URA's Park and Waterbodies Plan

During a visit to URA, Pulau Ubin was spotted on the giantic map display of URA's Park and Waterbodies Plan & Identity Plan.



The Park and Waterbodies Plan is part of the Master Plan 2003.

URA Master Plan 2003 website states that "For the first time, two new island-wide plans were introduced to guide the planning of greenery and identity for the Master Plan 2003 - the Parks and Waterbodies Plan and the Identity Plan. The two plans presented ideas on how to enhance greenery and identity as to improve the living environment. They were drawn up arising from earlier public feedback from the Concept Plan 2001 that the public valued identity and greenery."

According to the URA website on the planning strategies of Master Plan 2003:

Pulau Ubin

Soak in the laid-back rustic feel of Pulau Ubin as a large part of the island has been safeguarded as a nature area.

Gain insights into the unique local natural habitat at No.1 Pulau Ubin. An English-style cottage built in the 1930s located at the south-eastern tip of the island, it will be restored and converted into a visitor centre. It will also serve as a base from which nature trails and tours can be conducted.

Pulau Ubin was spotted on the model map of Singapore at URA

It seems like there are plans to keep "a large part of" Ubin as it is, for now. Hopefully it would not be taken for granted that a standstill would suddenly occur on the island. It still remains to be seen how much of changes might occur on the island.

Even so, URA's recognition and attempt at preserving Ubin is absolutely commendable. We can only hope that this could continue for a long time to come.

Links:

URA's Master Plan 2003

URA's Park and Waterbodies Plan

URA's Master Plan 2003 Northeast Region planning strategies

Conservation plans for No. 1 Pulau Ubin English Cottage

A visit at the Coconut Stall

You may recall this photo I posted previously of a feast of Ubin coconuts in a mangrove setting.

This was taken at the coconut stall beside Jelutong Bridge and Jelutong River. It is a drink stall that Pedal Ubin guide likes to take a break after a long morning's ride. I have always visited there every time I visited Ubin but never spoke with the lady owner of the stall.

Last Saturday, I decided to be brave and chat the auntie up! Turns out that Mrs Zhu only runs the stall on weekends and on weekdays, she maintain her own vegetable garden at her home just a stone throw from the stall. She also grows some durian and rambutan which she sells for extra income. She lives alone on Ubin and her grandchildren all lives on mainland singapore and visits her on weekends.

I never knew that there were even residential houses near this stretch of road and she explained that there are no proper roads that leads to her home - only a dirt track. She has been running the coconut stall for over 10 years and her skills at cutting the coconut is amazing. I recorded a video of it. I will post it up once I converted it to a more manageable size.



When speaking of the prawn ponds that my family used to run on the other side of the island, Mrs Zhu excitedly told me that the prawn pond that used to be on this stretch of the Jelutong River used to be ran by her family. So if you notice the sluice gates at the Jelutong Bridge - that's remnants of Mrs Zhu's family prawn pond.

Do drop by Mrs Zhu's drink stall when you're in the vicinity. She and her 3 friendly dogs will serve up some delicious coconuts!

A survey about Pulau Ubin and You!

I am currently conducting a survey about Pulau Ubin's History, Heritage and You.

This survey is conducted for a project on Ubin's colonial history, its preservation and management assessment. The objectives of the project is to find solutions to increase awareness of the public on the stories and history of Ubin. This project is an assignment I am doing for my Cultural Resource Management class at NUS.

http://www.createsurvey.com/c/20727-5womPy/

I hope very much for a diversity in my respondents so please spread the word and tell your friends and family about the survey.

Thank you!

Ubin Stories Gallery Updated

The photos from my group ride today at Ubin are now uploaded. I have also created an index page for all the previous galleries for easy reference and perusal.

Links:

Pulau Ubin Stories Photo Gallery - Content Page

Pedal Ubin with Olympus Technologies on 9 Oct 2004 - Photo Gallery

Ubin ride on Saturday 9 Oct 04

I will be leading a group of about 10-15 people, along with the "Mother Hen" of the Pedal Ubin Guides (aka Kampong Ayams), on a ride around Pulau Ubin on Saturday 9 Oct 2004. We will be heading to the north towards Mamam beach and then to the west, ending the day with our not-to-be-missed stop at the coconut drink stall by Jelutong River. It has already become a habit of our guides to end off our mornings at Ubin with a delicious local coconut, fresh off the coconut tree on Ubin!

Although the ride tomorrow is closed for public participation but if you are interested, feel free to sign up for the next Pedal Ubin ride at our website.

The next Pedal Ubin ride will be on 24 October 2004 Sunday at 8.30am. If the ride is full already, worry not because Pedal Ubin is offered to the public every 2 month. Everything is, of course, free of charge, as it is offered by our wonderful toddycats - the volunteers from the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research.


"feasting on locally produced coconuts in a mangrove setting!"

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Links:

Read more about Pedal Ubin and its activities

CNA Report of Pedal Ubin "New nature-cum-heritage guided bicycle trail to discover Ubin" by Bridgette See

Ubin Stories Photo Gallery Update

A new Ubin Stories Photo Gallery has been uploaded. A series of photo taken from the same day as the previous gallery but by a different photographer (i.e. my sister).

The above picture is taken at Noordin Beach of a Malay Fisherman at work. Unsure if he is a resident of the island - probable that he is not a resident. There were 2 pair of them at work, each pair consisting of a man in the water fishing and a woman (probably their wives?) on the beach watching, probably waiting to help with the catch.

Update (12 Oct 2004): According to the photographer, she believes that this is not a fisherman but just a man who is fishing for his family while having picnic on Ubin. The women on the shore has plastic bags waiting for the catch by the men in the water. The photographer believes that they are not expecting big catches and probably do this often.

Gallery Link:
2nd Ubin Stories Gallery - Ubin by Erkie 05 September 2004
1st Ubin Stories Gallery - Ubin Explorer on 05 September 2004