The Leafmonkey Workshop

Dragons and Damsels Workshop

2010-08-22T09:30:00.004+08:00

This is the 19th in a series of upcoming monthly workshops by The Leafmonkey Workshop for existing nature guides and those interested in becoming nature guides.

Date: 3 September 2010, Friday
Time: 7.00pm - 9.30pm
Venue: Botany Centre, Singapore Botanic Gardens, 1 Cluny Road, Singapore 259569 [Map]

Please note that there has been a change of venue!

What is this workshop about?
This workshop introduces the ecology, biology and identification of dragonflies and damselflies. Our local Odonata experts will also share about the dragonflies species and its conservation in Singapore.

This workshop is likely to be more useful for those who have already started guiding. The workshop is not intended to replace self-study and practical experience in the field.

SPEAKERS

Robin Ngiam
Robin Ngiam is a Senior Project Officer in the National Biodiversity Centre, National Park Board. He has just completed a two years Dragonfly Project in which he conducts surveys of park ponds and nature reserves; provide inputs to park managers and landscape planners on creating and maintaining pond habitats for dragonflies; and also conducting dragonfly training for staff. In addition he participates in outreach programmes by giving public talks to promote dragonfly conservation.

Throughout his five years in NParks, he has gained in-depth dragonfly knowledge through field surveys and interactions with like-minded individuals whom are either colleagues or NParks volunteers. Dragonflies are fascinating and Robin considers himself to be in a continual learning process.

Tang Hung Bun
Tang Hung Bun is an avid dragonfly-watcher and photographer. In 2009, he retired early from teaching and now dedicates his time to studying the dragonflies of Singapore. Together with Cheong Loong Fah and Robin Ngiam, he is responsible for the addition of 16 species to the national dragonfly checklist in the past six years.

Tang is also one of the co-authors of the newly released "A Photographic Guide to the Dragonflies of Singapore" published by the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research in August 2010.

PLEASE REGISTER AT
http://tr.im/register2010

Registration is strongly advised as it allows us to better customize the workshop to suit YOUR needs! If you have difficulty submitting your registration on this website, please email us at

CLOSING DATE
Please register by 1 September 2010.

PROGRAM
7.00pm - Registration, Networking, Bring your own Dinner!
7.30pm - Lecture on Odonata
8.30pm - Workshop discussion and group presentations.
9.30pm - End of workshop

REGISTER NOW!

COST OF WORKSHOP
Our workshops are free! Workshops are run by volunteers for volunteers. Any contribution is most welcome because your support helps us keep the workshops alive! Find out more.

ABOUT THE LEAFMONKEY WORKSHOP
Click here to read more about the workshop objectives, aims and purpose. If you are not sure if the workshop is suitable for you, read here to find out more.

WORKSHOPS FAQ
Please read the workshop FAQ which aims to answer any of your other burning questions.

Guides of Singapore Shores

2010-06-20T23:12:00.007+08:00

The "Guides of Singapore Shores" is a weekly series of workshops held over 5 Thursday evenings beginning in July, organised in collaboration between the Blue Water Volunteers (BWV), The Leafmonkey Workshop and WildSingapore with Supporting Partner, The Singapore Scout Association.

8 July 2010 (Thur): Introduction to Intertidal Guiding*
15 July 2010 (Thur): Reefs and Coral Rubble
22 July 2010 (Thur): Rocky Shore and Coastal Forest
29 July 2010 (Thur): Sandy Shore and Seagrass Meadow
5 August 2010 (Thur): Mangrove animals and plants
* Compulsory Module: You will gain most by attending "Introduction to intertidal guiding", which is thus compulsory.

The workshops will be held at 7pm - 10pm, at The Singapore Scout Association Headquarters, 1 Bishan Street 12 [map]. Registration at 6.45pm.

Each workshop sessions will comprise a one-hour lecture, followed by a two-hour workshop. The workshop is where you will brainstorm guiding techniques, sharing and learning with one another. Participants are encouraged to attend the full 3-hour session to gain the most out of each workshop.

At the end of the series of indoors classroom workshops, a field evaluation session will be conducted on 14 August 2010 (Sat) to give participants a chance to put theory into practise. Workshop trainers and fellow participants will provide individualised feedback to participants at the end of the field session.

To minimise impact on the shore, the number of participants in the field evaluation session will be limited and priority will be given to those who attended at least 75% of the programme including "Introduction to intertidal guiding".

This series of workshops is tailored to benefit existing nature guides and those interested to become shore guides. If you are an experienced shore guide, please join us so that the rest can learn from you. The bulk of the time is allocated to a workshop, where everyone can share, learn and DO!

To enable us to tailor the programme to suit your needs, please complete this registration form to sign up for the various workshops.

What the Fig?

2010-04-22T15:00:00.001+08:00

This is the 18th in a series of upcoming monthly workshops by The Leafmonkey Workshop for existing nature guides and those interested in becoming nature guides.

Date: 14 May 2010, Friday
Time: 7.00pm - 9.30pm
Venue: Civil Service College [Map]
31 North Buona Vista Road Singapore 275983

What is this workshop about?

This workshop introduces you into the world of figs: their diversity, ecology and how to identify them. Learn more about the importance of plants to humans and the environment, and the art of basic plant identification. You'll also be able to to feel and touch various cut plant specimens, particularly figs!

This workshop is likely to be more useful for those who have already started guiding and who have some basic knowledge of figs or plants. The workshop is not intended to replace self-study and practical experience in the field.

SPEAKERS

Angie Ng
Angie is a retired Geography teacher with a passion for plants. She goes figging (almost) everyday and is one of the co-authors of "A Guide to the Fabulous Figs of Singapore". She is currently the chairrperson of Nature Society (Singapore)'s Plant Group.

Bian Tan
Bian graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Ornamental Horticulture and Master’s in Plant Taxonomy. He was the SEA Programme Coordinator for the Botanical Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), and assists botanical institutions with plant conservation, environmental education and the SEABG network. Prior to this, he spent almost 20 years in the USA studying and working at the San Francisco Botanical Gardens, where he pioneered the establishment of their South East Asian Cloud Forest.

PLEASE REGISTER AT
http://tr.im/register2010

Registration is strongly advised as it allows us to better customize the workshop to suit YOUR needs! If you have difficulty submitting your registration on this website, please email us at

CLOSING DATE
Please register by 12 May 2010.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
Click here to read more about the workshop objectives, aims and purpose. If you are not sure if the workshop is suitable for you, read here to find out more.

WORKSHOPS FAQ
Please read the workshop FAQ which aims to answer any of your other burning questions.

COST OF WORKSHOP
Participation is by donation and participants are free to pay whatever they are comfortable with.. What does this mean?

PROGRAM
7.00pm - Registration, Networking, Bring your own Dinner!
7.30pm - 30 minutes of background content
8.00pm - Workshop discussion and group presentations.
9.30pm - End of workshop

REGISTER NOW!

Operation No Release

2010-04-22T14:45:00.006+08:00

This is the 17th in a series of upcoming monthly workshops by The Leafmonkey Workshop for existing nature guides and those interested in becoming nature guides.

Date: 30 April 2010, Friday
Time: 7.00pm - 9.30pm
Venue: Civil Service College [Map]
31 North Buona Vista Road Singapore 275983

What is this workshop about?

This workshop focuses on the impact of exotic and invasive animals on our natural ecosystems in Singapore. Topics covered include:
(1) What is animal release? mercy release versus pet abandonment
(2) What are the impacts of animal release?
(3) How can you help?

This workshop is likely to be useful for anyone interested to do more about the release of animals into our natural habitats. It would be especially useful for anyone interested to volunteer for or would like to find out more about NPark's efforts in tackling this issue. The workshop requires active participation and includes role playing activities and is not to be mistaken for a public talk.

SPEAKER

Karen Teo, NParks
Karen Teo is a Senior Outreach Officer of the Central Nature Reserve Branch (National Parks Board). An ex-teacher by training, Karen is passionate about conserving Singapore's natural heritage. She did her Master thesis on Bukit Timah Nature Reserve at the Australian National University. Currently, she develops, facilitates and organises outreach and educational activities/programmes at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and Central Catchment Nature Reserve. In addition, she gives talks on nature conservation issues of Singapore to schools, organisations and the universities and conducts training workshops for teachers on fieldwork activities in the nature reserves and nature parks.

PLEASE REGISTER AT
http://tr.im/register2010

Registration is strongly advised as it allows us to better customize the workshop to suit YOUR needs! If you have difficulty submitting your registration on this website, please email us at

CLOSING DATE
Please register by 28 April 2010.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
Click here to read more about the workshop objectives, aims and purpose. If you are not sure if the workshop is suitable for you, read here to find out more.

WORKSHOPS FAQ
Please read the workshop FAQ which aims to answer any of your other burning questions.

COST OF WORKSHOP
Participation is by donation and participants are free to pay whatever they are comfortable with.. What does this mean?

PROGRAM
7.00pm - Registration, Networking, Bring your own Dinner!
7.30pm - 30 minutes of background content
8.00pm - Workshop discussion and group presentations.
9.30pm - End of workshop

REGISTER NOW!

