Socials, meet ups, talks, and the outdoors. What a fulfilling week… that has now cumulated in quite a number of tasks on my plate.

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A couple of days ago, I attended a talk by CSR Asia on the findings of their recent survey on business and stakeholder perceptions of CSR, based on studies done in Singapore and Hong Kong. A few surprising results there, but generally most of the trends can be explained with some analysis. The people who attended where mostly corporate executives, and I had also pulled my dad along. In conversations after the talk, most had expressed the needlessness and lack of practical applicability of such survey results - it is all good and dandy to know, but how are businesses to put the knowledge into action? Thus the frustration expressed at the inability of academia (most of the researchers were academics) to contribute in practical terms to the corporate world. Academics love comparing sets of stats, and discovering where they significantly differ, but "so what?"

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As a result of one of the chains of coincidences as mentioned in the one of the previous posts, I had gone down to meet up with Ivy Singh-Lim, owner of Bollywood Veggies and president of the Kranji Countryside Association. Some urgent action is needed to tackle the issue of granite stockpiling on the agricultural land in Kranji, with potential environmental effects and impacts on the surrounding farmlands - she is running a petition (have you signed?) to the government, and I am to play a major supporting role, one that I am struggling to deliver but I will try as best as I can.

The land has already been bulldozed…

Dropped by Sungei Buloh whilst I was at that side of the island. Ahh, the feeling of being back where my adventures all began. After milling about the office a bit, helping a little and chatting up with the staff, I headed out for a while and was greeted by Storky.

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Was down at Buloh again this morning for the launch of the new interactive wireless feature for the boardwalk, and the wireless network coverage at the reserve. Bumped into Siva there, who was happily surfing on his Mac and has already posted on Habitatnews.

Launch of the new wireless learning trail

Learning on the move with the Ultra Mobile PC units

The migratory waders - some early arrivals (Common Sandpiper aka Ricky Martin)

A handsome mantis, posing as if he were in my studio

And a first for me (us?) in Buloh - a mantis shrimp in the mangroves!

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My relatives from Hong Kong are now in town, so I’ll be expecting to play the host these few days.

Playing Warcraft till 5.30am in the morning, while knowing that the following day I had to look after a few dozen screaming children, was rather unwise. It was the Beavers’ and Cubs’ activity day up at Gilwell Park/UK Scout HQ, where they’d have a go at archery, rolling rock climbing, grass sledging and crate stacking. And we adult leaders had to go along to make sure that everything went ok. I hadn’t fully woken up when I was thrust onto the coach, my ears pounded by noncessant chatter and my energy spent trying to sort out the woes of some kid complaining that so-and-so was kicking him or so-and-so was saying rude words.

Not that I dislike being with the children. It’s just quite new to me… this… role that I’m supposed to fill. I’ve lots to learn - how to handle cases of bullying, how to settle disputes, how to tend to injuries and the little accidents, how to keep them entertained, how to be fair, how to keep them safe, but happy, how to build positive relationships with all of them, and understand their friendship systems and such. If I were a robin, my feathers would have puffed when one of the girls invited me to put my hand in the centre of their circle as they pulled off a friendship ring cheer thingy. Or, when I was teaching another cub how to tie a friendship knot (the knot that all adults used while at Gilwell, in place of a woggle) with her neckerchief, she told the others that I was a ‘real scout teacher’. There might have been moments when I just had to tolerate the intolerable, moments when I had to take charge and instill some discipline, and other moments like these which makes it all worth it.

I take my hat off to all teachers (and you too, ZF) for being such noble spirits. How you manage them all, day after day, year after year, I do not know.

I went to the Natural History Museum today after handing in my project proposal, and finally had my pass renewed. Talked with Sup. Mick about the collections database stuff - old news, old problems - and the new developments that would be coming up in summer. The thing with these old indexing systems and the thousands of specimen data entries is that they’re so old (catalogues since the 1800’s) and they’re so many of them in so many different places that compiling it all is such a colossal task that will almost never be completed. It’s still the same confuddling system that greeted me when I first started out. We’re aspiring to complete a database for the Hemiptera, but starting out painfully with Microsoft Access before it gets fed into another database and goes live online, the process of which would hopefully start this summer. Have a look at the good work they’ve done for the Phasmida and the Orthoptera.

Aside from hearing tales and myths revolving around the peanut-headed planthopper (Fulgora laternaria), I was also introduced to what might potentially be a new field in science and systematics. Instead of mimicking other people and going “cyber -what?”… I asked Mick “A -what taxonomist?” when he mentioned that the department now has a cybertaxonomist - who talks about Taxonomic Content Management Systems in his blog (a term I once Googled for in an attempt to find online software and CMS systems to help with the various volunteer projects that I was supposedly tasked with, both here and in Singapore!), among other interesting lowdowns. Exciting stuff. They have positions for everything nowadays. I wonder if, in the near future, organisations would start looking to hire professional cyberecologists or cyberenvironmentalists?

