Festival of Biodiversity 2017!

ButterflyCircle @ Festival of Biodiversity 2017!

Nex Mall, Serangoon : 27-28 May 2017

The Festival of Biodiversity is in its 6th run this year. An annual event organised by the National Parks Board (NParks) Singapore, in collaboration with the Biodiversity Roundtable, the Festival aims to create awareness and foster a sense of appreciation for Singapore's natural heritage. The festival showcases Singapore’s impressive and unique array of island biodiversity. This event celebrates Singapore’s natural heritage and in doing so, hopes to bring about greater awareness of the rich biodiversity that Singapore has.

After taking a break from having the Festival at an urban shopping mall, the FOB 2016 was held at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. This year, 2017, the FOB was moved back to a shopping mall! This time around, Nex Shopping Mall @ Serangoon was selected. The intention of hosting the Festival at shopping malls was to showcase Singapore's awesome biodiversity to the heartlanders and 'unconverted' residents of Singapore who may have otherwise not get the chance to see up-close, Singapore's natural heritage.

Back to a shopping mall again this year!  FOB2017 at NEX Shopping Mall

This year, ButterflyCircle continued to support the FOB for the sixth time. Members from the Nature @ Seletar Butterfly Garden and volunteers from Chung Cheng High School provided the much-needed reinforcements to man the butterfly conservation and education booth at FOB. As with the two previous years, Mr Foo JL brought in his awesome collection of live caterpillars to wow the visitors to the booth.

Mr Foo JL and his caterpillar parade.  Our volunteers checking out the caterpillars

We featured many caterpillar host plants and their respective butterfly species whose caterpillars feed on the plants. As our knowledge of the early stages of butterflies grow over the years, the information that is useful to parks managers and landscape designers has helped to enhance Singapore's butterfly biodiversity in our urban gardens. It is important to augment Singapore's "City in a Garden" reputation with our local fauna that animates our greenery and brings life to our gardens.

ButterflyCircle's booth.  Up and ready!

As with previous FOBs, we started setting up ButterflyCircle's booth early on Saturday morning. We put up the colourful display boards as our booth's backdrop, and fired up the video that featured our butterfly conservation objectives and showcasing butterflies. Mr Foo brought his 'babies' and plants and set them up with tender loving care. The live caterpillars are always a crowd pleaser, particularly with the children, whose curiosity and appetite for knowledge often throw us lots of questions.

Our young 'customers' looking in amazement at the caterpillars and pupae

It was encouraging to see many parents and their children visiting the booths at FOB17 and enjoying a learning journey about our island's flora and fauna. Kids who are keen to learn and enrich themselves with knowledge of our local biodiversity are the future custodians of our environment and the sustainability of our marine and terrestrial life and ecosystems. It is important to arm them with information so that whatever profession that they choose to take up, there is always a love for the environment and the enthusiasm to 'make our planet great again' (to paraphrase the French President in a recent speech)

Minister Desmond Lee explaining to Minister MCCY Grace Fu about Singapore's biodiversity

FOB17 was hosted by Minister Desmond Lee as with many previous FOBs. Minister Desmond is often seen as a champion of biodiversity and the environment. Indeed, he has won the respect and support of the green groups in Singapore for his tireless endeavours to conserve and protect the environment in his signature style of sincere and meaningful dialogue and balanced views. This year, we also had the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Ms Grace Fu, to grace the opening of FOB17.

A group shot with former Cabinet Minister, Mr S. Dhanabalan

Nature groups were also pleasantly surprised by one of our 'pioneer generation Ministers' and one who cared for the conservation of our environment, Mr S Dhanabalan, who joined in this year's FOB festivities. Even after retirement, Mr Dhanabalan continued to lend his weight behind many conservation projects and support biodiversity enhancement projects. It was an honour to meet Mr Dhanabalan at the FOB17.

Minister Desmond Lee, in his speech, shared the initiatives on nature conservation and the discoveries that the volunteer community made during the various Bioblitz surveys in Singapore. He also spoke of the forthcoming projects that the government was implementing, as well as lauded the efforts of the nature community in Singapore.

The crowd at FOB2017

It was interesting to see a different group of visitors at the Nex Shopping Mall this year. The FOB was held at Vivo City Mall for three years in succession from 2013-2015, and it was a good idea to move to a different mall and attracting shoppers from a different part of Singapore to view the FOB exhibits this time.

This year, besides the live caterpillars, we also had some art and craft, creating a flextangle informative gadget 

Over the two days, we were kept busy with many visitors to the booth and entertaining lots of curious questions about butterflies. Our volunteer teachers, students and members of ButterflyCircle and Nature @ Seletar groups helped to answer queries and share our knowledge about butterflies to the visitors. Our balloonist, Cheng Khim, delighted the visitors (particularly kids) with her colourful balloons in the form of flowers and butterflies.

Cheng Khim and her balloon art entertained young and old alike!

