I arrived at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve (SBWR) on a stormy Saturday afternoon with my project team from the NUS GE3255 Applied, Riparian and Coastal Systems course, clothes damp from the humidity lingering in the air after hours of downpour. Immediately, I was in awe of the dense mangroves that sprawled out towards the sea, perched up on networks of stilt roots over the water (see Figure 1).