Wiping out the Trade in Wildlife Recapped

2010-04-17T11:53:00.008+08:00

Date: 9 April 2010 (Friday)
Venue: Civil Service College
Participants: Nature guides and prospective nature guides
Facilitators: Ria Tan, November Tan and Chen Jinwen
Guest Speaker: Louis Ng

Last Friday at the Leafmonkey workshop, we put aside our lighter, cheerier topics on the amazing biodiversity in Singapore and shifted our attention to a more somber one: wildlife trade in Singapore.

Do we extend our hand?

Yes, in Singapore. For many of us, this was a surprising realization. How could Singapore, with its tight border controls, miss the countless animals – endangered and/or caught in the wild – which were smuggled into its borders?

Louis from ACRES, together with Anbu and Zan, came down to share with us the sobering reality of wildlife trade in Singapore.

Louis Ng of ACRES

In his comprehensive presentation, we were riveted as we learnt about the ease of buying tiger and bear parts from nondescript Chinese medicine shops. To think that just downstairs, amongst your neighbourhood shops, could be one which is doing its part to exacerbate the poaching of tigers in another country – such is the extent of the problem we have on our hands. Singapore’s efficiency and importance in trade works just as well for illegal wildlife as for legal commodities.

Bears in horrid conditions - the cruel trade in bear products

And this is not an easy problem to solve, as we found out during the activity after Louis’ talk. We held a mock debate session between numerous stakeholders – the government (AVA), public, pet traders and the NGOs. The issue at hand was the (illegal) wild pet trade in Singapore, which is prolific and often involves the extreme suffering of the animals which are smuggled in cramped conditions. However, whether it was due to the bureaucracy of our government or the immense popularity and rational – if completely mad – reasoning of our pet traders, our pet traders gained the upper hand. Kudos to Lesley, the epitome of the rationally mad pet trader, who managed to present with a straight face while the rest of the pet traders were trying their hardest not to break out in laughter.

Despite the negative slant of the debate, an important learning point was to take responsibility in whatever we believe in. Evident from our debate was finger-pointing: from within stakeholder to between on the problem of wild pet trade. Nothing happens unless we take the first step. I am glad to hear about ACRES initiatives like the rescue centre and undercover investigations, as it means someone has taken the lead. Is it our turn now?

November Says:
To show our appreciation for Louis and ACRES staff for taking time out to do this workshop with us, and also to support their cause of helping animals in the wildlife trade, a total of 195 peanuts contributed to the golden pig by workshop participants were donated to ACRES.

Wiping out the Trade in Wildlife

2010-03-10T08:44:00.009+08:00

This is the 16th in a series of monthly workshops by The Leafmonkey Workshop for existing nature guides and those interested in becoming nature guides.

Date: 9 April 2010, Friday
Time: 7.00pm - 9.30pm
Venue: Civil Service College [Map]
31 North Buona Vista Road Singapore 275983

What is this workshop about?
The workshop will cover the wildlife trade situation in Singapore and perhaps Southeast Asia and the laws that are in place and what steps can be taken to curb the trade further!

SPEAKER

Louis Ng
Louis Ng is Founder and Executive Director of the Animals Concerns, Research and Education Society or ACRES in Singapore. He has a degree in biology and a Masters of Science in Primate Conservation. Since its formation in 2001, ACRES has launched numerous campaigns to make Singapore an animal-friendly city. Its mission is to create a caring and socially responsible society where animals are treated as sentient beings and where the environment is preserved for future generations. Its campaigns have led to the improvement of local wildlife laws. ACRES undercover investigations have also led to a clamp down on the illegal trade in wildlife and its work has led to the rescue of more than 160 animals from the illegal wildlife trade.

PLEASE REGISTER AT
http://tr.im/register2010

Registration is strongly advised as it allows us to better customize the workshop to suit YOUR needs! If you have difficulty submitting your registration on this website, please email us at

CLOSING DATE
Please register by 7 April 2010.

COST OF WORKSHOP
Participation is by donation and participants are free to pay whatever they are comfortable with.. What does this mean?

PROGRAM
7.00pm - Registration, Networking, Bring your own Dinner!
7.30pm - 30 minutes of background content
8.00pm - Workshop discussion and group presentations.
9.30pm - End of workshop

REGISTER NOW!

Butt Watcher's Workshop - A New Perspective Recapped

2010-03-06T23:54:00.007+08:00

Date: 5 March 2010 (Friday)
Venue: Civil Service College
Participants: Nature guides and prospective nature guides
Facilitators: Ria Tan, November Tan and Chen Jinwen
Guest Speaker: Khew Sin Khoon

It was a fully-clothed group which turned up for a practical session on butt-watching on Friday. Leading the pack was Khew Sin Khoon, and expert and well-practiced watcher (and photographer) in this area. Needless to say, we all improved our knowledge in one way or another.

Butt Watchers paying attention

After November kicked butt with her usual introduction, we jumped straight into the pool of butts. Pictures, of course. Khew had an amazing collection of snapshots, and throughout his presentation, we were ‘oohing’ and ‘ahing’ away at the beautiful shots.

We soon realized how limited our knowledge of butts was when we were given a surprise pop quiz. Out of the twelve pictures, we wrongly identified many of the butterflies as moths, or vice versa. And we weren’t even looking for them in the wild, where identification had to be done in a mere matter of seconds!

Luckily we received much help from Khew. How to tell butterflies from moths? Clue: look at the antenna. Other than that, we gleaned many cool facts about butterflies in general. They have strange feeding preferences (pee and sweat are one of their favourite juices); they are importance as environmental indicators; they have many talents for survival in the wild.

The wealth of information covered!

My greatest takeaway however, was the knowledge that what humans deem as weeds may be the only food source (or host plant) for the caterpillar. The dreaded mile-a-minute which I had helped removed during a weeding session was actually the host plant for one butterfly species! This really woke me up to the fragile interdependence between species in nature and how our ignorance can impact it.

On the not-so-serious end, we had Butterflies Charades after Khew’s inspiring talk. As many groups found out, acting out butterfly names or butterfly behaviour was not quite as easy as it seemed. My group had the unfortunate task of acting out the Common Mormon Butterfly. We scrapped by with random hand gestures and frantic pointing, and a wild guess from a participant (who read our acting as something else altogether).

Applause though goes to the group which marvelously performed the act of mimicry.

"Me, me, cry!"

Finally, we had to ‘sell’ our beloved butts to visitors which were well, not our favourite kinds. Though this mission sounded daunting, we all managed to pull it off with plenty of brainstorming as groups. There were jokes of flying palms, human-sized butterflies and rather creative methods used to convey our message of butterflies, the ‘ugly’ caterpillars and their importance to the larger realm of life.

He's not surrendering; he's a butterfly

A participant summed it up best when he echoed the words of Khew, “(if you) enjoy the butterflies, love the caterpillars.” Indeed.

Butt Watcher's Workshop - A New Perspective

2010-02-23T19:05:00.003+08:00

This is the 15th in a series of upcoming monthly workshops by The Leafmonkey Workshop for existing nature guides and those interested in becoming nature guides. Each workshop is focused on a particular family of organism.

Date: 5 Mar 2010, Friday
Time: 7.00pm - 9.30pm
Venue: Civil Service College [Map]
31 North Buona Vista Road Singapore 275983

What is the Butt Watcher's Workshop about?
This workshop is an introduction to the butterflies of Singapore - common species, ecology, their roles and adaptations and how to share about them with ordinary folks! Find out in this brief introduction to local butterflies for nature guides.

SPEAKER
Khew Sin Khoon, ButterflyCircle
Khew is an architect in private practice, and has been involved in a number of ecological and gardens projects with the National Parks Board, amongst these are the Masterplan of Labrador Park, Kent Ridge Park & Canopy Walk, Ginger Garden, Evolution Garden, Children's Garden, Symphony Lake at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, and more recently, Gardens by the Bay.

He has been interested in butterflies from the age of ten back in Malaysia, and has kept his interest alive for the past 40 years. He has authored several articles on butterflies for several scientific journals as well as publications by NParks, Zoo and other organizations and has contributed to the butterfly section in the Singapore Red Data Book 2008. He runs a website, ButterflyCircle, which includes a comprehensive and informative blog on butterflies of Singapore.

Sin Khoon has also been a volunteer in biodiversity surveys for NParks, conducting observations and surveys on butterfly biodiversity in the Central Catchment, Western Catchment, Pulau Ubin and our urban parks. He has been involved in the creation of butterfly-friendly gardens at Alexandra Hospital, Pulau Ubin Butterfly Hill and the recently launched Butterfly Garden at Hort Park.

PLEASE REGISTER AT
http://tr.im/register2010

Registration is strongly advised as it allows us to better customize the workshop to suit YOUR needs! If you have difficulty submitting your registration on this website, please email us at

CLOSING DATE
Please register by 3 March 2010 (Wed).

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
Click here to read more about the workshop objectives, aims and purpose. If you are not sure if the workshop is suitable for you, read here to find out more.

