Singapore Sensory Trail A nature experience for the visually impaired
Visitors take time to explore a mollusk. by Richard Frazier S
ITUATED OFF THE northeast coast of Singapore, the island of Pulau Ubin, or “granite island,” resembles many islands in the Malay Archipelago. It is covered
with village and forest gardens, plantations, rainforest vegetation, mangrove swamps and shores, and fish and prawn farms. It retains the rural and rustic charm of an older Singapore, and has long been recognized as an important center of biodiversity. Its terrain includes granite gravel, boulders and quarry walls, and it is home to species no longer found on the main island of Singapore. For a visitor to the island, seeing Oriental pied hornbills, red junglefowl, rare bats and wild pigs in the vicinity of one of the most densely populated cities in Southeast Asia is thrilling. On April 15, 2000, the U.S. Ambassador to Singapore officiated at the opening of a sensory nature trail for the visually impaired on Pulau Ubin. The fact that an American official participated in a ceremony devoted to a special place in the hearts and heritage of Singaporeans is indicative of the rich origin and evolution of the project. Five years earlier, members of the high school environ-
mental group SAVE (Students Against Violating the Environ- ment) at the Singapore American School had raised substantial funds for the Nature Society (Singapore), or NSS, through various club activities. The honorary secretary of NSS, Evelyn
Eng-Lim, accepted the donations with a provision disguised as a question: “Thank you very much for the money. Now, how will you spend it?” The students were not let off the hook through their donations; rather, they were recruited into taking action. Soon after, Eng-Lim contacted the club with an idea.
It was a period of intense urban planning to accommodate Singapore’s growing population, and Eng-Lim felt that preserving Pulau Ubin was an important step in efforts to save natural areas from development. Already many citizens enjoyed regular excursions to the island. Yet one segment of society did not have easy access to it: the disabled. Eng-Lim proposed creating a nature trail for the visually handicapped through a joint project of the Nature Society, SAVE, and the Singapore Association for the Visually Handicapped (SAVH). SAVH was contacted to assess the interest that exploration and interpretation of nature would hold for its members, and they received the proposal with enthusiasm. The “Sensory Trail” project to make nature accessible for the visually impaired was born.
Providing accessibility to nature
There were two emphases in the initial planning of the sen- sory trail, the first being the trail itself. NSS members helped design the trail and assisted in plant identification. Members of SAVE selected sites for interpretive stations along the
GREEN TEACHER 83 Page 39
Photographs: Richard Frazier
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