that posed for me patiently. Terrestrial animals aside, we also saw eel fish, damselfish, mosaic crab, red egg crab and many a hairy crab. Of course we always meet the hermit crabs, thankfully usually shelled and clothed.
Sessile organisms were a plenty too! The usual soft corals, hard corals and everybody's spongebob multishape-pants. No sea cucumber that day but many others were encountered the previous 2 days. It was also the first time the terrestrial monkey learnt that mushroom corals can actually be picked up and removed from the water without killing it! Usually corals produce calcium carbonate that form the structure of the reef by making itself an extension of the reef. However, mushroom corals are not sessile and instead it becomes detached from its "stalk" when it matures so that others can grow from the same stalk!
Mushroom coral
We were also lucky to have Angie and Vilma from NSS, tree experts who shared with us and confirmed out suspicions as to the identity of the sea teak, a rare coastal tree seen in abundance at Sentosa! There was of course also the raffles pitcher plant with its distinct patterns. Not forgetting the variety of other plants found growing from our cliffs. What more, after much appeal from Joe Lai and other nature lovers, Resort World @ sentosa decided to save and transplant almost 200 stands of trees in its coastal forest in a last minute bid to conserve the forest and make peace with the fervent feedback and request from public. It remains unclear to the monkey if the right trees were actually saved but is it supposed to be a consolation that the trees cut down to make way for the IR would now be turned into furniture on the island?!
Pitcher plants
I did however find that some people have the misconception that if trees are found, the soil is less likely to erode. Pardon me if I am wrong but if a tree is found on a steep slope, it serves to hold loose soils together so as to prevent rainwater and runoff from washing the loose topsoil away. However, if you have trees growing on edge of cliffs or even on the cliff itself, the roots of the plant tend to grow into fractures and line of weaknesses that further loosen and widen the faultline, causing the cliff to be weakened and eventually the material will break off from the cliff. Yes, this is what we call biotic erosion agents. Some plant roots produces chemicals that react with the rocks to erode them. So it is both good for your slopes and bad for your cliffs! :)
Erosion is not necessarily a bad thing though. Without erosion, we won't have the sand or soil that would eventually deposit on our slopes or shores!
Look how clear the water is! That's eroded particles and coral rubble (soon to be eroded) we are stepping on! :) But it helps that no reclamation nearby to muddy the water up but will this change soon once reclamation begins nearby?
For more photos of the day's event, see my flickr set.
If you are keen to see Naked Hermit Crabs in action on Sentosa, here's your chance:
Date: 19 Jun 07
Time: Starts 7.30am
Duration of walk: Family Trail=1.5 hours, Adventure Trail=2.5 hours.
Cost: $5 per person (does not include Sentosa entrance fees and charges)
Exact details on meeting point will be provided to those who register for the walks.
For more information, see Adventures with the Naked Hermit Crabs.
Everyday I find it almost impossible to believe that this magnificent piece of coast line and intertidal haven is on Sentosa, the island known more for its fake beaches, bikini-clad babes and volleyball hunks.
Second day into our Nature's IR series on Sentosa, and second day of monkeying around with families. I've decided that much of our children's education through the television helps to relate them to animals of our shores - spongebob squarepants and of course finding nemo are references that keep the spirits high.
It really heartens the spirit to see so many inquisitive and interested young'uns who would be, cliche as this sounds, the hope of our future. Maybe it's because we have very enlightened parents who would take the initiative to bring them out in the first place so perhaps we are converting the converted. But having the children with us would ensure that they start young and hopefully we are producing a new generation of aware adults in the future. While some of the parents may just be as much a novice as their children, having been urbanites and not experienced the shore in the "flesh", i feel heartened that they are just as eager as their children to learn and improve.
My favourite quote of the day would be from the daddy in green. When his daughter called out in excitement for her daddy to hurry over and see the latest find, he replied,
"wait! daddy is [walking slowly and] trying not to kill anything!"
That really made my day. Thank you Team Egg crab! Yesterday we were hairy crabs and saw many of the crabs we were named after and today, being team egg crab, we met many egg crabs instead! 
Still, nothing beats touching and feeling the plants and animals for the first time. The excitement in their eyes when they held a sea cucumber for the first time. Watching it try to scare us off by peeing right in front of us for the first time. Whether young or old, it's such a wonderous experience, right under that wide expanse of sand sea and the broad blue sky.
For more photos, see my flickr set.
For photos of the adventure trail, friend and participant, evie, has uploaded her photos here.
It looks just like any of our wonderful inter-tidal shores but what makes this beach more of a hidden treasure of Singapore is that it's right at our doorstep on Sentosa!
Many people think of Sentosa as a man-made island with artificial beaches but even our most manicured faces hide many wonderful surprises. And it is this little known face of Sentosa that the naked hermit crabs and friends got to know very well today.
