As interest in nature grows among Singaporeans, public education has become even more important to protect the wildlife and natural environment.

This was the idea behind one unique lagoon at St John's Island — Bendera Bay.

On Dec. 13, Bendera Bay was opened by Minister for National Development Desmond Lee, Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin, and Member of Parliament Nadia Ahmad Samdin with representatives from the local marine community and the National Parks Board (NParks).

Unique site with diverse habitats

The 3.9-hectare Bendera Bay contains a diversity of natural habitats, including mangroves, corals, seagrass, sandy shore, and rocky shore.

The shallow intertidal area makes it a suitable site for researchers to study the seagrass, while the deeper sections of the sheltered lagoon are ideal for coral research.

The lagoon also connects to a small creek with mangroves. This area serves as a potential site for mangrove research, restoration, or as a nursery site.

A shared space for different uses

The site is named after the indigenous Malay name for St John's Island (Pulau Sekijang Bendera) by the Friends of Marine Park, a body that comprises representatives from 40 marine-related organisations.

Friends of Marine Park represents the divers, anglers, boaters, educators and researchers.

The chairman of Friends of Marine Park, Stephen Beng, said to the media on Dec. 13 that Bendera Bay is where different groups can get to know each other and gain trust through discussions on the ground.

"It's not just about 40-50 people coming together every quarter for a meeting but these people are representatives of organisations that have the sea at heart and the centre of their businesses or activities. Having these organisations with this community is a big win for nature already..."

The Friends of Marine Park community has agreed on a common vision, which is a future for "Healthy Seas", "Connected Communities" and a "Resilient Future".

Following that, various groups such as the boaters, kayakers, guides and researchers have also submitted their Codes of Conduct in 2018.

These Codes of Conduct will be applied at Bendera Bay to nurture environmentally-responsible users at Bendera Bay to keep the biodiversity protected.

Activities at Bendera Bay to start from early 2021

The Friends of Marine Park community, with the support of NParks, will spearhead efforts to balance the different uses at Bendera Bay.

Bendera Bay will remain fenced up to protect the area for research purposes and members of the public can visit Bendera Bay via scheduled programmes.

Future activities that members of the public can look forward to are related to research, education, recreation, and heritage.

These include sustainable fishing workshops, beach clean-ups, and Citizen Science dives.

Former islanders have donated two koleks for display at the bay and they will be planning guided walks to the bay and around the St John's Island.

The former islanders will be able to share more about how they used to live on the island and conduct a jong race demo.

At the opening on Dec. 13, the Friends of Marine Park volunteers carried out some trials for these upcoming activities with participants from the larger Friends of Marine community to gather feedback to refine these activities for the public.

More details about the programmes will be released on NParks' Facebook page and Celebrating Singapore Shores' Facebook page in due course.

We deliver more stories to you on LinkedIn

Top image courtesy of NParks and Stephen Beng