Journey Through Sungei Buloh

It was the 22nd of May. Our class went to Sungei Buloh as an enrichment for our Biology and Geography. Sungei Buloh was by no means a foreign place to me, having been there twice in kindergarten and at least three times in primary school. This trip however, was a lot more enriching, probably due to the wonderful guides the school requested for. I had never noticed much during my previous trips except the birds and monitor lizards.

We arrived at the carpark outside the nature reserve and waited for our guides. Unfortunately, due to some miscommunication, one hour of our precious time there was wasted as the guides were waiting for us in the gallery while we stood in the carpark.

The guide was highly observant and pointed out many things to us. For example, what appeared to be a wilted flower to us, he explained it to be the flower of the sea poison plant. The fruit of this plant was crushed and released into the water, causing the fish to be poisoned and paralysed temporarily, the fishermen would then easily pick the fish from the surface of the water. These toxins would disintegrate upon cooking, thus making it the fishermen's choice method of fishing in the past.

We were also introduced to the mangroves and its ecosystem. Life in the mangroves was not easy for us to spot. We had mistaken much of the living organisms for other non living beings. We saw crabs with a large claw, causing us to mistake them for snails and lobster mounds but could not find any lobsters.