This afternoon, Group A joined a decades-old tradition of NUS biology students heading out to Kent Ridge for a practical. Ironically this heavily plant-based practical was led entirely by zoology TAs; how fun was that? And the ridge plants are easy - I limited the syllabus, threw in some off Hsuan Keng's illustrations and we emphasised ecological interactions once students could spot the plants. So it was fine. Anyway, grad students are no longer mere mortals, and can handle all aspects of biology!
We were lucky that the rain went away, leaving behind some very cool weather with only the threat of a drizzle. The poor light didn't do justice to the many colourful flowers in the photos but really, I'm not complaining! Although we said we might not seee much animal life, the coolness welcomed the denizens and I saw a drongo, orioles, kingfisher, squirrels, green-necked pink piegons, and J.C.'s group saw a woodpecker!
By the time the practical was over, students were familiar with 10 common species of plants and their associated ecological processes. That's enough for them to spin a really good yarn for their non-Biodiversity friends! In most views of the forest, you only commonly see 5-8 species of plants.
But this was just a taste of a good thing. The ridge has plenty of secrets - about 240 species have been reported from Kent Ridge surveys and we will revisit the area in later years for ecology practicals. We are certainly lucky we have this forest at our doorstep.
More photos on
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