1.1: Relationship btw people and nature in their neighbourhoods

Question 1

How are local communities dependent on nature?

Answer 1

• Nature provides essentials like air and water for humans to survive.
• Living organisms like bees help pollinate crops for a continuous supply of food
• Nature provides spaces for recreation and leisure activities which allows people to bond with their family and friends, thus helping to maintain human’s physical and mental well-being
• NParks’ Therapeutic Gardens help to connect people w/ nature and reduce stress with improves physical, psychological and social well-being

Question 2

How Nature Areas are dependent on Humans

Answer 2

• People in the neighbourhood may tend to the health of nearby nature areas, ensuring the plants and the animals there thrive
• Individuals in local communities can encourage one another to enjoy nearby nature areas in a sustainable manner without causing irreversible damage

Example:
Nparks organises a range of activities for schools during the week of international day of biodiversity in May. One such activity is the Green Wave campaign which aims to educate youths about the importances of protecting our natural environment

Question 3

How do local communities and nearby nature areas mutually affect each other?

Answer 3

• Both parties bring about benefits to each other
• Presence of green spaces and urban wildlife in neighbourhoods
• Human activities in nature areas can enhance their biodiversity
• People can gain enjoyment and enhance their mental health and well-being through reforestation activities
• The overall health of the natural environment is enhanced as more shelter and habitat for the urban wildlife to thrive are provided through reforestation activities

Question 4

How do people and nature bring about benefits to each other

Answer 4

Nature areas benefits people by:
1. lowering temperatures
2. removing pollutants
3. providing space for recreation

People bring benefits to nature through:
1. community activities that promote the importance of environmental protection

Question 5

How do nature lower air temperature

Answer 5

• Vegetation provides shade and reduce the amount of direct sunlight that reaches the surface
• Vegetation also cools the surrounding air through evapotranspiration as the water that plants absorb through their roots is released into the air as water vapour. This process uses heat from the surrounding, thus cooling it

Question 6

How do nature remove pollutants?

Answer 6

• During photosynthesis, vegetation absorbs carbon dioxide and other air pollutants and releases oxygen
• Small particles are intercepted by leaves, which are washed to the ground when it rains
• Wetland plants can trap suspended materials and absorb excess nutrients in the water, thus improving water quality

Question 7

How does nature provide recreational spaces?

Answer 7

• Nature areas offer numerous opportunities for outdoor activities
• Direct and frequent interactions with nature can bring about health and wellbeing benefits to people, which reduces the severity and occurrence of health conditions.

Question 8

How do people promote the importance of environmental protection?

Answer 8

• Local communities collectively raise awareness about the value of nature areas through encouraging positive behaviour that does not damage nature
• Local communities also organise or participate in conservation efforts.
• Clean-up programmes to remove pollutants from the environment help restore natural habitats and provide a healthy environment for species to thrive

Examples:
1. The NParks Citizen Science initiative, Dragonfly Watch, trains participants to identify different dragonfly species at their assigned sites. This results in greater protection of the species by raising awareness of their importance in the environment
2. The waterways clean-up programme organised by the Waterways Watch Society creates opportunities for schools to pick up trash from the Marina Reservoir

Question 9

How do people bring disadvantages to nature?

Answer 9

1. Cause soil erosion & damaging vegetation
2. Worsening pollution and disturbing wildlife

Question 10

Soil erosion and damaging vegetation

Answer 10

When people hike along non-designated trails in nature areas:
- They may cause soil compaction which prevents rainwater from infiltrating the surface. This leads to higher surface flows and soil erosion as the flowing water washed away the soil particles
- They may trample on the vegetation, damaging plants and affecting their growth

Example:
In 2014, human activities led to severe soil erosion and habitat degradation in Bukit Timah Reserve. This resulted in the limiting of public access to the nature reserve for 2 years

Question 11

Worsening pollution and disturbing wildlife

Answer 11

• littering can worsen pollution in a nature areas
• animals can get cut by metal cans or be entangled with plastic containers and bags
• some animals may also mistake the litter for food and consume them. This may cause the animals to get hurt and suffer, and may eventually lead to their death
• feeding wild animals may also lead to changes in the habits and behaviours of wildlife, and human-wildlife conflict can increase when animals associate food with humans

Example:
In Sg, the law prohibits the feeding of any wild animal, and anyone caught intentionally feeding wildlife will be fined $5000 on the first offence.

Question 12

How nature bring disadvantages to humans

Answer 12

1. Wildlife may harm humans
2. Environmental protection may limit development

Question 13

How wildlife may harm humans

Answer 13

• Human wildlife conflicts increases due to increase in human-wildlife encounters
• Reasons for increase in human-wildlife encounters:
  1. Urban expansion shrinks natural habitats. Wildlife will venture out of the nature area in search of food or shelter
  2. W/ growing interests in outdoor recreational activities, people are now spending more time in nature areas
  3. Greening efforts by the state which aims to bring nature back to the city
• as wildlife population in city increase, people who do not know how to deal with them will unintentionally provoke them, leading to attacks
• some animals may be fearful and confused when they venture into unfamiliar urban spaces, increasing likelihood of attacks since they are easily triggered

Question 14

How environmental protection limits development

Answer 14

• some people feel that protection of nature is done @ their own expense (wtf bro)

Example:
- Circle line was supposed to be built around instead of under the Central Catchment Nature Reserve to protect our largest primary rainforest.
- people were afraid that this development will bring inconvenience, damage properties, and result in their homes being acquired to make way for the construction
- however, the nature reserve is home to numerous critically endangered species. Construction may damage their habitat, affecting their survival