Head Hermit Crab, Ron, describing animatedly about Gobies to the enrapt families at the tidal pool
The tide was wonderful and the kids all had fun with their moms and dads, exploring the different shells and scales of animals on this rocky shore, coral rubble and seagrass meadow.
Satisfied members of Team Hairy Crab at the end of the walk
At the end of the walk, we also got every family to share and write, or draw, what they felt about Nature's IR at Sentosa and all that they have seen that day. The kids really put their hearts into it and we all learn something new and see something new that morning.
For more photos of the morning's walk, see my flickr set.
There is still two more days of walk to go but meanwhile, other nakedhermitcrabs have shared their photos as well:
Amidst intermittant internet connection while here on holiday in China, I find myself pleasantly surprised by a long awaited preview sampler from Wildfilms! After several years of filming on our shores, finally, a sneak preview aptly named "Singapore Surprise" was released on youtube!
Nothing cheered me up more by the familiar sights of the flora, fauna and even people of our shores! The music coordination was excellent and complimented the video better than a Charlie Chaplin movie soundtrack enhances the dramatic flair of the mime. Add some naration and it'll be the David Attenborough of Singapore!
It's definitely rated PG for sex and violence. Catch rare sights of coral spawning and dodgy liquid secretion during mating season and don't blink or you might miss scenes more exciting than the lion using the lynx in the African savannah!
Honestly, perhaps it is when one is away from home when one appreciates the beauty of what we have more so than ever. It's not that we have more or less but when this monkey met the live seafood trade along the shores of Northeast China, I fervently pray for the preserverance of our shorelife despite threats of reclamation and IRs. At the same time, I really wish Singaporeans would stop and rethink our ostentatious and mostly unsustainable seafood consumption level.
Naked and in a tub in China. Photo by Monkey
When I was in Lueshun, near Dalian city in Liaoning Province of Northeast China, a coastal town that cultivates kelp and pearl, I encountered a market that sells live seafood fresh off the fishing boats. You can find any and everything here. From sea urchin to crabs to fish to snails and all kinds of things I usually prefer seeing live and swimming in the sea. It is also here that I first encountered the first real naked hermit crab I've ever seen in my life. I honestly prefer to see my hermit crabs, not naked, and alive on the shore in Singapore. Sadly, here it is, naked and about to end up on somebody's dinner table.
Hermit Crabs about to end up on somebody's dinner table in China. Photo by Monkey
I really don't want my first time to be so traumatic but maybe that's when it really pushes the point home. I want my first time to be with a real hermit crab, with a home on its back and alive and happy on the shores of Singapore. So please, save the homes of our hermit crabs or so they'll all end up naked and maybe not on somebody's dinner table but just dead and lifeless, buried under a casino.So join our aptly named guides, the naked hermit crabs, on a trip to discover, uncover and explore the homes of our hermit crabs and see them clothed and happy on our shores! I hope that you, like me, get a chance to see our wildlife alive and happy while you have a chance. I think that seeing them as I have on our shores is definitely a more treasured experience than when reality hits home and you see them as nothing more than a crustacean meant for your dinner table.
Quick details of the walk
Dates: 5 Jun 07, Tue (Family Trail) and 6 Jun 07, Wed (Adventure Trail)
Time: Starts 7.30am for both dates
Duration of walk: Family Trail=1.5 hours, Adventure Trail=2.5 hours.
Cost: $5 per person (does not include Sentosa entrance fees and charges)
Exact details on meeting point will be provided to those who register for the walks
How to sign up?
Just email nakedhermitcrabs@gmail.com with "Sentosa Walk" in the subject line and these details
(a) Name and contact of lead person
(b) Number of adults
(c) Number and age of children
(d) Date of walk you wish to join
Please sign up by 25 May 07 (Fri) so that we can finalise details.
For more information, see Adventures with the Naked Hermit Crabs
Have you ever seen a naked hermit crab? Original image courtesy of MarEco
Today, a group of naked hermit crabs were born at Seah Im Hawker Center. They were seen roaming about with their butts hanging out. Hoping not to moon anybody, they tried to device ways of covering up their butts with giant buttons to appeal for help to save their shells.
But who took their shells?
Where has all our shells gone?
Stay tune for more!
This weblog was created in 2003 and named as such due to my penchant for alliteration, a midnight predecessor and my moniker as the leafmonkey, or monkey to most. MMM chronicles my thoughts and reflections on subjects and news related to environmental issues as well as issues of cultural and natural heritage. Read more in About Me.
Since November 2007, most of the writings on this blog has been dedicated to the syndication of Daily Green Actions from my Leafmonkey Twitter account. However, as of 2008, I shall resolve to resume more original writings. Find out more about my projects.
On 20 November 2007, this blog was listed on Blogger's Blog of Note.
I can be contacted at 
