Thomson Nature Park

Thomson Nature Park is a nature park in Singapore.

Thomson Nature Park
Taman Alam Semulajadi Thomson
Hiking trail in the park
TypeNature park
LocationSingapore
Coordinates1.386471°N 103.821074°E / 1.386471; 103.821074
Area50 hectares (120 acres)
Opened12 October 2019
Operated byNational Parks Board
StatusOpen

Background

Opened on 12 October 2019,[1] it is located adjacent to Central Catchment Nature Reserve near Old Upper Thomson Road.[2] The park is being developed on the site of a former Hainan village which was established in the 1800s and abandoned in 1975.[2][3] It will be about 50 hectares in size.[4][5]

Thomaon Nature Park is intended to assist with the conservation of the Raffles' banded langur in Singapore.

One purpose of the park is to help conserve the biodiversity in the area. The park is one of five being developed in Singapore during the late 2010s near Central Catchment to increase the buffer between the park and the surrounding urban area and attract visitors who would otherwise visit the country's nature reserves.[1][2][5][6] Fauna living in the forested areas of the park include the Sunda pangolin, the Malayan porcupine, the samba deer, the leopard cat, the straw-headed bulbul, Malayan box turtle and the cinnamon frog.[2][3][4] It is also intended to help conserve the Raffles' banded langur, a type of leaf monkey which is critically endangered within Singapore and whose small Singapore population often feeds in nearby forest.[2][3][4][5] Trees in the park will include several species of Ficus, angsana and common pulai.[3] Besides enjoying nature, park visitors will be able to see the remains of the Hainan village.[5]

Groundbreaking of the project was marked by Singapore's Second Minister for National Development planting a Radermachera pinnata tree.[2] According to Lee: "These buffer parks protect the Central Catchment (Nature Reserve) from fringe effects. If you have roads, development right up to the nature reserve, you will subject it to all the impacts of the urban setting...Having these nature parks near but not within the reserve will allow members of the public to enjoy the outdoors with their families and that takes pressure off our very precious nature reserve."[5]

Opening

Thomson Nature Park opened on 12 October 2019.[7] It has five trails spanning 3.8km into previous kampung areas.[8] Now it is Singapore's newest and seventh nature park.

Kampung routes

Besides the site of a deserted Hainan Village, the trails in the park also covers extensive forest areas. You may encounter rich wildlife along the trails.[7]

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References
  1. Ng, Abigail (April 23, 2017). "Streams run beside trails at Windsor Nature Park". Straits Times. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  2. "NParks announces plans for Upcoming Thomson Nature Park". National Parks Board. October 8, 2016. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  3. "Media Fact Sheet A: Thomson Nature Park" (PDF). National Parks Board. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  4. "TODAY Online - New Thomson Nature Park to be ready by end-2018". Government of Singapore. October 10, 2016. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  5. Tan, Audrey (April 11, 2016). "More parks to save shy monkey from extinction". Straits Times. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  6. Ui-Hoon, Cheah (November 11, 2016). "Singapore is much wilder than it seems". The Business Times. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  7. "Thomson Nature Park now open". Great Deals Singapore. 22 November 2019.
  8. "Thomson Nature Park". National Parks of Singapore. 22 Nov 2019.
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