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NParks S’pore Plans To Turn S’pore Into A Green City In A Decade’s Time, Including a 120KM Trail

Victoria Lee

2019-04-09 , 8:00 am

Where do you see Singapore in a decade’s time?

New attractions?

Less Goody Feed articles?

New tourist sites?

Less Goody Feed videos?

New high-tech hawker centres?

Enough of that; how about a green city?

10-Year Action Plan

In January, the National Parks Board (NParks) introduced a 10-year action plan to strengthen local rainforests. It will also assist with regenerating secondary forests in nature parks.

Restoration will take place over the course of 10 years and will take place at nature parks buffering the two nature reserves, along with disturbed patches of land within the nature reserves.

Buffer Parks

According to the NParks website, buffer parks are parks like Hindhede Quarry Nature Park. They act as a buffer between urban development areas and nature reserves, to reduce the impact of visitors on the reserves. They are commonly located near nature reserves or at the edges of them, where much of Singapore’s remaining biodiversity resides at.

They help to ensure that sensitive areas within the reserves remain undisturbed or minimally disturbed so that animals and plants can survive and find refuge.

Over the years, there has been an increased amount of visitors to nature reserves.

While you may think that this sounds like it’s good, this actually results in problems such as erosion and trail widening. Habitat degradation will also result in disrupting the natural ecosystems in the reserve.

Hence, nature parks were created to avoid issues like these.

Upcoming nature attractions

The future in new attractions, tourist sites and high-tech hawker centres may be unknown, but one thing’s for sure: We’re about to get a lot greener.

If you love to take a walk to enjoy the greenery that Singapore has to offer or a new place to exercise at, note these places down.

Here are 3 out of the many upcoming trails for you to anticipate:

Coast-to-Coast (C2C) Trail

Launched on 30 March 2019, this 36km trail extends from Jurong Lake Gardens in the West to Coney Island Park in the northeast. The trail takes visitors on a scenic route across different parks and nature areas such as Bukit Batok Nature Park and Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park. There is a total of 10 checkpoints and will take visitors through a total of 18 parks and nature areas, as well as 11 park connectors.

The sporty folks at CNA took a walk and let’s just say it’s…not really for the faint-hearted:

Yes, do give yourself two days to complete the entire walk.

Visitors can choose to either use the online trail guide to explore on their own or use the C2C mobile application.

What makes the mobile app exciting? The C2C app is NParks’ first augmented-reality (AR) that puts a fun twist into a trail guide.

It makes the app more interactive where users can learn more about the biodiversity residing in different parks. Users can also find interesting sights and attractions along the trail, and participate in fun activities and programmes. This can all be done through the app.

There are also rewards to be redeemed. Users can find hidden fruit characters along the trail, check in at checkpoints, play in-app games or upload pictures onto their social media to earn “flowers”. “Flowers”, then, are used to redeem rewards.

Rifle Range Nature Park

This 67-hectare park is located at the Southern End of the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. This buffer park, in particular, helps to reduce visitor impact on the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. It provides a complementary forest habitat for biodiversity from the nature reserve.

If you’re lucky enough, you may even get to see some native species such as Sunda Pangolin (Manis javanica) and Horsfield’s Flying Squirrel (Lomys horsfieldii).

Crabs, fishes, frogs and even snakes can even be seen in the streams.

Round Island Route (RIR)

If you’re feeling adventurous and want to spend a day out in the sun, this trail is for you.

The RIR is a 150km continuous park connector which goes all around our small island. It complements the current park connector network, connecting existing natural, cultural, historical and recreational sites together.

Along the trail, you can skate, cycle, hike and jog. There’s something for everyone. This will enhance the ‘City in Garden” experience for residents.

The first phase of the trail is a 60km route which spans across Rower’s Bay and Gardens by the Bay. There will also be a new boardwalk at Rower’s Bay that brings visitors closer to the water, a wetland and a lookout pavilion.

Currently, only 50km of the route between Sengkang Riverside Park and Gardens by the Bay has been linked. 3km between Rower’s Bay and Seletar Aerospace Park has also been completed, which leaves to the remaining 7km. By 2020, the first phase of the trail will be completed. And by 2021, another 60km between Gardens by the Bay and Rower’s Bay will be connected.

Totalling to a whopping 120km worth of paths for visitors to visit.

If you’d like a full list of upcoming nature walks, you can refer to this.