WORKSHOPS FAQ
Please read the workshop FAQ which aims to answer any of your other burning questions.

COST OF WORKSHOP
Participation is by donation and participants are free to pay whatever they are comfortable with. What does this mean?

PROGRAM
7.00pm - Registration, Networking, Bring your own Dinner!
7.30pm - 30 minutes of background content
8.00pm - Workshop discussion and group presentations.
9.30pm - End of workshop

REGISTER NOW!

Wildlife Trade & Poaching Workshop Postponed!

2010-01-27T10:54:00.004+08:00

Dear Workshop Friends & Fans,

As you may know, we were scheduled to have a Wildlife Trade and Poaching Workshop on 5 February 2010 with Louis Ng from ACRES. However, Louis had to travel urgently to Laos to help some bears during the scheduled workshop date. Of course the animals should come first. Thus, the Wildlife Trade workshop has been postponed to 9 April 2010. (Mark your calendars!)

Instead, we will be having the 2nd run of the Life between the Tides Workshop with Ria Tan of WildSingapore on 5 February. More details about the workshop.

Many apologies for this late notice and we hope you will support the February workshop especially if you missed it last year! Tell your friends and volunteers! Register Now!

Thank you!

Cheers,
November
Coordinator
The Leafmonkey Workshop

Life Between the Tides

2010-01-27T10:46:00.002+08:00

This is the 14th in a series of upcoming monthly workshops by The Leafmonkey Workshop for existing nature guides and those interested in becoming nature guides. Each workshop is focused on a particular family of organism.

Date: 5 Feb 2010, Friday
Time: 7.00pm - 9.30pm
Venue: Civil Service College [Map]
31 North Buona Vista Road Singapore 275983

What is Life between the Tides?
This workshop is an introduction to the various intertidal ecosystems: rocky shore, sandy shore, seagrasses, coral rubble, reefs and the tides. Find out where our shores are, what has been lost, learn more about these shore habitats, and threats to our remaining shores. If you're keen to learn about designing and managing projects for our shore, reading the tides and getting an introduction to our shores, this is the workshop for you!

SPEAKER
Ria Tan, WildSingapore
Ria is the author of the Chek Jawa Guidebook as well as the WildSingapore series of websites. She can be found at every low tide visiting almost every piece of shoreline in Singapore. She can be found writing at the WildShores blog as well.

PLEASE REGISTER AT
http://tr.im/register2010

Registration is strongly advised as it allows us to better customize the workshop to suit YOUR needs! If you have difficulty submitting your registration on this website, please email us at

CLOSING DATE
Please register by 3 February 2010 (Wed).

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
Click here to read more about the workshop objectives, aims and purpose. If you are not sure if the workshop is suitable for you, read here to find out more.

WORKSHOPS FAQ
Please read the workshop FAQ which aims to answer any of your other burning questions.

COST OF WORKSHOP
Participation is by donation and participants are free to pay whatever they are comfortable with. What does this mean?

PROGRAM
7.00pm - Registration, Networking, Bring your own Dinner!
7.30pm - 30 minutes of background content
8.00pm - Workshop discussion and group presentations.
9.30pm - End of workshop

REGISTER NOW!

Crabby Tales: No Chili Required

2009-12-24T12:17:00.003+08:00

We are celebrating our 1st anniversary with our 13th workshop in a series of monthly workshops by The Leafmonkey Workshop for existing nature guides and those interested in becoming nature guides.

Date: 15 January 2010, Friday
Time: 7.00pm - 9.30pm
Venue: Civil Service College [Map]
31 North Buona Vista Road Singapore 275983

What is this workshop about?
This workshop will cover the crabs commonly found in the waters of Singapore. What they are? What are their roles and adaptations? Find out more in this brief introduction to crabs for nature guides.

This workshop is likely to be more useful for those who have already started guiding and who have some basic knowledge of crabs. The workshop is not intended to replace self-study and practical experience in the field. For more details about crabs, see the wildsingapore fact sheets.

SPEAKER

Tan Swee Hee, RMBR
Swee Hee is the Curator of Crustacea at the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research (RMBR) specializing in crab taxonomy. He is also a lecturer in the Department of Biological Sciences at the National University of Singapore.

PLEASE REGISTER AT
http://tr.im/register2010

Registration is strongly advised as it allows us to better customize the workshop to suit YOUR needs! If you have difficulty submitting your registration on this website, please email us at

CLOSING DATE
Please register by 13 January 2010 (Wed).

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
Click here to read more about the workshop objectives, aims and purpose. If you are not sure if the workshop is suitable for you, read here to find out more.

WORKSHOPS FAQ
Please read the workshop FAQ which aims to answer any of your other burning questions.

COST OF WORKSHOP
Participation is by donation and participants are free to pay whatever they are comfortable with. What does this mean?

PROGRAM
7.00pm - Registration, Networking, Bring your own Dinner!
7.30pm - 30 minutes of background content
8.00pm - Workshop discussion and group presentations.
9.30pm - End of workshop

REGISTER NOW!

Marvellous Molluscs: Tentacle Tales and Shell Stories

2009-10-27T21:01:00.005+08:00

This is the 12th in a series of upcoming monthly workshops by The Leafmonkey Workshop for existing nature guides and those interested in becoming nature guides.

Date: 11 December 2009, Friday
Time: 7.00pm - 9.30pm
Venue: Civil Service College [Map]
31 North Buona Vista Road Singapore 275983

What is this workshop about?
Molluscs include commonly encountered snails and clams. Our other favourite molluscs are octopuses and 'sotong' (squids and cuttlefishes). What they are? What are their roles and adaptations? Can eat or not? How to find molluscs and handle (or not handle) them in the field. Find out in this brief introduction to molluscs for nature guides.

This workshop is likely to be more useful for those who have already started guiding and who have some basic knowledge of molluscs. The workshop is not intended to replace self-study and practical experience in the field. For more details about molluscs, see the wildsingapore fact sheets.

SPEAKER

Ria Tan, WildSingapore
Ria is the author of the Chek Jawa Guidebook as well as the WildSingapore series of websites. She can be found at every low tide visiting almost every piece of shoreline in Singapore. She can be found writing at the WildShores blog as well.

PLEASE REGISTER AT
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=px2COHxHF_2c0f3KpjH60EA

Registration is strongly advised as it allows us to better customize the workshop to suit YOUR needs! If you have difficulty submitting your registration on this website, please email us at

CLOSING DATE
Please register by 7 December 2009.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
Click here to read more about the workshop objectives, aims and purpose. If you are not sure if the workshop is suitable for you, read here to find out more.

WORKSHOPS FAQ
Please read the workshop FAQ which aims to answer any of your other burning questions.

COST OF WORKSHOP
Participation is by donation and participants are free to pay whatever they are comfortable with.. What does this mean?

PROGRAM
7.00pm - Registration, Networking, Bring your own Dinner!
7.30pm - 30 minutes of background content
8.00pm - Workshop discussion and group presentations.
9.30pm - End of workshop

REGISTER NOW!

Nature Bloggers 2.0 - Level Up!

2009-10-25T18:45:00.004+08:00

This is the 11th in a series of upcoming monthly workshops by The Leafmonkey Workshop for existing bloggers interested in blogging for nature.

Date: 25 November 2009, Wednesday
Time: 7.00pm - 9.30pm
Venue: Civil Service College [Map]
31 North Buona Vista Road Singapore 275983

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
After the successful run of blogging for nature workshops last year, The Leafmonkey Workshop is bringing back our blogging workshops. This workshop is for those who already have a blog and wish to know how to improve their blogs for more effective nature outreach.

Some of the topics covered in this workshop include:
1) How can I improve my blog's design and readability?
2) How should I structure my blog?
3) How can I reach out to more readers?
4) How do I integrate with other social media tools like twitter/facebook?
5) What should I know about copyright, ethics and etiquette?

Be prepared to work hard, have fun, make new friends and definitely learn new ways of looking at guiding and our wild places. This is a great opportunity to meet the faces behind the nature blogs that you always read and learn from other bloggers. Exchange ideas and experiences on blogging for nature!

PARTICIPANT REQUIREMENTS
To participate in this workshop, you must have:
1) A regularly updated blog
2) Interest in blogging for nature outreach
3) Interest in exchanging blog ideas and experience with others
4) A laptop with wifi capabilities that you MUST bring to the workshop

SPEAKER
November Tan
November Tan is the author of the Midnight Monkey Monitor blog which was listed as Blogger’s Blog of Note in 2007. A self-confessed social media addict, she spends her off days testing new social media platforms and cooking up new projects. She currently coordinates workshops for nature volunteers under the initiative known as The Leafmonkey Workshop which has a popular blogging workshop series which she facilitates.

PLEASE REGISTER AT
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=px2COHxHF_2c0f3KpjH60EA

Registration is strongly advised as it allows us to better customize the workshop to suit YOUR needs! If you have difficulty submitting your registration on this website, please email us at

CLOSING DATE
Please register by Friday, 20 November 2009.

