Siva the Eco-warrior

On National Day on 9 Aug, Singapore’s very own eco-warrior, Siva, was featured on Today for his tireless work in the mangroves, its conservation and clean up.

Siva is a lecturer, coordinator of the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore (ICCS) and the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research Toddycats!, creator of this blog and supervisor of a posse of research students [yours truly included].

For the report, journalist Tan Weizhen caught up with Siva during a coastal clean up of Pandan mangroves and noted that a clean up in Lim Chu Kang mangroves was carried out [on 6 Aug] to celebrate national day. That day, volunteers removed more than 1,187 kg of trash that could choke, pollute or harm the coastal ecosystems. [link]

Click on the picture below to read the full article.

Horseshoe crabs and other organisms often get trapped in abandoned gill nets. Therefore, other than having a thing about maps and first aid kits, Siva packs a pair of scissors when he heads out to the mangroves to free any unfortunate creatures he comes accross that get trapped in abandoned gill nets.

Here is a video of him in action together with alumni, Theresa Su, and Toddycat, Teo Kah Ming.

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The Mangrove Crab Crew clear a gill net, rescue horseshoe crabs @ Mandai Besar

It’s been a long time since we took a long hard look at the crabs scuttling in the mangroves. There have been name changes, new species and other updates to the taxonomy and habitat changes as well. So three 3rd year students, Lee Bee Yan, Jessica Ker and Wong Ze Lin are taking up the challenge with crab taxonomist Ng Ngan Kee and myself. Their explorations of Mandai mangroves have only just begun.

A month ago, I had left behind a section of the gill net in Mandai Besar mangrove, too exhausted to remove the entire section of what was 200 metres of gill net, long abandoned. The net was bundled around a pole and the mangrove crab crew were asked if they would take look while I stayed back in campus, setting up a lab for the next day.

To my delight, after their research component of their field trip today was over, the very tired trio recovered the net after first rescuing and releasing four horseshoe crabs. Exhausted, they forced themselves to trudge all the way to a nearby dumpster to dispose of the net – well done and welcome to an honourable tradition!

Introducing The Mangrove Crab Crew: Lee Bee Yan, Wong Ze Lin & Jessica Ker
Photos by fellow-undergrad Irenaeus Paul Chia

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Celebrate National Day with a Lim Chu Kang mangrove cleanup on 7th August!

It’s time for the annual National Day cleanup at the orphan-ed but precious mangrove ecosystem at Lim Chu Kang. We record no data except for weight at this event and it is hard work.

We’ll provide transport (from NUS) and trash bags. Please sign up here: http://tinyurl.com/lck-07aug2010reg. For more details, see: the Raffles Museum Toddycats blog.

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