Went into NHM on Wednesday, and brought some of my B+E people to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. I’ve lost count as to how many times I’ve been to that. Went up to Entom., met up with Mick, and played translator to his visiting Chinese coleoptera researchers. Tried to get my pass renewed but Security ran out of the ID labels…

Helped Vincent cover the Buddhist Soc talk in the evening.

Snow on Thursday…

In-depth analysis and workshops revolving round Environmental Impact Assessments and Strategic Environmental Assessments for the rest of the week, going through existing and past projects’ environmental statements - boxfuls of documents - and coming up with a sustainability appraisal for the Air Transport White Paper.

Went to the Cinemas last night - caught Babel. Don’t really know what to make of it. It’s an odd film.

Yum cha today with the rest of the house, and will be covering some event tomorrow. Kinda nervous, but it’ll be fun.

Two days of it, in fact, to begin with. 

To understand Environmental Law, you gotta learn how the law works in the first place - Common, Statutory, E.C. and international law…

All our lecturers so far have been top-notch. Our law lecturer is an international barrister, and a further search in Google reveals his mightily impressive C.V., which includes having worked in over 44 countries and drafting over 32 environmental laws. He's Canadian by the way, and so far it seems that he doesn't take a liking to Americans (neither does our guest policy speaker for tonight; I pity the Americans on our course, having been picked on and singled out twice this week now!)

*****

Finally paid a visit to my beloved Entomology Dept at NHM after accompanying Xi to her lab to take a peek at her pregnant Daphnia. The dudes at Security got us to upgrade our passes to electronic ones - thicker and heavier - in anticipation of the new access system. I wasn't really planning to do any work, but who could refuse Sup. Mick? He sent Xi off to move cicada specimens to newer housing, and I fiddled with the databases. Some work experience students were attached to the dept. over summer, and one of them was 'Matt' of the junior BG (now Shell) Wildlife Photographer winner fame. Mick says the camera Matt uses is way more powerful than mine, and costs about 4000 quid… which is whooping-ex if you ask me… not even pro Nikon cameras need cost that much!

*****

After the policy seminar this evening, Xi and I ran off to do some twilight hour shooting at Hyde Park and the Serpentine Gallery Pavillion. This year's commissioned architectural masterpiece was something like a jellyfish. It looked quite big when we were a couple of hundred metres away from it but shrank as we drew nearer! Didn't go inside… it was some posh bar and the bouncers standing guard at the entrance didn't look like they'd be welcoming two student photographers with open arms. Nothing much else, then, 'cept that we were still in the park when the gates were closed… so we had to climb over the spikey fences.

*****

Photos:
NHM
Serpentine 

The last week of any holiday is always stuffed with meet-ups with this friend or that gang, and this week is no different. Prata with the ex-Linsteadians+Beitian on Tues. Had the pleasure of a proper meet (finally) with Mr Budak and the monkey. And yesterday… we narrowly saved a dinner with ZF; she and my family. Throw in one last haircut (ok seriously this one is much shorter), going to the physician's, and getting my passport - my visa has cost me a trip to Malaysia with the Buloh-NParks people… sigh - among other things. 

While I was a the hair salon… 

Stylist: So you want to cut it short?
Me: Not too short, just long enough to be able to tie my hair back.
Stylist: Oh. So your school needs you to have long hair ah?  
Me: …  

***** 

WWF-NSS Zest for Nature talk on Wednesday night - photos uploaded.

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I haven't started packing for the house move; my room is so messy and has so many things, I don't know where to start. Still barely a quarter-way through packing for London.

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Life is fragile. So very fragile. A life for a limb… La vita e bella, like you always used to say. For life is beautiful, you should live long and prosper. Take care.

It was a day of performances, foods, and handicrafts stalls, organised by the Red Cross Society and with participation from over 20 diplomatic missions in Singapore. This must have been one of the most rewarding and overwhelming days ever, chatting with ambassadors, competing with the media papparazzis for that clear shot of the VIPs and the stage, and meeting various people; all humbling experiences - a Turkish diplomat who's also an avid photographer, Mr Michael Ma the founder of Indochine (who also happens to be a photographer), the Secretary General of S'pore Red Cross (whose husband is a field conservation biologist), a famous press photographer, and a photojournalist from the Epoch Times (who asked if I'd like to contribute). I'm only left with one of my own name cards now. I was roped in to help through my mom's people at Ikebana International, who were manning the cordoned area of the presidential table and responsible for serving the guests. Thus at times throughout lunch, I was treated to a good view of Mr Nathan, his wife and his table of VIPs, including Lt Gen (ret.) Winston Choo. 

Some snapshots here, and more in Zoto. 

Red Cross Link cadets awaiting the arrival of the President

One of the "Four Angels from the Four Corners of Thailand" in a traditional Thai dance 

Children from the Indian International School 

The Presidential table 

HE President Nathan and his wife with performers  

This beautiful male Draco made my day. More pics from SBG here, and photos of the event itself can be found here. 

Common Flying Dragon

Displaying his yellow gular flag