WORKSHOPS FAQ
Please read the workshop FAQ which aims to answer any of your other burning questions.

COST OF WORKSHOP
Participation is by donation and participants are free to pay whatever they are comfortable with. What does this mean?

PROGRAM
7.00pm - Registration & Networking
7.30pm - Presentations on Blogging Strategies
8.30pm - Hands on practice & Ideas Sharing Session!
9.30pm - End of workshop

REGISTER NOW!

The Naked Truth & Other Sluggish Affairs Recapped

2009-10-08T09:52:00.006+08:00

Date: 2 October 2009 (Friday)
Venue: Civil Service College
Participants: Nature guides and prospective nature guides
Facilitators: Ria Tan, November Tan and Chen Jinwen
Guest Speaker: Toh Chay Hoon

With a title like “The Naked Truth and Other Sluggish Affairs”, you know you can expect a workshop filled with either laughter or ennui.

Not surprisingly, it was the former that featured prominently throughout. Jokes (only a few R-rated) abounded and the antics of sporting participants acting like slugs provided much cause for joy.

Before the workshop began, we were intrigued by a variety of clay sea slugs modeled by the guest speaker, Chay Hoon. To the non-initiated, many of these slugs looked like other-worldly creatures, or “something my cat threw up”. But they were just a few examples of the fascinating marine life found in Singapore and the rest of the world.

Is it just me, or do they really look better than the sushi?

As always, November started the workshop with a short presentation. Chay Hoon then introduced us to the world of sea slugs. We learnt to differentiate sea slugs from other confusing creatures, identify them, and understand their various behavioural traits. It was a very informative session, though at the end we all wished we were out on the shores instead, so that Chay Hoon could expertly point out those miniscule slugs that few human eyes can see.

Paying rapt attention

The learning over, it was time to put our knowledge into good use. First up was the Slugs Charades! This was the opportunity for us to get wild, literally, and behave like slugs do. It was well taken, as many of us unleashed our primal side, and displayed our rhinophores and aggressive sluggish behaviour.

A slug with 2 human cerata

Scary slugs terrorizing their innocent counterparts

Finally, we concluded the workshop with groups ‘guiding’ some feared kinds of visitors. Amidst the annoying shrieks of pesky kids, and strange questions from aunties and uncles intent on getting their time’s worth, we managed to convey the message of conservation and appreciation of Singapore’s biodiversity.

The Naked Truth & Other Sluggish Affairs

2009-09-09T09:17:00.008+08:00

This is the 10th in a series of upcoming monthly workshops by The Leafmonkey Workshop for existing nature guides and those interested in becoming nature guides.

Date: 2 October 2009, Friday
Time: 7.00pm - 9.30pm
Venue: Civil Service College [Map]
31 North Buona Vista Road Singapore 275983

What is this workshop about?
This workshop introduces the Sea Slugs of Singapore's shores and waters. Learn about their ecology, food, sex and where about to find them.

SPEAKER

Toh Chay Hoon
Chay Hoon is a volunteer guide at Chek Jawa and the Sensory Trail (both at Pulau Ubin and Pulau Semakau). She is also a volunteer diver with ReefFriends (reef survey) of Blue Water Volunteers. She blogs at Colouful Clouds.

PLEASE REGISTER AT
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=px2COHxHF_2c0f3KpjH60EA

Registration is strongly advised as it allows us to better customize the workshop to suit YOUR needs! If you have difficulty submitting your registration on this website, please email us at

CLOSING DATE
Please register by 28 September 2009.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
Click here to read more about the workshop objectives, aims and purpose. If you are not sure if the workshop is suitable for you, read here to find out more.

WORKSHOPS FAQ
Please read the workshop FAQ which aims to answer any of your other burning questions.

COST OF WORKSHOP
Participation is by donation and participants are free to pay whatever they are comfortable with.. What does this mean?

PROGRAM
7.00pm - Registration, Networking, Bring your own Dinner!
7.30pm - 30 minutes of background content
8.00pm - Workshop discussion and group presentations.
9.30pm - End of workshop

REGISTER NOW!

Pulau Ubin Stories: History and Geography Workshop

2009-04-06T11:49:00.012+08:00

This is the 9th in a series of upcoming monthly workshops by The Leafmonkey Workshop for existing nature guides and those interested in becoming nature guides.

Date: 3 July 2009, Friday
Time: 7.00pm - 9.30pm
Venue: Civil Service College [Map]
31 North Buona Vista Road Singapore 275983

What is this workshop about?
This workshop provides an introduction to the history and geography of Pulau Ubin through the sharing of stories.

SPEAKER
November Tan
November is a graduate student in the Department of Geography at NUS as well as an active nature guide on Pulau Ubin amongst others. 3 generations of her family traces their roots back to Pulau Ubin and she traces hers on Pulau Ubin Stories, a blog which archives the stories old and new on Pulau Ubin. She did her undergraduate honors thesis on "Saving Chek Jawa: Social Capital and Networks in Nature Conservation". She has also authored several heritage trails publications for the National Heritage Board. She currently coordinate workshops for nature guides at The Leafmonkey Workshop and writes at the Midnight Monkey Monitor.

PLEASE REGISTER AT
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=px2COHxHF_2c0f3KpjH60EA

Registration is strongly advised as it allows us to better customize the workshop to suit YOUR needs! If you have difficulty submitting your registration on this website, please email us at

CLOSING DATE
Please register by 28 June 2009.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
Click here to read more about the workshop objectives, aims and purpose. If you are not sure if the workshop is suitable for you, read here to find out more.

WORKSHOPS FAQ
Please read the workshop FAQ which aims to answer any of your other burning questions.

COST OF WORKSHOP
Participation is by donation and participants are free to pay whatever they are comfortable with.. What does this mean?

PROGRAM
7.00pm - Registration, Networking, Bring your own Dinner!
7.30pm - 30 minutes of background content
8.00pm - Workshop discussion and group presentations.
9.30pm - End of workshop

REGISTER NOW!

Get Web with Singapore Spiders Workshop

2009-04-06T11:46:00.012+08:00

This is the 8th in a series of upcoming monthly workshops by The Leafmonkey Workshop for existing nature guides and those interested in becoming nature guides. Each workshop is focused on a particular family of organism.

Date: 5 June 2009, Friday
Time: 7.00pm - 9.30pm
Venue: Civil Service College [Map]
31 North Buona Vista Road Singapore 275983

What is this workshop about?
This workshop is an introduction to the spiders of Singapore. Learn how the ecology, food, sex and webs of spiders, as well as how to photograph them.

SPEAKER
Marcus Ng
Marcus is a writer by profession, a naturalist by interest and an avid nature photographer who wows fans with his vivid photographs of insects, spiders, birds and other wildlife. He authors the popular Annotated Budak blog. He is also an active nature volunteer with many groups, both terrestrial and marine, spanning his interests from forest ecology, peat swamps to inter-tidal reefs and mangroves.

PLEASE REGISTER AT
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=px2COHxHF_2c0f3KpjH60EA

Registration is strongly advised as it allows us to better customize the workshop to suit YOUR needs! If you have difficulty submitting your registration on this website, please email us at

CLOSING DATE
Please register by 31 May 2009.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
Click here to read more about the workshop objectives, aims and purpose. If you are not sure if the workshop is suitable for you, read here to find out more.

WORKSHOPS FAQ
Please read the workshop FAQ which aims to answer any of your other burning questions.

COST OF WORKSHOP
Participation is by donation and participants are free to pay whatever they are comfortable with.. What does this mean?

PROGRAM
7.00pm - Registration, Networking, Bring your own Dinner!
7.30pm - 30 minutes of background content
8.00pm - Workshop discussion and group presentations.
9.30pm - End of workshop

REGISTER NOW!

Treasures of our "Wastelands": Pioneer Plants Workshop

2009-04-06T11:30:00.015+08:00

This is the 7th in a series of upcoming monthly workshops by The Leafmonkey Workshop for existing nature guides and those interested in becoming nature guides. Each workshop is focused on a particular family of organism.

Date: 8 May 2009, Friday
Time: 7.00pm - 9.30pm
Venue: Civil Service College [Map]
31 North Buona Vista Road Singapore 275983

What is the Treasures of our "Wastelands": Pioneer Plants Workshop about?
This workshop is an introduction to pioneer plants and the basic principles of succession ecology. Learn about some common species, and how our “wastelands” are actually important pioneering plant species.

SPEAKER
Bian Tan
Bian graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Ornamental Horticulture and Master’s in Plant Taxonomy. He is the SEA Programme Coordinator for the Botanical Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), and assists botanical institutions with plant conservation, environmental education and the SEABG network. Prior to this, he spent almost 20 years in the USA studying and working at the San Francisco Botanical Gardens, where he pioneered the establishment of their South East Asian Cloud Forest.

PLEASE REGISTER AT
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=px2COHxHF_2c0f3KpjH60EA

Registration is strongly advised as it allows us to better customize the workshop to suit YOUR needs! If you have difficulty submitting your registration on this website, please email us at

CLOSING DATE
Please register by 3 May 2009.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
Click here to read more about the workshop objectives, aims and purpose. If you are not sure if the workshop is suitable for you, read here to find out more.

