My Nature Experiences

A teen's perspective of nature, wildlife and more!

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April 3, 2020April 3, 2020

Dear COVID-19

March 1, 2020March 1, 2020

What the COVID-19 outbreak reveals about human-nature disconnect

January 26, 2020January 28, 2020

Sri Lanka: Where Nature meets Sacredness

October 12, 2019November 24, 2019

A message to fellow nature bloggers

March 13, 2019March 13, 2019

Featured Artist Q&A: Lavanya Prakash

January 15, 2019January 15, 2019

Bukit Timah: The Highest Hill in Singapore

July 11, 2018July 13, 2018

Banagudi Trail- Kotagiri

Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary (Part 2)

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Recent Posts

Dear COVID-19
What the COVID-19 outbreak reveals about human-nature disconnect
Sri Lanka: Where Nature meets Sacredness
A message to fellow nature bloggers
Featured Artist Q&A: Lavanya Prakash
Bukit Timah: The Highest Hill in Singapore
Banagudi Trail- Kotagiri
Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary (Part 2)
Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary (Part 1)
A visit to Hong Kong Wetland Park
50 Shades of Spiders by Dr Linda S. Rayor
Otters at Gardens by the Bay
Help to GoFund new Jaguar-Related Research
Springleaf Nature Park
Oriental Pied Hornbills in my garden!

My TedxYouth Talk at NPSI

My TEDxYouthSG talk

On OKTO TV ‘We are Awesome’

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like this ray of sunshine through a frangipani ⛅🌸 - there is light and hope in these dark times. hope this poem I wrote resonates with you in some way! ⠀ ⠀ ••••••••••⠀ ⠀ Dear COVID-19,⠀⠀ You're an invisible wildfire,⠀⠀ Spreading at lightning speed⠀⠀ Burning people's lungs, hearts and minds⠀⠀ Engulfing the weak and vulnerable in your flames first -⠀ While exposing the scarred flaws of the world ⠀⠀ Scientists predicted you were coming, but nobody listened⠀⠀ You were ignited in a wildlife market, ready to destruct ⠀⠀ Fuelled up to send a wake-up call of how badly nature needs respect⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ You are spreading around the globe ⠀⠀ Tsunami wave after tsunami wave⠀⠀ Our frontline firefighters are trying to heal the wounded, many without a water hose⠀⠀ Therefore left to make the hard choice between their life or their jobs⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ You're slowly burning the soil that underpins humanity - the fundamental need of social connection⠀⠀ While many have the luxury of a roof to keep safe⠀⠀ Many are out there, risking being engulfed your flames⠀⠀ But the trees of emotional connect still stand strong,⠀⠀ As we cling on, embrace and lean on loved ones closest to us to help us brace the storm⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ You've left no corner untouched⠀⠀ Spreading fear as you move through your path⠀⠀ Deepening the scars of racism, hatred, inequality, poverty and food insecurity while⠀⠀ Wounding many with lonliness, anxiety and stress⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ But you've also spread love, kindess and compassion⠀⠀ Bringing families, neighbours and long-lost friends closer together⠀⠀ You've also given us a paramount opportunity⠀ To build a more caring world⠀⠀ To build a more just world⠀⠀ To build a low-carbon future⠀⠀ You've also given us a bitter taste of how other crises like the climate emergency could feel like.⠀ ⠀⠀ Dear COVID-19,⠀⠀ I hope we've heard the message from your flames loud and clear⠀⠀ So praying that we can put you out soon⠀⠀ To give us time to heal, recover and regrow⠀⠀ In a way that doesn't involve destroying the planet in the name of healing the economy⠀ You've been a bittersweet force of nature ⠀ It's up to us to decide whether to use you as a transformation⠀ Or simply wait till something like you appears again.⠀ ⠀