It was a tiring (and hot) weekend as the group did our best to educate the visitors about butterflies in Singapore, and what they can do to help with butterfly conservation. But to our volunteers, it was a meaningful time to spend and I could see the boundless enthusiasm and energy with which they shared their passion and love for butterflies to the community.

A wefie with our two Ministers

And so we ask some thought-provoking questions again after the FOB17 ended - what next? Have the six editions of FOB that started back in 2012 achieved its objectives? Is continuing the FOB in the coming years going to be sustainable? Has reaching out to the masses in Singapore changed anything? Or have we reached a point of diminishing returns? Should FOB change its form and refresh itself with a new format of engagement? Some food for thought...

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Huang CJ, KhewSK and Or CK

Special thanks to teachers Jo Teo and Noor Sarah and the students of Chung Cheng (Main) for volunteering their time and effort at the booth, to Rita Dumais Sim, Vina Hermanto, Soh Kam Yung and son, Vanessa Lee, Rachel Lee, Eugene Koh, Mei Hwang, Lydia Davina Yeo and Chen Yimin for helping to engage the crowd. CJ for her design of the panels and producing the ButterflyCircle video, BC members Bob Cheong, Koh CH, Loh MY, Siaomouse and Nikita for their presence, and our balloonist Cheng Khim for her colourful creations. And of course to our guru Mr Foo for bringing caterpillars and plants to entertain the crowd.

Past Festivals of Biodiversity :

FOB 2012 at Singapore Botanic Gardens
FOB 2013 at VivoCity Mall
FOB 2014 at VivoCity Mall
FOB 2015 at VivoCity Mall
FOB 2016 at Singapore Botanic Gardens

Flourishing Fraser's Hill

Flourishing Fraser's Hill
Another Visit to Malaysia's Popular Hill Resort


A scenic view from Fraser's Hill, Pahang, Malaysia

The hot and humid weather in Singapore prompted thoughts of the cool fresh air on one of Malaysia's renown hill resorts, Fraser's Hill (largely in the state of Pahang). When our ButterflyCircle member, May Chan from Hong Kong told us that she would be making a visit to Singapore for some R&R and butterfly shooting, it was a good opportunity to show May some of Malaysia's butterfly diversity in Fraser's Hill. So, thanks May, for giving us a good excuse to head up north again this year.

All loaded and ready to go! Leaving Ipoh International Airport in our rented Honda City cars

As with our previous trips, a short flight from Changi Airport to Ipoh, the capital of the state of Perak, getting our rented cars, and off we went on the ~3 hour road trip to Fraser's Hill. This time around, we skipped a night's stay at Ipoh (and missed treating ourselves to some of the yummy local street food) and headed straight to Fraser's Hill. Along the way, we had hoped to stop at the usually productive Chiling Waterfalls to shoot butterflies.

But alas, the area where there used to be a carpark was under construction and some extensive earthworks were in progress. There appears to be some significant building works going on and even a site office at the site. Perhaps there will be some future facilities at this location, and hopefully the waterfall area will be accessible again soon. It was only after searching for what the plans are for Chiling Waterfalls that I realised that two young men had lost their lives here in late 2016.

Shahzan Inn, our 'home' for 4 nights on Fraser's Hill

So, off we went on our way past the Gap Resthouse, which still remained in its sorry state. It used to be a place for a rest stop and accommodation in the 80's but has since fallen on tough times and lack of business. The last 8km drive up the winding one-way road took us all the way past the landmark Fraser's Hill clock tower, and on to where we will be staying for this trip, Shahzan Inn.

Puddling butterfly shooters shooting the puddling butterflies at Jeriau Waterfall

It was just past noon when we finished checking into our rooms, so we decided to head to Jeriau Waterfalls to check out the butterfly scene. It was a warm afternoon, but our favourite puddling ground was completely inundated this time, leaving a small strip of sand. We were told that it was an exceptionally wet April and May this year, and that explains the higher water levels. Along the drive up, there were several signs of minor landslides as workers were repairing the slopes.

Some puddlers from Jeriau Waterfall

It was a good first afternoon, as a number of common puddlers came to greet the newbies in our group. I think May was quite excited to see species that she had not encountered before in Hong Kong. For the other newbies who were visiting Fraser's Hill for the first time in their lives, anything new was a +1 to their butterfly "collection". We called it a day just before 5pm and headed back to the hotel for a much needed rest and dinner.

The famous Fraser's Hill clock tower from a different perspective!

Parked safely by the roadside and all ready for some action!

The next day, low clouds blew past the hotel as we were having breakfast, but the sun came out and it was a nice warm day for butterflies. We headed to Jeriau Waterfalls again and explored the areas nearby. Quite a number of puddlers were around in the early morning warmth and everyone was busy doing their signature prone positions to shoot the butterflies at their eye-level. Our friends from Kuala Lumpur, LC Goh and KS Wong, drove up to join us for their weekend dose of butterflies.