WORKSHOPS FAQ
Please read the workshop FAQ which aims to answer any of your other burning questions.

COST OF WORKSHOP
Participation is by donation and participants are free to pay whatever they are comfortable with.. What does this mean?

PROGRAM
7.00pm - Registration, Networking, Bring your own Dinner!
7.30pm - 30 minutes of background content
8.00pm - Workshop discussion and group presentations.
9.30pm - End of workshop

REGISTER NOW!

Mangroves Workshop Recapped

2009-04-05T10:59:00.013+08:00

Date: 3 April 2009 (Friday)
Venue: Civil Service College
Participants: Nature guides and prospective nature guides
Facilitators: Ria Tan, November Tan and Chen Jinwen
Guest Speaker: Lim Cheng Puay

Mangrove - a fascinating ecosystem straddling both land and water. And on Friday, the Mangroves workshop played host to fauna of a slightly different kind. Experienced, green, or just inquisitive, we (potential) nature guides were treated to an informative session on our flora counterparts.

Ria kindly brought some fresh samples from the mangroves. They looked so similar, and of such mind-boggling names that I found it almost impossible to distinguish. (Guess I've to do more homework.)

As always, November gave a brief summary of the participants' thoughts about guiding. Cheng Puay then gave his very creative presentation, tapping in on the wealth of information from television, youtube, books and even participants to make it truly interactive. The (now defunct, known as Okto instead) Arts Central special on mangroves in Pulau Semakau was especially enjoyed.

We entered the next segment - Mangrove Charades - with much vigour. As the name suggests, each group had to 'act out' their given mangrove for the guessing pleasure of the others. If they managed to incite a correct guess, points were given to them and the group which answered.

What kind of mangrove is this?

Many of the mangrove species had distinguishing features - like the Avicennia's pencil roots and the Bruguiera's knee roots - making them easy to imitate and identify. This was helped by the incredibly competitive and not to mention knowledgeable Mudskippers, which raised their fins at every opportunity, finishing tops with a neat stash of 40 points.

Our final activity put our brains to the test, as we were challenged to excite a variety of dreaded visitors about one mangrove species. Was that even possible? With their perpetual inactivity, lack of furry cuteness or bright colours, these plants seem doomed to be classified under the boring category.

But, with a bit of brainstorming...

We were able to transform them into worthy plants of titllation!

Perhaps too literally here. No harassing, please.

The long seedlings of the rhizophora became sleeping babies that lay around the mud, and the Api Api became associated with the armpit-armpit of us humans. Crass but funny jokes aside, every group had a meaningful message to tell: for visitors to appreciate and value each mangrove species in the ecosystem, because are all helpful - from ensuring a constant supply of our favourite durians to protecting our shores against tidal surges and tsunamis. Mangroves were indeed, a valuable part of nature.

Life Between the Tides Workshop Recapped

2009-02-28T14:46:00.010+08:00

Date: 27 February 2009 (Friday)
Venue: Civil Service College
Participants: Nature guides and prospective nature guides
Facilitators: November Tan and Chen Jinwen
Guest Speaker: Ria Tan

"Mummy, I'm tired.. Can we go home?" A girl whined incessantly, plopping herself down on a nearby hard coral. Another man prodded a sea star indiscrimately with his right shoe.

Annoying visitors? You bet. These were but a few of the frustrating people we encountered yesterday - at the workshop, luckily.

Yesterday's Life Between the Tides saw a enthusiastic bunch of nature lovers, all eager to share and get tips on dealing with tough visitors at our intertidal ecosystems.

We started off with usual presentation of pre-workshop questions by November. Many similar sentiments were discovered, such as the one on irritating visitors - which of course included children and 'molestors' of flora and fauna. Amongst the common enjoyments of guiding include meeting people and spreading the love. :)

Ria then took over for an introduction of our intertidal ecosystems:rocky shore, sandy shore, seagrasses, coral rubble, reefs and the tides. The vast spread of these ecosystems that dotted our Southern Islands and Eastern coasts awed many indeed with the rich biodiversity of our tiny urban island. Useful tips on 'selling' our shores were also provided, and participants learnt more on managing their own guiding trips.

How to 'sell' our shores

Unfortunately, most of these habitats are not protected, with some being slated for development or reclamation works. This was no doubt a cause for worry, which re-surfaced when one of the participants querried on how we could protect our shores from the developmental aims of the government. To this, Joseph Lai and Ria gave wonderful personal anecdotes on how change can be inspired, and how advocacy in the shape of nature guides, bloggers or ordinary citizens like you or me can sound the call for (in)action.

Joseph on how Chek Jawa was saved

Imbued with a new sense of purpose, we started our activity. In groups, we had to plan a guided walk to one of the intertidal zones from scratch - choosing suitable timings, the "zone of death" and sensitizing stations - to offer visitors the best possible experience.

The Sea Stars hard at work

Then came the long awaited presentations!

Mindy explaining her group's beautiful illustration

Spotting crabs

The annoying 'child'

..and an annoying guide?

It was great fun watching and acting in the presentations! But jokes and laughter aside, it was a step for us in becoming better guides and more inspired citizens.

The Mangroves Workshop

2009-02-25T13:28:00.006+08:00

This is the 6th in a series of upcoming monthly workshops by The Leafmonkey Workshop for existing nature guides and those interested in becoming nature guides. Each workshop is focused on a particular family of organism.

Date: 3 Apr 2009, Friday
Time: 7.00pm - 9.30pm
Venue: Civil Service College [Map]
31 North Buona Vista Road Singapore 275983

What is the Mangroves Workshop about?
This workshop is an introduction to the mangrove habitat and its common flora and fauna. Learn how to translate dry facts to fun stories to share about our mangroves.

SPEAKER
Lim Cheng Puay
A biologist by training and a teacher by profession, Cheng Puay did his masters in biological sciences in NUS and over his time at the university, did much of his research on the mangroves in Singapore. Cheng Puay is also a contributor on The Biology Refugia blog as well as lead the RGS Seagrass Angels, a part of TeamSeagrass at Labrador Park.

PLEASE REGISTER AT
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=px2COHxHF_2c0f3KpjH60EA

Registration is strongly advised as it allows us to better customize the workshop to suit YOUR needs! If you have difficulty submitting your registration on this website, please email us at

CLOSING DATE
Please register by 31 March 2009.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
Click here to read more about the workshop objectives, aims and purpose. If you are not sure if the workshop is suitable for you, read here to find out more.

WORKSHOPS FAQ
Please read the workshop FAQ which aims to answer any of your other burning questions.

COST OF WORKSHOP
Participation is by donation and participants are free to pay whatever they are comfortable with.. What does this mean?

PROGRAM
7.00pm - Registration, Movie Screening, Bring your own Dinner!
7.30pm - 30 minutes of background content
8.00pm - Workshop discussion and group presentations.
9.30pm - End of workshop

REGISTER NOW!

The Fishy Workshop... recapped

2009-02-22T19:11:00.020+08:00

Leafmonkey says: Our new volunteer, Jinwen, joins us for the first time at the Fishy Workshop and shares with us her thoughts

Date: 6 February 2009 (Friday)
Venue: Civil Service College
Participants: Nature guides and prospective nature guides
Facilitators: Ria Tan and November Tan
Guest Speaker: Jeffrey Low

The Fishy Workshop got off on a promising note with a huge turnout on a Friday evening. Seats were in such high demand that the younger participants had to volunteer to sit on the floor. The participants were a diverse bunch - ranging from experienced guides to those who were interested - who came to learn more about Singapore's marine fishes.

November started the event with a short introduction of the Leafmonkey Workshops and a compilation of responses from the pre-workshop survey. It was interesting to find out about others' pet peeves and wishes while guiding, some albeit a little more absurd than others. Thereafter, Jeffrey gave a presentation on marine fishes, and how to distinguish one from another by as much as a fleeting glimpse.

Participants trying to absorb as much as possible

It was fascinating to learn that fishes - unlike humans - had different features such as the shape of their tails, fins and mouths. With this presentation, the 'newbies' left better equipped to pass judgement on fishes they see around Singapore's shores.

The activity part kicked off with a hands-on session with play-doh. Groups (with their own 'fishy' sounding names) had to model a fish which would be well adept to live in its habitat - sandy shores, seagrass, coral etc.

Fish-moulding

Many groups roped in their creativity and knowledge of current technologies, to equip their fishes with abilities like GPS Positioning and seagrass cutting/shoving, presumably to make them the kings of the waterworld. The sharing session with the rest of the participants was animated, with chuckles and guffaws ensuing as groups passionately described their fishy creations.

The Solefish's huge lips for bottom feeding on the sandy shores

Well-camouflaged, happy fishes of the coral reefs

For the final activity, groups were given the task of promoting a fish to tougher - and possibly annoying - visitors while on a guiding trip. My group, for example, had to interest a bunch of aunties, who were lost in their own chatter, with the ugly-looking toadfish. Jokes (the cornier the better), analogies, and useful messages were presented and everyone came away with a better idea of engaging tricky visitors with facts of seemingly boring fish.

