Upon my arrival at the Sungei Buloh wetland reserve (SBWR) this September, I had only visited a mangrove forest in Tainan, Taiwan on a boat briefly. I was really looking forward to my first in-depth field excursion to a mangrove forest with Prof Gretchen and my NUS GE3255 class. Coming from Germany, my understanding of ‘the forest’ consisted of seasonally lush green places, emitting calmness, peace, and serenity – accompanied by occasional bird sounds or other animals’ presence. But this association changed after arriving at the SBWR and being overwhelmed by the sound of cicadas. 

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