30th August 2008 Field Trip to different parts of the Kallang River

On 30th August 2008, we set off to three different sections of the Kallang River to conduct our last water quality testing.

The first destination was the source of the Kallang River. Many people are not aware that the source of the Kallang River is not near Kallang, but at Lower Pierce Reservoir. Many thanks to Mrs Grace Leng, our parent volunteer, who brought us to see the source of the longest river in Singapore.
It was a first visit to Lower Peirce Reservoir to many of the students and the reservoir was so scenic and tranquil. It is unbelievable that there is such a little haven in Singapore. But when we reached the exact location of the river outlet, we were rather disappointed.
Why?
It was dry and there was no water flowing through it.
I guess it was the dry weather over the past few days that had resulted in the drought.
Still, we tested the water quality at the reservoir with our measuring equipment to test water parameters such as temperature, dissolved oxygen, PH value, salinity and turbity.

This time round, we tried using two methods : the Datalogger from the school and the Water Testing Kit used by International Water Association.
The results are being processed and the pupils are currently working on the report now.

Next, we proceeded to Bishan Park where we conducted our testing at the canals that flows downstream to the urban settlements. The water was full of algae and mosquito larvae. It was interersting to see that the surface of the water looks green and stagnant.

The final stop was at a bridge near St Andrew Secondary School. There the water was deeper and there were some big fish swimming in the canal too.

On the whole, we managed to complete our field trip and the students will be busy collating and interpreting their findings over the next month.
I enjoyed the field trip tremendously and I have learnt a lot from working with Mrs Grace Leng on this project.

We will complete the project work with final trip down to the Kallang River and do our part by helping to clean the river with the Waterways Watch Society, a volunteer group in Singapore.

Youth Water Conference at St Andrew Sec School 22 May 2008

10 of the Project Work students attended the 2nd Youth Water Conference hosted by St Andrew Secondary School on 22 May 2008.
The concurrent sessions were beneficial and useful for the students as they (the 8 group leaders) would be able to go back to school and share with their group members how they should organise and present their findings during the PW presentation in September 2008.

The first session was presented by Dunman High Secondary School. One of the groups researched on the most polluted water bodies in Singapore and the second, presented on the ABC programme at MacRitchie Reservoir.
After the concurrent sessios, they also attended a talk by invited speakers from PUB. Ms Chan Ee Mein, the Senior Manager of the 3P Network Department, highlighted the programmes and activities that PUB will be organising in the next half of the year.

In fact there will be many events and activities for the students from next week onwards.
Some of them include
1) A water exhibition titled H2o = life at the Science Centre from next week onwards till Ot 2008
http://www.waterexhibition.com.sg/about.html
The students can join in the learning journey activities and they would understand how precious water is to Singapore and why water conservation is important to Singaporeans.

2) Omni-Max Movie titled 'Grand Canyon'
http://www.science.edu.sg/ssc/otmovie.jsp?type=8&root=0&parent=0&cat=444
This film sets to remind the world that restoring our waterways and conserving fresh water are important, not just in developing nations.

3) International Water Conference held at Suntec City from 23-27th June 2008.

Visit to the Marina Barrage 14 May 2008

We had a very interesting learning journey at the Marina Barrage Exhibition Centre.  We were very priviledged to have a PUB executive engineer who conducted a one-hour talk on the Marina Barrage project for us.  It was indeed a very fruitful session and the pupils were able to obtain many first hand information related to this new water catchment during the Q & A session.  

Some of the questions asked were:

1) How will the marina barrage affect the ecology of the area around the Kallang and Singapore Rivers?  Due to decreasing salinity, many marine animals were unable to survive in this changing environment.  Is PUB also looking into the environmental damage and how are they addressing the issue?  Will freshwater fish be put into the reservoir instead once the barrage is completed?  

2) How do they create the reservoir with fresh water?  Do they flush out all the sea water through a series of pumps or do they dilute it over time with rainwater?  

3) When will the reservoir be ready to supply fresh water to homes?  Which part of Singapore will this catchment supply water to?

4) What were some of the difficulties faced during the construction of the barrage?

5) What are the materials that are used to reinforce the crest gates?

6) Many other questions...

Pupils in the various PW groups may want to answer these questions by posting them in the 'Comments' below.

You may have also discovered some other interesting facts about the Marina Barrage.  Please include them in the report and email it to me individually.  My email address is siewtf@gmail.com.

Do spend some time to reflect and pen down your thoughts as soon as possible.

Submit your first draft of the report by 15 June 2008 via email to me.

Meanwhile, please meet up with your group members to sort out the photos and document your findings.

Enjoy your holidays and I'll hope to hear from all of you soon.

Post Field Trip Feedback Session on 16/04/2008

We were back at the Computer Lab 4 to transfer and analyse our data.

Students are supposed to comment on the 

1) Learning Outcome of the Field Trip

2) Areas for Improvement

3) Activities or Tasks you would like to embark on to be the Water Adopter of the Kallang Riverside Park.

Please post your comments regarding the field trip.

Field Trip to Kallang Riverside Park 14/04/2008

We have completed our first field trip to the Kallang Riverside Park at Kg Bugis Road. Thee study area is actually a confluence of Kallang River and Rochor River before the water enters into the Marina Basin.We would like to find out whether the setting up of the Marina Barrage has an impact on the water (salinity, PH, dissolved oxygen, temperature and so on) and the animals found.

It was a fruitful trip even though we had some hitches initially.
We managed to collect some data on the water quality and document the animals that were found in the water (both alive and dead). We also recorded and took photographs of the rubbish found on the shore.

I would like to share some of the photographs I had taken where the students were at work!

TK Sec 2 PW Marina Barrage

Welcome Back!
I hope you have done some research on the Marina Barrage during the Holidays.
You may wish to go to the following hyperlink to find out more about the MB.

1) Marina Barrage Official Website
2) Information on Marina Barrage in Wikkipedia
3) Map of Marina Barrage
4) Some Photos and Comments on the construction site

If you have, please answer the follwoing questions and post them in the comments. Please indicate your name and class at the start of your reply.

Questions:
1) What is the Marina Barrage?
2) Why is it called the 3-in-1 Project?
3) State four benefits of building the Marina Barrage.
4) What are the 4 National Taps of Singapore?
5) How does the Barrage work?
6) What are some of the activities that can take place at the Marina Reservoir?

You will also be learning how to use the datalogger in the second session of the PW lesson.
Make sure you listen and learn how to use and handle them properly.

Regards,
Mrs Tan TF