Concrete Canal to Wildlife Wonderland: BAMK Park’s Success Story
Ever wondered if it was possible to have wildlife roaming freely in bustling cities such as Singapore? Well, the answer is yes! If you have yet to visit Bishan – Ang Mo Kio (BAMK) park, this is a sign for you to do so! With careful planning and a budget of US$60 million through the Active, Beautiful, Clean (ABC) Waters Programme, BAMK park transformed from an ordinary park beside a canal into an integrated space, featuring a river which runs through a park! Thanks to this restoration, the once lost wildlife has been slowly reappearing in our urban landscape.
Figure 1: floodplains along the river
(Photo by Tan Jay Len)
During my GE3255 field trip, we explored the riverbanks of the Kallang River, which was lined with thick and lush plant growth! These riparian plants are specially adapted to thrive in these conditions, where they face constant flow from the water. These plants help to trap sediments and absorb excess nutrients from the water, allowing the Kallang River to be sparkling clean – while still being able to control erosion by absorbing energy from the water! We also had the chance to sample the water and soil quality, learning about important qualities such as dissolved oxygen. We also took measurements for trees such as diameter breast height, as well as canopy cover!
Figure 2: Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) – Native, IUCN Least Concern
(Photo by Tan Jay Len)
Figure 3: Spotted Tilapia (Pelmatolapia mariae) – Invasive, IUCN Least Concern
(Photo credits: Dr Gretchen Coffman, 12 Sep 2023)
As the basis of life on Earth, plants are at the base of the food web of all natural ecosystems, providing organic matter for invertebrates which fish consume. In the pristine waters, tilapia populations, though non-native and invasive, boom in the river (fig 3). It is a common sight to spot hundreds of them when looking down into the water! Combined with an abundance of food amongst the vegetation, birds such as the grey heron (fig 2) can be seen foraging or resting in the waters too.
Figure 4: Smooth-coated otters (Lutrogale perspicillata) along the Kallang River in BAMK park – Native, IUCN vulnerable
(Photo by Jeff Tan)
Aren’t they cute? As cute as they may seem, otters are apex predators in the freshwater ecosystem. The return of these native otters in this restored river system shows just how successful restoration has been in purifying and cleaning up the waterways in Singapore, such that there is an abundance of prey and an ideal habitat for otters to return! If you are lucky enough, you might spot them hanging out in the park!
Imagine if every canal in Singapore could look like a natural river ecosystem teeming with life, with pristine water quality while still being able to serve its primary purpose of water transportation and flood control. That should be Singapore’s goal, to continuously restore our concrete canals back to their original state way before humans lived here!