Job: NParks is recruiting a Senior Conservation Officer

NParks is recruiting a senior conservation officer for the Central Nature Reserves.

Job scope

• Responsible for developing and implementing nature conservation and park management strategies
• Planning, conducting and overseeing of conservation, field research and park development and maintenance programmes.

Requirements

• Degree in Botany, Zoology, Ecology, Environment Management or related field
• Minimum 3 years’ working experience in areas such as, supervision, customer service, teaching or related field
• Good writing and interpersonal / communication skills
• An organized, creative and resourceful team player who is able to work independently
• Keen interest in nature and a strong belief in nature conservation
• Possession of Class III Driving License will be an advantage

Application ends Monday, 5 September 2011.

Apply here.

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Biodiversity Crew @ International Coastal Cleanup Singapore 2011 – registration for Pandan mangrove

International Coastal Cleanup Singapore @ Pandan Mangroves
Saturday, 17th September 2011: 7.00am – 11.00am
Register at: http://tinyurl.com/iccs-pandan2011 

Pandan mangrove is a remnant strip mangrove in the south-west of Singapore.  Trash builds up in this patch of state land because it is not part of a park so is not cleaned regularly.

Thus Raffles Museum Toddycats, NUS Biodiversity Crew and Wildlife Reserve Singapore are conducting a cleanup here for the fourth year as part of the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore.  This year we are joined by volunteers from EARTHlink NTU and FMC Technologies.

Toddycats and the Biod Crew are allocated sector B this year; see the map below:

Click for details

This cleanup is not for the faint-hearted but Raffles Museum Toddycats & the NUS Biodiversity Crew are definitely up for the task – the deeper parts of the inlet are tough and full of soft mud, with mosquitoes and some snakes!

The area has no shelters or toilets and we will work rain or shine. In order to restrict numbers to reduce impact, there are only 30 places for us.

Itinerary:

• 0710 – bus pick up at NUS Science Drive 1
• 0720 – bus pick-up from the bus-stop opposite Dover MRT in the direction of Clementi (map)
• 0800 – reach Pandan mangroves bus stop; distribute into sub-groups, apply insect repellent, collect gloves, data cards and trash bags.
• 0810 – Safety Briefing, identification of the Trash Weighing Point (TWP), wet weather plan (carry on unless lightning threat)
• 0820 – Cleanup begins.
• 0845 – Loading teams start moving trash to the TWP
• 1000 – clean-up ends, data collation beings, weighing completed while participants evaluate the situation at Pandan.
• 1015 – participants clean themselves up – note no washing point, so bring a bottle of tap water and a change of footwear.
• 1045 – Pack dirty gloves to bring back wash, dry and return.
• 1100 – Bus returns to Clementi and then NUS.

What we will provide:

1. Transport to site.
2. Gloves.
3. Trash bags.
4. Weighing scales.

What you should bring:

1. Booties or covered shoes with hard soles.
2. Water bottle (at least one litre of water).
3. A snack to munch on after the cleanup, especially if you didn’t have time for breakfast!
4. Hat.
5. Insect repellent
6. Raincoat/ponco (we’ll carry on working in the rain)
7. Towel in a bag – to wipe off any sand and mud off you.
8. A light pair of long pants will help protect your legs from insect bites if you tend to get bitten, as well as from the debris. If you are vulnerable to bites, wear long sleeves as well!
9. A suggestion – dry fit clothes are suitable. If you prefer cotton, a change of t-shirt will come in handy after a sweaty workout.

Transport:
Registered participants can meet us at either

1. the NUS bus stop outside Science Drive 1 (7.10am; meet Ou Yang Xiuling) or
2. Dover MRT Station bus stop on side of Singapore Polytechnic (heading west) (7.20am; meet Meryl Teng).

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.

05 Aug 2011 – Snake and Bat Talks

Two visiting Phd students who are here in NUS will be giving a talk on their respective research topics as part of the 2011 East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes Programme (EAPSI).

Alexis Figueroa, from University of New Orleans, was hosted by the Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Lab. Together with department alumni, Anne Devan, he conducted numerous survey of our forests in search of elusive tree-dwelling reptiles. He will be speaking about Convergency, Ecomorphology and Community Structure in Arboral Snakes.

Susan Tsang, from City University of New York, was hosted by the Evolutionary Biology Lab. Other than collecting bat stool for analyses, she became acquainted with the lab’s collection of cow and waterfowl dung as well. Susan’s advisor is Dr Dave Lohman, who did his postdoc stint in NUS. Her presentation will be about Phylogeography of two widespread Pteropus species (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae).

Date: Friday, 5 Aug 2011
Venue: National University of Singapore University Hall, L501 Meeting Room
Time: 9am (Alexis), 10am (Susan)

(Left to Right): Alexis, red-tailed racer (Gonyosoma oxycephalum), Susan.