Happy World Wildlife Day! 🐒🕊🐸🦅🐝🦋🐋🐟This year's theme is "Sustaining all life on Earth", an urgent call to raise awareness about the "plight of nature, the plight of wildlife, and what this means for human wellbeing and the planet”. Why not take a moment today to thank the wildlife species we depend on in so many ways! A species as small as a bee to as big as an elephant all play important roles in allowing us humans to have fresh air, food, water, a stable climate and even spiritual and mental wellness. ⠀ ⠀ I choose to post a picture of a habitat first instead of a wildlife species to highlight that we, especially policymakers, need to view wildlife as a whole - as a part of a functioning ecosystem. Often, we remove critical wildlife habitats, cut down the trees and just conserve species we like or find useful. Even worse, we might import wildlife species from other parts of the world to replace those lost. This isn't wildlife conservation, this is the replacement of ecology with an engineered system, leading to a perfect storm. The whole beauty of wildlife, the natural environment and even us, humans, is that we are all inextricably linked. Remove one part and it leads to a gradual but disruptive disbalance of the whole.⠀ ⠀ #WorldWildlifeDay #WWD2020 #SustainingAllLife #Biodiversity2020 #SustainableUse⠀

Here's a short thoughtpiece I wrote. TL;DR please don't blame or be afraid of bats or other wild animals in Singapore, a little introspection on the epidemic reveals we are the true source of the COVID-19 virus.⠀ ⠀⠀ While we battle a global outbreak, the deep seated human-nature divide is fuelling fear of wild animals - in the absence of scientific evidence. The true source of the zoonotic virus is us, not the animals. We exacerbate the spread of virus from wildlife to humans by urbanisation and indiscriminate wildlife consumption. Once we accept this, we can work to prevent an epidemic of such nature to happen again.⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ Major gratitude to the frontline healthcare workers and staff in China, Singapore and worldwide battling this health crisis, we owe an unspeakable amount to your selflessness and hardwork. Also, a big thank you to the SG government, for handling the outbreak to the best of their ability, such that we have got global recognition. Praying that the infected have a speedy recovery, and hoping that that the world gets through this together quickly. During these uncertain times, let's spread love and kindness to fellow humans and other species 🙏🌍⠀ Photo Credit: Unsplash⠀

A cute lil Magpie Robin 💞

This was my first time witnessing Oriental Pied Hornbills nesting, and the male feeding the female berries & insects. It's amazing that the female is sealed in the nest for around 90 days (to protect her young from prey). During this period, the female, followed by the chicks when they hatch, are completely dependent on the male for food! #nparksbuzz @nparksbuzz

Pulicat in danger (Pt 2) Please read till the end!!⠀ ⠀ 👱‍♂️🕊 The first image aptly represents what our boatman told us during our ride - that the fishermen at Pulicat often closely follow the path of winged creatures to locate fish to catch. This connection between bird and human is beautiful to witness. Although I saw the lake in its full glory, I only found out later through my research that despite being a bird haven, attracting flamingoes all the way from Australia, Pulicat faces serious threats, from rampant pollution to indiscriminate reclamation along its fringes.⠀ ⠀ 🏠 Adani Group's port expansion project set to turn these wetlands into industrial real estate. 1145 hectares of land and seawater might be converted to industrial real estate, possibly erasing close to 50 villages. This will have a systemic, dangerous impact on fishing villages and the slow erosion of valuable ecosystem services to inland areas.⠀ ⠀ 🌿 Apart from the threat of destroying the fishermen's fishing grounds, the port's expansion could pose a big environmental hazard, eroding the sandy islands which separate Pulicat with Bay of Bengal.⠀ ⠀ 🌊 And if the lake merges with the Bay of Bengal, the sea would swallow the entire area, shifting the region from a wetland ecosystem to a marine ecosystem. ⠀ ⠀ ⛈ With the wetlands and islands gone, there will be no buffer for when cyclones and heavy rains hit Tamil Nadu, paving the way for a natural disaster such as flooding in Chennai and other states.⠀ ⠀ 🐟 The last image (Credit: News Minute) is of fisherwomen during the Pulicat Seafood Festival in January this year. They cook and sell local delicacies to try to raise awareness about how their way of life as they have known it for years is inevitably tied to the existence of the Pulicat ecosystem. Many online have commented on this festival about the ethics of fishing. In my opinion, subsistence fishing communities know the importance of sustainable fishing and bird conservation innately more than any conservationist or sustainability professional. While we sit in developed countries/cities with ample source of plant-based options, others don't have such privelige.

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