28-06-2025
Ubin School brings lessons on Singapore's land-use needs, village life and environment to life
(From third from left) Minister of State for National Development Alvin Tan, Education Minister Desmond Lee, NParks chief executive Hwang Yu-Ning and Pasir Ris-Changi GRC MP Valerie Lee with students from Commonwealth Secondary School. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
Ubin School brings lessons on Singapore's land-use needs, village life and environment to life
SINGAPORE – When biology teacher Jacob Tan goes with his students to Pulau Ubin's Chek Jawa Wetlands, they take in the sights and sounds – sand bubbler crabs, staw-headed bulbuls and oriental pied hornbills.
But they also cast their gaze afar, at Pulau Tekong, where land reclamation is ongoing.
Pulau Ubin could have met a similar fate. Plans to reclaim its eastern shore were deferred in the early 2000s after environmental groups and nature experts flagged the area's rich biodiversity.
Mr Tan's students from Commonwealth Secondary School visited the island under the Ubin School initiative, launched in 2024 to provide experiential learning and environmental education there.
It was one of the initiatives highlighted by Education Minister Desmond Lee at the annual Ubin Day celebrations on June 28, along with infrastructure improvements, a new workgroup to restore five vacant kampung houses, and updates on a species recovery effort.
A workgroup under the Friends of Ubin Network (Fun) – a group of villagers, academics and nature and heritage enthusiasts established in 2014 – will be set up to guide the planned restoration of five vacant kampung houses, said Mr Lee.
The workgroup will comprise Fun and kampung community members, as well as academics from fields such as built heritage and culture.
It was announced a year ago that the five houses would be repurposed for community and commercial use.
Mr Lee, who has been chairman of Fun since 2014, also said on June 28 that Minister of State for National Development Alvin Tan will take over the role.
Jacob Tan, a biology teacher at Commonwealth Secondary School, utilises field trips to Pulau Ubin to teach students about Singapore's competing land use needs.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
Mr Lee previously helmed the National Development ministry before he took over the Education portfolio in May.
He said that several infrastructural projects on Pulau Ubin have been completed in the past year, such as upgrades to the earth tracks leading to Puaka Hill and to Chek Jawa Wetlands from Jalan Durian, and improvements to roads and bridges.
To address flood concerns, a new drain has been built in the main village, while an existing stage beside the village's wayang stage has been widened.
These changes have significantly reduced water entering villagers' homes at high tide, said Mr Lee.
The widened drain near the main village's Wayang Stage on Pulau Ubin.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
Seasonal high tides and monsoon surges have caused flooding on the island, sending seawater flowing out of drains and spilling over banks in five low-lying areas of the island a few times a year.
Mr Lim Chye Hee, 69, who runs a bicycle rental shop in the main village, said he hopes further drainage improvements will be made, as the area still becomes easily flooded especially during heavy storms.
'There are only two outlets and the water drain quickly enough,' he told The Straits Times, referring to the widened drain near the stage.
Giving an update on a species recovery effort, Mr Lee said the first batch of cinnamon bush frog tadpole s introduced at two sites in Pulau Ubin in June 2024 has matured into adults and adapted well – a positive step for the vulnerable native species.
'These early observations are encouraging and represent hope for the species' conservation beyond mainland Singapore,' he said.
(From left) Pasir Ris-Changi GRC MP Valerie Lee, Education Minister Desmond Lee and Minister of State for National Development Alvin Tan speaking with Madam Yeo Hui Bake and Mr Lim Chye Hee, who run a bicycle rental shop in Pulau Ubin.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
The National Parks Board added in a statement that a second batch of tadpoles was introduced at a separate site in March 2025, and are being monitored.
NParks said that in 2025, more than 3,600 trees of over 145 native species will be planted across 15 sites, including Chek Jawa Wetlands and Jalan Durian, as part of reforestation efforts on Pulau Ubin.
As for Ubin School, more students are set to benefit from it, as biology teachers in training from the National Institute of Education (NIE) have been brought to the island to learn how to use it as an outdoor classroom.
NIE associate professor Tan Aik Ling said that lessons conducted by teachers like Mr Tan from Commonwealth Secondary School that bring students to Chek Jawa reflects the growing focus on place-based learning .
The teaching approach brings students out of classrooms and into the places they study to better appreciate their contexts.
'We are trying to get kids to look beyond the here and now,' she said.
' A place has a value in every point in time, and we want students to appreciate that. The decisions we make on places today will have an impact on how they are valued, or devalued, as we move along.'
Mr Tan noted that reclamation is still a possibility, based on the authorities' plans.
Having seen Chek Jawa for themselves, he added, any decisions made about the place become more real to students 'because they went there, saw wildlife, and then can imagine for themselves what happens if all these are covered by sand'.
Ng Keng Gene is a correspondent at The Straits Times, reporting on issues relating to land use, urban planning and heritage.
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