Presenting an innovative skit

Life Between the Tides Workshop

2009-01-28T11:14:00.008+08:00

This is the 5th in a series of upcoming monthly workshops by The Leafmonkey Workshop for existing nature guides and those interested in becoming nature guides. Each workshop is focused on a particular family of organism.

Date: 27 Feb 2009, Friday
Time: 7.00pm - 9.30pm
Venue: Civil Service College [Map]
31 North Buona Vista Road Singapore 275983

What is Life between the Tides?
This workshop is an introduction to the various intertidal ecosystems: rocky shore, sandy shore, seagrasses, coral rubble, reefs and the tides. Find out where our shores are, what has been lost, learn more about these shore habitats, and threats to our remaining shores. If you're keen to learn about designing and managing projects for our shore, reading the tides and getting an introduction to our shores, this is the workshop for you!

SPEAKER
Ria Tan, WildSingapore
Ria is the author of the Chek Jawa Guidebook as well as the WildSingapore series of websites. She can be found at every low tide visiting almost every piece of shoreline in Singapore. She can be found writing at the WildShores blog as well.

PLEASE REGISTER AT
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=px2COHxHF_2c0f3KpjH60EA

Registration is strongly advised as it allows us to better customize the workshop to suit YOUR needs! If you have difficulty submitting your registration on this website, please email us at

CLOSING DATE
Please register by 25 February 2009.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
Click here to read more about the workshop objectives, aims and purpose. If you are not sure if the workshop is suitable for you, read here to find out more.

WORKSHOPS FAQ
Please read the workshop FAQ which aims to answer any of your other burning questions.

COST OF WORKSHOP
Participation is by donation and participants are free to pay whatever they are comfortable with.. What does this mean?

PROGRAM
7.00pm - Registration, Movie Screening, Bring your own Dinner!
7.30pm - 30 minutes of background content
8.00pm - Workshop discussion and group presentations.
9.30pm - End of workshop

REGISTER NOW!

The Fishy Workshop

2009-01-28T10:54:00.007+08:00

This is the 4th in a series of upcoming monthly workshops by The Leafmonkey Workshop for existing nature guides and those interested in becoming nature guides. Each workshop is focused on a particular family of organism.

Date: 6 Feb 2009, Friday
Time: 7.00pm - 9.30pm
Venue: Civil Service College [Map]
31 North Buona Vista Road Singapore 275983

WHAT IS SO FISHY?
Well the workshop is all about marine fishes in our Singapore shores and waters! This workshop is for existing guides and those interested in becoming nature guides to learn how to effectively share stories and information about our marine fishes.

SPEAKER
Jeffrey Low, Blue Water Volunteers and NParks
Jeff is a marine biologist by training and profession. He is the scientific officer of Blue Water Volunteers. Jeff also co-authored the Guide to Common Marine Fishes of Singapore published by the Singapore Science Center.

Jeff giving a talk at the International Year of the Reef 2008 launch, Reef Celebrations

PLEASE REGISTER AT
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=px2COHxHF_2c0f3KpjH60EA

Registration is strongly advised as it allows us to better customize the workshop to suit YOUR needs! If you have difficulty submitting your registration on this website, please email us at

CLOSING DATE
Please register by 4 February 2009.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
Click here to read more about the workshop objectives, aims and purpose. If you are not sure if the workshop is suitable for you, read here to find out more.

WORKSHOPS FAQ
Please read the workshop FAQ which aims to answer any of your other burning questions.

COST OF WORKSHOP
Participation is by donation and participants are free to pay whatever they are comfortable with.. What does this mean?

PROGRAM
7.00pm - Registration, Movie Screening, Bring your own Dinner!
7.30pm - 30 minutes of background content
8.00pm - Workshop discussion and group presentations.
9.30pm - End of workshop

REGISTER NOW!

The Hard Cnidarians Workshop

2008-12-09T16:49:00.008+08:00

This is the 3rd in a series of upcoming monthly workshops by The Leafmonkey Workshop for existing nature guides and those interested in becoming nature guides. Each workshop is focused on a particular family of organism.

Date: 9 Jan 2008, Friday
Time: 7.00pm - 9.30pm
Venue: Civil Service College, Room 3.6 [Map]
31 North Buona Vista Road Singapore 275983

WHAT ARE "HARD CNIDARIANS"?
These "hard" cnidarians are also known as your hard corals.

SPEAKER
Jeffrey Low, Blue Water Volunteers and NParks
Jeff is a marine biologist by training and profession. He is the scientific officer of Blue Water Volunteers and Hard Coral Master (see his flickr coral guide). Jeff also conducts a series of ReefFriends training sessions for volunteer divers surveying our shores.

Jeff giving a talk about corals in Singapore at the International Year of the Reef 2008 launch, Reef Celebrations

PLEASE REGISTER AT
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=px2COHxHF_2c0f3KpjH60EA

Registration is strongly advised. If you have difficulty submitting your registration on this website, please email us at

CLOSING DATE
Please register by 7 January 2008.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
Click here to read more about the workshop objectives, aims and purpose. If you are not sure if the workshop is suitable for you, read here to find out more.

WORKSHOPS FAQ
Please read the workshop FAQ which aims to answer any of your other burning questions.

COST OF WORKSHOP
Participation is by donation and participants are free to pay whatever they are comfortable with.. What does this mean?

PROGRAM
7.00pm - Registration, Movie Screening, Bring your own Dinner!
7.30pm - 30 minutes of background content on "hard cnidarians"
8.00pm - Workshop discussion and group presentations.
9.30pm - End of workshop

REGISTER NOW!

Soft Cnidarian Workshop Participants' Feedback

2008-12-09T16:08:00.008+08:00

Date: 5 December 2008 (Friday)
Venue: Civil Service College
Participants: Nature guides and prospective nature guides
Facilitators: November Tan
Guest Speaker: Ria Tan

Last week saw a good turn out for the Soft Cnidarian Workshop held on 5 Dec 2008 at Civil Service College. Majority of the participants were NParks staff and volunteers, followed by NakedHermitCrabs volunteers and potential guides from National Institute of Education. There was also a good diverse range of other volunteers from BlueWaterVolunteers, Cicada Tree Eco-Place, Nature Society (Singapore) and even a teacher from St Gabriels Secondary School who is bringing his school's students for field trips at St John Island. 15.7% of the worksop participants mentioned that they appreciated meeting other nature loving and like-minded friends and guides at the workshop. Thanks to the diverse groups of volunteers attending the workshop, we were able to meet like-minded friends from a wide range of groups which we would otherwise not have the opportunity to encounter.

A total of 32 people registered for the workshop, of which, 25 participants attended this workshop. This is a 78% turn out rate which is an improvement from last month's 72% attendance of 18 people. This is a 138% increase in number of participants.

Out of the 19 people who completed the feedback forms distributed at the end of the workshop, 100% of participants indicated that they found the workshop (1) useful, (2) with ample opportunity to talk, (3) addressed all their key concerns, (4) with a group size that's just nice and (5) that the venue was good.

Ria Tan of WildSingapore, author of Chek Jawa Guidebook and WildFactsheets engaging participants in the "lecture" component of the workshop.

However, 2 participants felt that the time allocated was too short for the 30 minutes lecture in the first part of the workshop, while 1 felt that the activities (2nd part of lecture) was too long. While the other 16 participants felt timing was just nice. 2 also commented that the lecture could be slower and more detailed. While the playdoh creation was fun, some felt that more learning points could be provided.

Presenting their weird cnidarian creations in the 2nd activity of the workshop.

A large number of feedback (37%) found the analogies / jokes / messages shared as part of the 1st group activity in the workshop were highly useful. Groups were asked to select a type of soft cnidarians and a target group from a list provided. They are then asked to think of an analogy (metaphor) to present their cnidarian in a way that their chosen visitor type would best relate to. Many workshop participants found this to be a good deposit of stories to use for future guided walks.

Workshop participants also found the lecture component to be especially useful and that 31.5% commented that they have learnt something new about cnidarians. One even mentioned they have "really begin to be interested in cnidarians as I've never really put in any thought into it before". Another 15.7% mentioned that the most useful takeaway from the event was learning about the different classes of cnidarians and that they are actually very different from each other.

Many of the participants heard about the workshop through NParks and friends as well as through the organizer and even Facebook. (We have a facebook page!)

Ria, our speaker for the day, has also written an account of the workshop with lots of colorful photos on her wildshores blog.

Get TLW updates via email

2008-11-21T15:13:00.002+08:00

TLW now has its own mailing list where any one interested in finding out more about TLW events and workshops can subscribe to receive updates.

To subscribe, visit The Leafmonkey Workshop google group.

Alternatively, enter your email in the sign up box at the sidebar on the right of this website.

The Easy (Not Hard) Cnidarians Workshop

2008-10-30T19:38:00.008+08:00

Compiled Feedback from Workshop Participants

This is the 2nd in a series of upcoming monthly workshops by The Leafmonkey Workshop for existing nature guides and those interested in becoming nature guides. Each workshop is focused on a particular family of organism.

