My research question was to understand and become acquainted with Singaporean history and culture in order to build my identity as a Singaporean. Over the course of 2 years, I have become well-versed with the parks and nature reserves in Singapore, as well as the steady and sound efforts the government has taken in order to make preservation of our natural ecosystems a reality and a place for residents to relax.  The Bukit Timah Nature Reserve is home to the largest primary forest in Singapore, and has the largest range of biodiversity. It used to be one of the first eight forest reserves in the late 1800s. This means the flora and fauna that was present in the 1800s is still allowed to flourish today. BTNR contains at least 40% of the country’s native flora and land fauna even though it occupies only 0.2% of the total country area. We saw many monkeys in their natural habitat because of the conservation of this area. It was fascinating to me that the Singaporean legislation is placed in such a way to allow for the conservation of nature in such a stringent way. The Bukit Timah Nature Reserve is protected under the Parks and Trees Act, and was officially declared an ASEAN Heritage Park in 2011. In a world where climate change and biodiversity loss is not only the reality, but the terrifying potential for ecosystems collapsing, seeing the Singaporean government place importance on nature builds hope for the possibility of conservation, and the simultaneous existence of urbanization and nature. I saw this yet again at Gardens by the Bay, where I saw that despite being surrounded by urban structures, the whole park honours the natural flora and fauna around by showcasing and preserving it. I tried to also become an active member in preserving the beautiful nature that we have in Singapore by participating at a beach clean up in Singapore. We went down to East Coast Park in the morning, and started picking up whatever trash we found. We organised and recorded it so that we understood the trends and what type of trash was being most thrown away and littered. I found that plastic bottles, not just water bottles, but drink bottles, shampoo, any liquid container, were the most common. Cans, and styrofoam were not as likely to be found. Whilst we were cleaning up, we met another old uncle who said he comes here to clean up every week. This made me realise that I do not need to plan a whole day of work to come and clean a beach. I can do it whenever I want to. Sometimes, we get too caught up in the logistics that we fail to see the practical ways in which we can make a difference! We collected 32kg of trash in one morning, which made me realise just how much lack of awareness there is surrounding littering, and throwing away materials that can harm the environment.

I also understood more about Singaporean culture by going to Fort Siloso, where I became acquainted with the WW2 history of Singapore. I learned how the British colonised Singapore, but the Singaporeans did not necessarily mind. There are a lack of any violence or horrific acts committed during this act of colonisation, although I am skeptical to believe this was the real situation. However, what appalled me was the sheer amount of conflict going on in the world during World War 2. The time during WW2 had various conflicts going on simultaneously, in Europe, Asia and in North America. I related this back to my documentaries of WW2 I have been watching this holiday with my family to once again, deepen my understanding of the historic events that shaped the present day.

I truly feel I have deepened my understanding of the ways in which Singapore preserves its nature, and how this intersects with other areas, such as culture and history, in order to create a thriving, enriched society.