Chek Jawa with special guests

The Naked Hermit Crabs spent an enjoyable Friday morning with some special guests on the Chek Jawa Boardwalk.

The Naked Hermit Crabs' National Day celebrations on Chek Jawa

Today, the Naked Hermit Crabs celebrated National Day with a guided tour on the Chek Jawa boardwalk.

Chek Jawa in June with the Naked Hermit Crabs

(Photo by Kok Sheng)

With it being the June holidays, the Naked Hermit Crabs received an overwhelming response for our monthly guided tour on the Chek Jawa boardwalk. And so 5 guides showed up on Saturday morning, ready to take on the crowds and share the sights and sounds of this very special place.

Rare wild Palm Civet seen in Kembangan resident's backyard

Blue net at Pulau Ubin can save your life

Civet cats on Tanglin Halt tree? Look again

Ficus fruits grow on raintrees?

Naked in the Living Room

Well, that was an enjoyable experience, heading down to the 938LIVE studio for a chat with Stanley Leong and Esther Ng on "The Living Room".

Vyna and I shared about the Naked Hermit Crabs, the birth of the group, the origin of the catchy name, and the places where we guide members of the public. We talked about how despite so many Singaporeans thinking that there's nothing to see in our waters, Singapore's shores are actually still extremely rich in marine life, and there is a very pressing need to protect them.

Among other things, we mentioned how we are celebrating our first-year annniversary with the return of our Sentosa walks (go sign up if you haven't done so already!), which are now sponsored by Transitions Optical. We also told the listeners how in conjunction with our collaboration with Transitions Optical, there will also be an exhibition at the National Library Plaza this weekend, from Friday to Sunday (6-8 June), with photos and posters showing some of the beautiful marine environments and fascinating marine life which can be found right at our doorstep. Plus an upcoming talk by Ria, who will be there at the National Library on Saturday (7 June) to share about our wonderful shores, the threats and challenges that they face, and what all of us can do to help protect them.

Appearing on radio is certainly a very different experience from appearing on televion, and the both of us got a first-hand look at what it takes to put together your typical morning radio show.

I guess I did okay this time around, probably not as nervous as the time I appeared on Rouge. I still think I was a little nervous, and I'm sure that those who were listening in would agree. But I suppose I'll just have to keep learning, and future media appearances should turn out better.

You can catch the repeat broadcast of our interview on 938LIVE at the following timeslots later:

10 p.m. - midnight
4 a.m. - 5.30 a.m.

You can also hear us on Channel NewsAsia from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m.

Well, that's one media appearance down. Later tonight, I'll be doing a pre-recorded interview with Michelle Martin, also from 938LIVE, for Passion People.

Chek Jawa with the Naked Hermit Crabs, April 27 2008

Update: You can read more at Adventures with the Naked Hermit Crabs, and see some of the delightful new guestbook entries. Ria has also written about our voyeuristic tendencies and a sneak peek into the private lives of the hornbills over at the wildfilms blog.

Today, I spent yet another lovely afternoon on Pulau Ubin, guiding visitors around the Chek Jawa boardwalk with a few other Naked Hermit Crabs. Alas, my camera has gone a little bit crazy since my Semakau trip, so I didn't get to take any photos. The small handful of photos I took with my handphone camera will be shown further down, but let me warn you in advance, they do not depict a pretty sight.

Chek Jawa mornings

I had another enjoyable morning at Chek Jawa today, giving Gerald and Ai Kit from my NIE GESL group a brief introduction and tour of the Chek Jawa boardwalk.