The group encountered the Mapwings, several Sergeants, the usual Swallowtails and Whites and some persistent Crows on the puddling grounds. Interestingly, only a couple of skipper species were around this time and appeared towards the end of the day. The common Lycaenids were also out and the most obvious one was the Udara sp. It was always refreshing to shoot at Fraser's Hill because of the cool breeze that blows in once in a while - almost like shooting in aircon comfort!

The most photographed landmark on Fraser's Hill - the Clock Tower 

The day ended with dinner at the local 'kopi tiam' area and a night stroll to take in the sights. As it was a Saturday night, there were more local 'weekenders' from KL and Ipoh who were up on Frasers for a short weekend to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life. The town centre had more cars than usual and there was a lot more activity.

Low clouds coming in fast!

The next day was a really cloudy and it drizzled several times. The weather was not too cooperative, and the sun stayed hidden for most of the day. Butterfly activity was low and David and team, who went to Jeriau Waterfalls again, saw very few new butterflies. It was just as well, as some of us were stranded at the hotel. Note to self : Remember not to drop the keys when rummaging in the boot of the car and then closing the boot. :)

Dinner at Shahzan Inn to feed a hungry army

The day proved uneventful and we kept ourselves entertained on our mobile devices more than shooting butterflies. Dinner was at the hotel, and our ButterflyCircle veteran, Bob Cheong, would have had his third bowl of the by-now famous oxtail stew for dinner. Actually, the food at the hotel was not too bad, compared with the other places around.

When the clouds descended on our shooting ground.

On our final full day at Fraser's Hill, we decided to explore some old hunting grounds at the Telecom Loop. The clouds came really low in the early part of the morning, and we looked as though we were walking in some mysterious fog in an old English movie as we walked around, half-expecting Jack the Ripper to spring out from behind some bushes. Fortunately for us, the winds were in our favour and the clouds dissipated by mid-morning and the butterflies came out to play.

It was interesting to observe a pair of Sumatran Gems dogfighting and perch with their wings opened flat. However, they had this irritating habit of perching just out of reach of our cameras and we had to shoot them from afar. Uncle Bob was actively shooting at the 'flappers' stopping at the Lantana flowers. The rest of us walked up and down the road looking for new species to add to our tally.

After a quick lunch of buns, we moved off to another location along Telecom Loop and found several cooperative puddlers. It was the first time I sighted an Orange Staff Sergeant (Athyma cama gynea) puddling. Although it closely resembled the more common Colour Sergeant (Athyma nefte subrata), the markings on the Orange Staff Sergeant were distinct enough to separate the two. The usually skittish Green Commodore also came down to frustrate the photographers, whilst a more cooperative Plain Yeoman gave us more than enough chances to shoot its upperside and underside.

Siesta time for Bob!

It was past 4pm in the afternoon when we had our fill of shooting the puddlers and frequent up-and-down exercises of proning and chasing after the butterflies. The tiring activity was taking a toll on my old creaky bones and I could understand why Uncle Bob needed to take a short siesta from butterfly shooting towards the end of the day.

Cool night breeze and a night scene at the Fraser's Hill Golf green

I tried the oxtail stew for dinner this evening and I could understand why Uncle Bob likes this dish. This was our final night on Fraser's Hill and it was a nice relaxing trip and we especially enjoyed the cooler temperature on Malaysia's favourite hill station. Perhaps the wetter weather this year has delayed the butterfly activity a bit, but I am sure our newbies enjoyed their first-time experience on Fraser's Hill.

We started early next day with the intention of leaving the hotel earlier than our usual time to head to Gua Tempurung to check out our usual butterfly hangout. However, we were slightly delayed when a number of Awls (Hasora spp.) zipped around the hotel and puddled on the tiled floor. After getting our shots of the skittish skippers, we bade our farewell to Fraser's Hill.

Some butterflies at Gua Tempurung in Perak

The drive down was uneventful and we made good time, reaching our destination at Gua Tempurung just past 11am in the morning. We noticed that there were a few new structures since we visited last year, and quite a lot of the vegetation had been cleared. A school outing to the caves was in progress and we were surprised at the number of visitors on a weekday! We limited our shooting to a just small area near the car park, but was pleasantly surprised by a friendly Wizard, a very pristine Blue Leaf Blue, and the Burmese Caerulean which appeared to be a resident species at this location.

Good bye Fraser's Hill! Until next time...

All too soon, it was time to head to the airport to return our trusty rented cars and head home. Although the number of species and butterflies encountered cannot be compared to Chiangmai and Chiangdao in Thailand, it was nevertheless an enjoyable trip for the newbies, and in particular our guest from Hong Kong. So until next time, Fraser's Hill, keep on flourishing and remain green for many decades to come!

Text by Khew SK : Photos by David Chan, May Chan, Bob Cheong, Huang CJ, Khew SK, Loh MY and Simon Sng