Date: 5 Dec 2008, Friday
Time: 7.00pm - 10.00pm
Venue: Civil Service College [Map]
31 North Buona Vista Road Singapore 275983

PROGRAM
7.00pm - Registration, Movie Screening, Bring your own Dinner!
7.30pm - 30 minutes of background content on "easy cnidarians"
8.00pm - Workshop discussion and group presentations.
10.00pm - End of workshop

SPEAKER
Ria Tan, WildSingapore

WHAT ARE "EASY CNIDARIANS"?
These "not hard" cnidarians include anemones, soft corals and other non-hard corals. This workshop is for existing guides and those interested in becoming nature guides to learn how to effectively share stories and information about cnidarians.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
The focus of this workshop is on connecting ordinary people with nature. If you have been struggling, trying to digest and convert biological facts to fun stories for your visitors, this workshop is for you!

This workshop aims to bring experienced and new guides together to brainstorm ideas. Let's learn from one another, and come up with new ways to share our passion.

Be prepared to work hard, have fun, make new friends and definitely learn new ways of looking at guiding and our wild places.

This workshop is likely to be more useful for those who have already started guiding and who have some basic knowledge of cnidarians. The workshop is not intended to replace self-study and practical experience in the field. For more details about echinoderms, see the wildsingapore fact sheets http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
Help! I'm struggling as a guide!
I've read all the guidebooks, memorised all the details, but I still can't guide with confidence.

Why don't my visitors get it?
I've told them everything I know but they still don't seem to appreciate the habitat.

I need local stories!
All the stuff I read doesn't help me tell stories that Singaporeans can understand.

Some guides can do better.
I've been guiding for some time and when I see some other guides at work, I wish I could help them do it better.

COST OF WORKSHOP
Participation is by donation and participants are free to pay whatever they are comfortable with.. What does this mean? There are costs to be covered to provide this event, mainly rental of the room and admin costs. We hope if everyone contributes what they can, it will add up to just enough to cover the costs. If the donations exceed the costs, we will keep the extra money. Hopefully this will allow us to pay for specialists to give lectures on specialised subjects.

PLEASE REGISTER AT:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=px2COHxHF_2c0f3KpjH60EA

All interested in participating in the workshop must register with us at this link in order for us to tailor the workshop to your needs. If you have difficulty submitting your registration on this website, please email us at

CLOSING DATE
Please register by 2 December 2008.

WORKSHOPS FAQ
Please read the workshop FAQ which aims to answer many of your burning questions.
http://leafmonkeyworkshop.blogspot.com/2008/10/workshops-faq.html

A Facebook Page for TLW!

2008-10-22T23:56:00.004+08:00

Today, a new facebook page was created for The Leafmonkey Workshop. It is a way to plug TLW into the web 2.0 network of facebook. It allows for updates to be sent to all who declare themselves as "fans" of TLW. This allow us to update you with latest events and news. Photos are also uploaded as well as features for adding your own photos of the workshops if you were a participant. There are also discussion spaces and even the posts from this blog is imported into the Facebook Page.

So what are you waiting for? Add yourself as a fan of TLW on our facebook page now!

The "Star-Studded" Echinoderm Workshop

2008-10-22T23:23:00.015+08:00

This is the 1st in a series of upcoming monthly workshops by The Leafmonkey Workshop for existing nature guides and those interested in becoming nature guides. Each workshop is focused on a particular family of organism.

Date: 7 Nov 2008, Friday
Time: 7.00pm - 9.30pm
Venue: Civil Service College [Map]
31 North Buona Vista Road Singapore 275983

PROGRAM
7.00pm - Registration, Movie Screening, Bring your own Dinner!
7.30pm - 30 minutes of background content on echinoderms: what they are, roles and adaptations, finding and handling echinoderms in the field.
8.00pm - 1 and a half hours of workshop discussion and group presentations.
9.30pm - End of workshop

SPEAKER
Ria Tan, WildSingapore

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
The focus of this workshop is on connecting ordinary people with nature. If you have been struggling, trying to digest and convert biological facts to fun stories for your visitors, this workshop is for you!

This workshop aims to bring experienced and new guides together to brainstorm ideas. Let's learn from one another, and come up with new ways to share our passion.

Be prepared to work hard, have fun, make new friends and definitely learn new ways of looking at guiding and our wild places.

This workshop is likely to be more useful for those who have already started guiding and who have some basic knowledge of echinoderms. The workshop is not intended to replace self-study and practical experience in the field. For more details about echinoderms, see the wildsingapore fact sheets http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/

WORKSHOPS FAQ
Please read the workshop FAQ which aims to answer many of your burning questions.
http://leafmonkeyworkshop.blogspot.com/2008/10/workshops-faq.html

Registration is now CLOSED and the event has concluded.

Here are some accounts of the participants' experiences:
Liveblogging from Star-Studded Echinoderm Workshop,
Ashira Blog
Echinoderm Excess: madness at first nature guides' workshop,
WildShores Blog

Collaboration with NLB

2008-01-16T21:09:00.000+08:00

After a meeting with the wonderful staff of National Library Board, 4 exciting public workshops may be lined up for the year 2008! These workshops will be held at various public libraries around Singapore and will be featuring content workshops. Topics and dates to be confirmed but will be held during the school holidays.

Cheers to NLB for this exciting collaboration!

Blogging for Nature: From Blockhead to Bloghead

2007-10-19T14:01:00.002+08:00

Date: 19 October 2007 (Friday)
Venue: NIE Computer Lab
Collaborators: NIE Green Club & Naked Hermit Crabs
Participants: Zero experience bloggers
Facilitator: November Tan
Guest Speakers: Ria Tan
Website: http://nhcworkshops.blogspot.com/

As the 2nd in the series of Blogging for Nature workshops held in 2007, "From Blockhead to Bloghead" is targeted at participants with no experience in blogging or even for the IT illiterate. However, having knowledge in how to turn on the computer is preferred!

Targeted at those unfamiliar with the blogging platform and its versatility, the workshop begins with an introduction on how the workshop is as good as a conventional Web 1.0 website and better! Furthermore, the importance of content specific blogs, in this case, nature blogs, is highlighted to the audience of nature lovers and volunteers. The harnessing and convenience of this new media tool in outreach to a greater audience is also emphasized.

The workshop is designed such that the student to teacher ratio is 1:1 and at the most 2:1. Tutors are recruited from the previous workshop for experienced tutors as well as trainee teachers from the NIE Green Club who is the keen collaborator for this workshop.

Participants are allocated a computer workstation each and have the opportunity to create and experience the process first hand, on the spot.

After the preliminary introduction to creating a blog, the participants are then engaged in a classroom activity of creating a group blog together. A group blog is one that has multiple contributor, suitable for nature groups or groups of friends with similar interests to come together to share content with one another and the world. A NHC Workshop blog was created on the spot and each participant is asked to write a bit about themselves as an introductory post. Of course the creativity of our participants are boundless and we were excited at their exploration and participation.

The objective of the workshop is for all participants to continue with a blog after the workshop and we are happy to report many new and exciting nature blogs that sprung up after the workshop. These include:

A follow up workshop is definitely recommended.

Read more about the workshop in the report by July from NIE Green Club.

Blogging for Nature: Going beyond blogger

2007-10-12T13:41:00.001+08:00

Date: 12 October 2007 (Friday)
Venue: NIE Computer Lab
Collaborators: NIE Green Club & Naked Hermit Crabs
Participants: Experienced bloggers
Facilitator: November Tan
Guest Speakers: Ron Yeo, Ria Tan, Chay Hoon, Marcus Ng, Ivan Kwan

Under the workshop arm of the Naked Hermit Crabs, a workshop was organized on Blogging for Nature for advanced users at NIE/NTU. Many animal friends and naked crabbies were recruited to share on various tools and social network services beyond blogging.

There were buckets of geeky web 2.0 fun. The workshop was organized in 3 parts - introduction, tools and how to disseminate your content beyond blogs. For continuity and participation beyond the class, the participants get to collaborate on google document for a list of web resources. The class is also supposed to participate in the Blog Action Day for Environment on 15 October.

These advanced students were then later recruited as tutors for the beginner workshop in the next friday for the Blockhead to Bloghead workshop.

Read more about the workshop details on the Naked Hermit Crabs blog. July from NIE Green Club, our host for the event, also blogged about it.

Sharing Nature Workshop @ SBWR

2007-09-29T13:26:00.001+08:00

Date: 29 September 2007 (Saturday)
Venue: Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve Workroom
Collaborators: Ria Tan & National Parks Boards Sungei Buloh Staff
Participants: NParks volunteers, Naked Hermit Crabs & all nature guides in Singapore
Facilitator: Ria Tan & November Tan

Thanks to the coordination, hosting and especially food provided by the staff of Sungei Buloh, we have arranged for a "Sharing Nature with Ordinary People" workshop for volunteers from SBWR, Naked Hermit Crabs and just about everywhere else! Several toddycats were also present, especially familiar faces from my Pedal Ubin group.

