Jimmy Tan - A Solopreneur's Journey

11/08/2026

Sights and sounds of Gillman’s rich biodiversity

In this video, we also see the site of a recent massive slope failure in Telok Blangah hill park, which serves as a cautionary tale for Gillman Forest, which grows on steep hill slopes in some parts of the area.

This video features the song of the hill mynah heard around the northern fringe of Gillman Forest, where the elevated walkway links Alexandra Arch to Telok Blangah hill park.

Since the hill mynah is one of the indicator species identified by NParks’ ecological profiling exercise as part of the science-based approach to urban development and nature conservation, Gillman Forest should be protected as a vital habitat and ecological corridor for wildlife (including the critically endangered straw-headed bulbuls too).

“There are six indicator species that the connectivity map is based on: three mammals - the Annandale’s rat, Sunda pangolin and treeshrew - and three birds, the hill myna, blue-winged leafbird and white-rumped shama.

NParks said these species were selected as they are sensitive forest dwellers that prior studies have shown can be coaxed to use wildlife corridors, provided a suitable habitat is created for them there.

Their movement pathways would provide a conservative estimate for the routes that other animals will take, said Dr Tan Puay Yok, NParks’ chief science and technology officer, who was part of the team that first explored the use of the methodology.”

(“Map to join Singapore’s green dots”, Straits Times, 2 August 2021)

11/08/2026

Congrats to the winners of Mad about Singapore 2026 photo contest.

Exhibition-wise, I think the one in the previous year held in URA gallery is better as it shows a wider variety of photos depicting different aspects of Singapore.

The display of photos there was more spaced out, and if I remember correctly, they carried captions to show the context of the photos.

Here, the 100 winning photos are squeezed into a map of Singapore without captions.

Most of the photos are technically excellent, but the subject matter seems constrained to fit a narrow narrative of Singapore’s urban development, replete with with HDB flats and city architecture, including obligatory tourist attractions such as Gardens by the Bay.

Taken together, they show a curated, if contrived, portrait of Singapore that is dystopian and claustrophobic.

10/08/2026

DJimmytst | Can U Feel the Heat?

Lyrics by Clara San
Produced by DJimmytst

Music video about deforestation and urban heat island effect in Singapore

07/08/2026

03/08/2026

Dove sightings, 3 August 2026

Doves symbolise peace and pleasantness.

“Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.”
Proverbs 3:17

02/08/2026

Save Maju Lah, Singapore

This remix song is adapted from the original song
“Count on me, Singapore”, composed by Canadian Hugh Harrison and arranged by home-grown jazz stalwart Jeremy Monteiro in 1986, and whose copyright is owned by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth.

The song is remixed in good faith to encourage everyone to treasure our natural and cultural heritage, including Maju, Gillman, Tengah, Sembawang N5, Tagore, Serangoon river forest, Alexandra woodland, and all other forests in Singapore.

31/07/2026

Urban wildlife watching (July 2026)

After starting full-time security work in an industrial estate, I have much less time to explore forests.

Nevertheless, I have developed the habit to keep a lookout for all creatures great and small in the vicinity.

Just this morning, I saw a moth-like creature landing on my desk, and iNaturalist identified its photo as a lesser grass blue butterfly.

The parent spotted doves can still be seen and heard regularly around the carpark after their chicks have fledged about a week ago.

During my patrols, I have spotted some other creatures, such as a grasshopper, and birds like rock pigeons, black-naped oriole, Sunda Pygmy woodpecker, and somewhat unexpectedly, pied triller (which I have seen before in scrublands and forest edges but not urban areas).

During lunchtime walk along Pelton canal recently, I saw a white-bellied sea eagle soaring above my head.

Wondering if these sightings mean that more forest-dependent wildlife are being forced to adapt to urbanised environments due to ongoing forest habitat loss, or am I just getting better at spotting wildlife, or maybe it’s a mix of both?

29/07/2026

Happy world nature conservation day.

There’s perhaps no better way to commemorate this day than by reminding ourselves why nature conservation is so vital today.

For example, Woodlands N1 forest, which is planned to be mostly cleared for housing development, is home to a village well and host plants of vulnerable Common birdwing butterfly, and it is a natural protector of our wellbeing too.

“World Nature Conservation Day acknowledges that a healthy environment is crucial for a stable and healthy society. It’s a chance to raise awareness about the importance of protecting our planet’s natural resources: air, sunlight, soil, minerals, fuels, and water.”
- Nature4Climate
https://nature4climate.org/event/world-nature-conservation-day/

26/07/2026

Heat stress can affect mental health and cause brain fog, so we need forests as natural airconditioners, like Bidadari Park and Tengah forest.

For EIA resources on Tengah, Sembawang N5, Maju and Gillman forest, click the bio to access the link https://tinyurl.com/ALLsgEIAJul2026.

24/07/2026

Secondary forests with healthy ecosystems, such as Sembawang N5 and Tengah forest, are usually more alive than most parks and gardens in Singapore.

Have you noticed that every step you take in a scrubland or along the forest fringe tends to cause some creature to jump out or scurry away from the grass or shrubs?

It could be a grasshopper or planthopper or spider or assassin bug or cricket or ant, etc.

Alas, most, if not all, environmental impact assessments (EIAs) do not take into account invertebrates, except bees, butterflies and dragonflies, and only recently some EIAs started to include spiders in their studies.

Insects form an important part of the intricate food web in a forest, providing ecosystem services, such as nutrient recycling, pollination, etc.

Without invertebrates, bigger fauna species, including birds, amphibians and mammals, that rely on them for food may gradually die off.

Certain plants that rely on these invertebrates (and the bigger fauna species that feed on them) for pollination (and seed dispersal) may also stop producing.

Thus, the destruction of forest and scrubland habitats, including those considered “exotic” or having “low ecological value”, tend to have cumulative environmental losses, resulting in species decline and less functional biodiversity.