Brief intro of activities and Meaning of trail to Us (Relfection)

Our group took part in a total of 5 stations which comprises of different activities. The stations are 'The fishing Jetty', 'The Rain Garden', 'Litter Trap', 'Heritage Deck- Viewing Gallery'and lastly 'Heritage Deck -Heritage Panels'.

Our Members completing the activity on describing LSR
while waiting for other groups to finish at the 'Fishing Jetty' station.

Station 1 (The Fishing Jetty):

We had to wait for about 10minutes for the previous teams
to finish their station at the Fishing Jetty.

 Our first station was the Fishing Jetty, where we tested the quality of the water in Lower Seletar Reservoir. There were 6 categories to test: Debris and Smell, Colour, Turbidity, Temperature, Dissolved Oxygen and pH level.

From left side: A test tube which contains water from the reservoir. Beside it is the packet of white colour pills which is used to put inside the test tube to show different observations
From right side: It is a bottle which is used to collect the water from the reservoir.
From Below: A chart which indicate readings from the observations in the test tube after putting in the pills. 

Debris and Smell

●     On its own, water does not have a smell

●     The smell of the water will give a rough estimate of pollution sources eg. if you smell mud, it indicates silt is present

●     The water sample collected was odourless and had no debris on the water surface

Analysis: Relatively clean

Colour

●     Colour of the water can give an indication of what is inside the water eg. dissolved pollutants or bacteria

●     Water collected was slightly green

Analysis: There was algae suspended in the water collected

Temperature

●     Temperature of the water varies with the weather and time of sampling

●     Temperature is higher near the surface of the water and lowest at the bottom of the water body

●     Temperature of the water is 32 degrees Celsius

Analysis: The temperature was acceptable. Even though the water temperature seemed a little high, it was a little inaccurate as the water was collected in the afternoon, the hottest time of the day. 

The chart which was used to indicate different readings (which are:Dissolved Oxygen, pH level and turbidity of the water) which was observed in the water collected  at LSR and what the reading meant.

Turbidity

●     Turbidity refers to level of “murkiness” of the water ie. how clear the water is

●     Turbidity determines the amount of light which can penetrate the water surface and reach the different depths of the reservoir

●     Too little light will cause death of aquatic life

●     Turbidity of the water was 4 JTU ( Jackson Turbidity Unit)

Analysis: Partially turbid

Dissolved oxygen

●     Dissolved oxygen refers to the amount of oxygen dissolved in a given volume of water.

●     Too low of a dissolved oxygen reading is fatal to aquatic life

●     The reading was 4 ppm ( parts per million )

Analysis: Dissolved oxygen level is acceptable

pH level

●     The water cannot be too acidic or alkali as this will harm aquatic life

●     Reading collected is 7-8

Analysis: The pH level is neutral. It is acceptable

Conclusion

●     The overall quality of the water is clean

●     It is not safe to drink the water from the reservoir as there is presence of bacteria and impurities

●     The reason for such a water quality is because most of the water from the reservoir comes from drains and canals, which are not filtered

REFLECTION:

Our members completing their relfections of the 'Fishing Jetty'
station after the station master have finished briefing us.

Through this activity of water testing, we learnt that there are different factors which determines how clean the water is. The factors are namely debris and smell, colour, turbidity, temperature, dissolved oxygen and pH. 

After conducting the water test, we found out that the water at Lower Seletar Reservoir is relatively clean. However, we cannot drink the water directly as it contains many impurities which need to go through the water treatment plant  before consumption.

Station 2 ( The Rain Garden):

What is it?

• ●     It is a bio-retention basin which collects, retains and treats rainwater runoff that flows from the park
• ●     This filtered rainwater is further treated and reused in the water play area and wading stream
• ●     There are a total of 10 species of plants in the Rain Garden

Advantages of such a system:

●     Encourages the creation of habitats and encourages biodiversity between plants and animals, as evidence from the variety of fauna located there eg. spiders

●     Prevents algae bloom:

   - Plants act as a filter to sift out the algae

  - Absorbs excess nutrients like nitrates and phosphorus that causes algae bloom                                                                                   

●     Which thus ensures survival of marine life with clean water provided for them

How does the Rain Garden work?

Reflection activity:

Being a small country with no natural resources, Singapore needs to come up with ways to sustain its population, eg. water supply for all. 

Through this activity, we learnt that Singapore collects water from the rain garden.The bio-retention swales serve to treat rainwater and acts as a filter to remove dirt and chemicals, so as to obtain pure water. 

This pure water is then channeled into the reservoir, a water catchment area. The water in the reservoir will ultimately be further purified in treat

Station 3 ( Litter Trap ):

What is it?

The way in which water
 is traveled to the Litter Trap 

The system at the Litter Trap which
 traps litter before the water goes in to LSR

●     As the name says so, it is a device that traps litter coming in from the canals that lead into the reservoir. 

It is strategically located at the mouth of the canal as it is able to trap the most rubbish, preventing the rubbish to drift away further into the reservoir.

●     We learnt how many recreational activities (kayaking, jogging etc.), which though seem harmless, actually have a very damaging effect on the environment

●     A specific example would be jogging. When joggers drink bottled water to refresh themselves, they will throw the bottles into the river, thus polluting the reservoir

Reflection:

A turtle spotted at the Litter Trap

Singapore has come up with many ways to keep Singapore clean eg. the litter trap but the decision ultimately lies in the people themselves. There is a limit to how technology can help us and the people have to be proactive in the journey to make Singapore a clean and green city. 

Through this activity, we have learnt ways of reducing the amount of rubbish created, for example by picking up the plastic wrappers used to store food after picnicking.

Station 4 ( Heritage Deck - Viewing Gallery ):

Left Picture: The heritage deck seen from afar.
Right Picture: A part of the structure at the Heritage Deck from up close.



What is it?

●     The viewing gallery’s structure was built to resemble a fishing net. It was built in this way to preserve the old heritage so that we can appreciate it.

●     To better appreciate the beautiful environment around us, facilitators carried out an activity whereby the students had to write a postcard for a friend overseas on the beauty of Lower Seletar Reservoir

Reflection:

We find that the structure of the viewing gallery is really unique and memorable. 

The architect actually designed the structure of the viewing gallery as a fishing net so as to remind us of the daily activities of the people back in the past. Thus, the history of Singapore would not fade away with the younger generations.

Station 5 ( Heritage Deck - Heritage Panels):

There are two panels at LSR on the platform towards the
viewing gallery. 

●     Heritage panel is a board of knowledge detailing the history of the Lower Seletar Reservoir and its similarities and differences, from then to now.

●     Lower Seletar Reservoir used to be named “Selita”, which means Straits in Malay

●     People of that time traded for tobacco and kerosene and grew crops such as gambier and pepper

Reflection:

Our group was really impressed by the information that was put up on the heritage panel as the information are really detailed and we actually learnt a lot about the history of the lower seletar reservoir. 

For example, Lower Seletar Reservoir was used to be known as ’’Selita”, which means straits in Malay. Also, we found out that Lower Seletar Reservoir was built in 1920 as the third reservoir following MacRitchie and Peirce Reservoir in order to support Singapore’s increasing population and industrialization at that time.