I couldn't capture everybody in the room with my camera but it was a huge crowd!

Although we only anticipated 24 people for the workshop, almost 40 turned up! There were a total of 39 people including myself and Ria. It was an excellent sharing session where guides of all experience level comes together to share problems and solutions for different type of situations a guide encounters out there in the "wild". Mainly with different type of visitors.

The workshop started with a general overview of where everybody are from - at least those 24 who preregistered - what their favourite and least favourite aspects of guiding were and a short discussion of each aspect. Discussions really got on the way with animated conversations and contributions from everybody when we broke out into smaller groups. Each group was tasked with a different type of visitors.

Group 1: "School Children" group

Group 2: "Photographers" group

Group 3: "Foreigners" group

Group 4: "RC" group

Group 5: "Mixed Families" group

We overran the time a little towards the end because there were just too much to share. I guess I forgot to introduce to the group that I was actually the note taker for the workshop so I guess people were wondering why I'm walking around taking photos of them! My job was to "instantly" transcribed the points discussed into the round up slides and other general miscellanea. All in all the sharing session had its share of laughter and good ideas! I think we all took away something useful from the workshop. We were expecting some role playing from the groups but darn, none gave us the pleasure of watching them play out the situations prescribed to them. I think next time we'll have to give specific instructions! *grin*

Feedbacks are still coming in from the participants but so far it's been very encouraging and we definitely hope to do this again for the other guides who were actually out on our shores and forests while we were at the workshop! We have not forgotten you - more workshops are definitely in the works.

Photos can be seen at my flickr set.

Upcoming Workshops

2000-01-01T11:08:00.026+08:00

GUIDES OF SINGAPORE SHORES
In the month of July, the Leafmonkey Workshop is organizing a series of 5 weekly workshops held every Thursday in collaboration with Blue Water Volunteers (BWV) and WildSingapore with Supporting Partner, The Singapore Scout Association.

Registration is now open! You can sign up for the workshops by completing this form at http://is.gd/cD9aF

Introduction to Intertidal Guiding (Compulsory Module)
Lecturer: Ria Tan
Date: 8 July 2010 (Thur)
Time: 6.45pm - 10pm
Venue: Scouts Association HQ
More Information | Register

Reefs and Coral Rubble
Lecturer: Jeffrey Low
Date: 15 July 2010 (Thur)
Time: 6.45pm - 10pm
Venue: Scouts Association HQ
More Information | Register

Rocky Shore and Coastal Forest
Lecturer: Abigail Ng and Ria Tan
Date: 22 July 2010 (Thur)
Time: 6.45pm - 10pm
Venue: Scouts Association HQ
More Information | Register

Sandy Shore and Seagrass Meadow
Lecturer: Abigail Ng and Ria Tan
Date: 29 July 2010 (Thur)
Time: 6.45pm - 10pm
Venue: Scouts Association HQ
More Information | Register

Mangrove animals and plants
Lecturer: Zeehan Jaafar
Date: 5 August 2010 (Thur)
Time: 6.45pm - 10pm
Venue: Scouts Association HQ
More Information | Register

Registration is strongly advised as it allows us to better tailor the programme to suit your needs.

If you have difficulty submitting your registration on this website, please contact:
November Tan
Coordinator
The Leafmonkey Workshop

About the Workshops

1999-12-09T17:18:00.000+08:00

The focus of this workshop is on connecting ordinary people with nature. If you have been struggling, trying to digest and convert biological facts to fun stories for your visitors, this workshop is for you!

This workshop aims to bring experienced and new guides together to brainstorm ideas. Let's learn from one another, and come up with new ways to share our passion.

Be prepared to work hard, have fun, make new friends and definitely learn new ways of looking at guiding and our wild places.

This workshop is likely to be more useful for those who have already started guiding and who have some basic knowledge of the topics being covered. The workshop is not intended to replace self-study and practical experience in the field. For more details about various flora and fauna, see the wildsingapore fact sheets http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
Help! I'm struggling as a guide!
I've read all the guidebooks, memorised all the details, but I still can't guide with confidence.

Why don't my visitors get it?
I've told them everything I know but they still don't seem to appreciate the habitat.

I need local stories!
All the stuff I read doesn't help me tell stories that Singaporeans can understand.

Some guides can do better.
I've been guiding for some time and when I see some other guides at work, I wish I could help them do it better.

The Leafmonkey Workshop

1999-11-07T16:13:00.000+08:00

work·shop (wûrk'shŏp')
noun
1. A room, area, or small establishment where manual work, construction and repairs are carried out
2. An educational seminar or series of meetings emphasizing interaction and exchange of information among a usually small number of participants

leaf.mon·key (lēf'mŭng'kē)
noun
1. The only species of large mammal and primate that is suspected to be endemic to Singapore in the subspecies of Presbytis femoralis femoralis (Banded Leafmonkey).
2. An online weblog persona behind the nature and heritage blog, Midnight Monkey Monitor (leafmonkey.blogspot.com)
3. A nature lover, blogger, writer and environmental management researcher, volunteer and practitioner that organizes capacity building and community engagement workshops in this intellectual garage (read: workshop) for the like-minded and interested Homo sapiens (and other animalia).

The Leafmonkey Workshop organizes workshops and provide a platform for networking, learning, sharing and doing for nature groups, nature volunteers and nature lovers. Want to find out more about who we are, read our About Us section. Visit our catalogue to find out more about our past workshops.

About Us

1999-05-11T02:40:00.000+08:00

The Leafmonkey Workshop is the latest initiative by the Leafmonkey and her many collaborators. This intellectual garage organizes and offers a series of workshops throughout the year for nature lovers and volunteers alike. Much emphasis is given in each of the workshops on methods, content and techniques in engaging the public and our community.

In this virtual workspace you will find a listing of past and upcoming workshops. Workshops are conducted by various invited speakers who are either academic experts or deeply experienced naturalists in the field. Participation is open to all interested groups and individuals. Customized workshops for organizations and groups can also be arranged. Please contact leafmonkey at gmail dot com for more information.

These workshops would not be able to exist without funds and while all workshops are free, participants' donation at the end of each workshop are greatly appreciated. Funding is required for the organization of these workshops, venue cost, ~~bananas~~ food and of course ~~peanuts for the speakers~~ the speakers' valuable time.

HISTORY

The Leafmonkey Workshop began as the workshop arm of the Naked Hermit Crabs (NHC), a group of non denominational shore guides and volunteers that established in 2007. During this time, 3 workshops were conducted in collaboration with NParks and the NIE Green Club amongst others.

In 2008, with the restructuring of NHC, the workshop arm became an independent entity that is now known as The Leafmonkey Workshop.

Learn, Share and Do!

1999-04-27T13:13:00.000+08:00

The Leafmonkey Workshop hopes to provide a platform for new and experienced guides to come together to Learn, Share and Do.

Learning
Our workshops comprise of a short presentation on the topic of the month by our Guest Speakers, followed by activities that aim to facilitate sharing and participation.

Sharing
Our workshops are non-denominational and open to all nature groups in Singapore. This is an opportunity to get to know other volunteers, make new friends and share your experiences with one another.

Doing
Activities provide a platform to learn how to communicate scientific facts with everyday language and stories to share with our friends, families and visitors we guide. Also, participants gain opportunities to share guiding techniques, tips and experiences with others.

Workshops FAQ

1999-01-10T00:21:00.000+08:00

Do I need to be a guide to attend?
The sessions are designed for those who have started guiding. You might find it useful if you intend to become a guide. But the sessions will not provide general info about flora and fauna and thus is not likely to be useful for someone who just wants to learn more about our marine life. To do this, join a guided walk!

I am a new guide and don't know much. Will I be able to contribute?
Certainly! As a new guide you will bring fresh perspective. Knowing less means you will be able to raise questions that ordinary people will ask. Thus helping us design approaches that better engage ordinary people.

I would like more content in the session.
There isn't much time, and from previous experience, content-heavy lectures don't really result in guides knowing more. We are taking this brain-storming approach in the hope of filling the important gap between knowing facts and sharing them in a way that ordinary people find interesting and engaging. To improve knowledge, self-study spurred by personal interest is the best way. As a content-heavy resource, the wildsingapore fact sheets have been developed to provide information for guides and those who want to know more about our marine life (http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/)

What does by donation mean?
There are costs to be covered to provide this event, mainly rental of the room and admin costs. This means that you can pay any amount you are comfortable with. We hope if everyone contributes what they can, it will add up to just enough to cover the costs. If the donations exceed the costs, we will keep the extra money. Hopefully this will allow us to pay for specialists to give lectures on specialised subjects.

Why is the focus on taxonomic groups? Instead of by habitat or other topics?
Understanding the basics of a taxonomic group is extremely helpful for guides who face a wide variety of animals which they may not know enough about. General features of the group can then be shared. During the workshop, the habitat distribution and other aspects of the taxonomic group will also be covered, e.g., feeding, reproduction, distribution.