Kicking off the countdown was a donation of $120,000 from HongkongBank's Care- for-Nature Trust Fund to set up the Sungei Buloh Education Fund. It will be used to fund the Park's public education activities, including programmes promoting awareness of the Park as an important natural heritage and inculcating a greater knowledge and appreciation of nature. Proceeds and donations collected from visitors to the Park from the sate of publications and activities like the Spot-art Competition will also go into the fund for future projects.

Countdown Events 30 November 1997 A ceremony was held for the setting up of the Sungei Buloh Education Fund. The cheque of $120,000 from the HongkongBank's Care-for-Nature Trust Fund was presented by Mr Connal Rankin (Chief Executive Officer, HongkongBank) to Dr Tan Wee Kiat (Chief Executive Officer, National Parks Board). Launch of the new Sungei Buloh Nature Park brochure. The countdown to the 5th Anniversary was kicked

Dr Tan Wee Kiat, Chief Executive Officer of the National Parks Board, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, Good Morning. When the Sungei Buloh Park was opened in 1993, HongkongBank was among its first corporate supporters. Even today, if you take a stroll around the Park, you will easily see from the many signages the Bank's involvement in this uniquely important natural heritage of ours. While the educational and instructional signages, which were installed at the inauguration of the Park, have seen better days, given the inevitable wear and tear of the past four years, the ecological importance of the Sungei Buloh nature park and its value to our environmental awareness-building efforts have not, in the least, been diminished. I am also glad to add that the same goes for HongkongBank's commitment to the conservation of the Park and to the environment as a whole. Having supported the original effort to establish the Park, I am pleased that the Bank has been invited back by the National Parks Board (NParks) to help mark Sungei Buloh's first major milestone and, even more importantly, to participate in NPark's effort to enhance quality and range of educational activities at Sungei Buloh for the enjoyment of Singaporeans and foreign visitors alike. Being Singapore's first and only wetlands nature park in itself makes Sungei Buloh an ecological jewel in land scarce and urbanised Singapore. Yet I would venture to add that Sungei Buloh's greater value lies in its uniqueness as a living classroom for our school children and, indeed, for all of us. It is on this premise that we have chosen to assist the National Parks Board in its endeavour to raise the profile of the Sungei Buloh Nature Park in the lead-up, as the backdrop behind me puts it, the countdown to its 5th Anniversary. On this note, I am pleased to announce HongkongBank's donation of S$120,000 to the National Park's Board for the setting up of a Sungei Buloh Education Fund to fund the Park's public education activities. I hope this Education Fund will go some way to attracting more school children to the Park and, in the process, enrich each and every one of them with a greater knowledge of nature at work and, more importantly, with a deeper appreciation of the importance wetland parks like Sungei Buloh are to our natural landscape. Before I conclude let me share with you a quick observation. At the height of the recent haze a colleague at the Bank remarked how human beings can be so silly in the way they all tend to take granted, the sunny blue sky in this instance, only to start realising how precious something is when they longer have it. I hope that in time to come, we will not be saying the same of the Sungei Buloh Nature Park and for that matter, all our other parks and seashores. Hopefully, the setting up of this Education Fund will help us keep the Sungei Buloh Nature Park as a cherished jewel of our natural heritage and a living classroom for generations to come. Thank you. Connal Rankin General Manager & Chief Executive Officer HongkongBank Singapore at the launch of the 5th Anniversary Countdown 30 Nov 1997

Birdwatch 1997 (30 Nov - 6 Dec 97) BirdWatch Week, an annual Park event since 1996, promised fascinating views of Heron Watch migratory birds. Guides with telescopes were stationed at Main Hide to assist visitors in spotting and our feathered friends from afar. Kid's Lucky Dip (30 Nov - 6 DEC 97) All the children who visited the Park during this period were kept busy around route 1, collecting clues along the bird trail for a chance at the lucky dip. Armed with our trail booklet: "Endless Summer: The Story of a Seasoned Traveller", the children found out about the wonders of migration from the journey taken by our star, the Common Redshank (Tringa totanus). Many happy kids went home from the Park not only with newly acquired information on these fascinating birds but also generous prizes like stamp prints, binoculars, first-day covers and other souvenirs, all kindly sponsored by HongkongBank. Spot Art Competition (30 Nov 97 - 30 Nov 98) The 'Care For Nature' Spot Art Competition, which spans the entire year, is open to all children aged between 6-16 years. Each month, 10 top entries will be selected from both the Primary and Secondary category to qualify for the Grand Finale. Heron Watch (17 Jan, 28 Feb, 21 Mar 98) This features fun-filled activities while on a tour to heronry. The activities will illustrate the survival needs of the herons and the importance of conserving the wetland habitats that are essential to the herons. Mangrove Mania (18 Apr, 30 May, 27 Jun 98) Plant and bring home a part of the mangrove swamp, as part of our mudflat clearance programme. Ecology Trail (Jul - Sep 98) A trail along Route 1 for a better understanding of the interdependency in the world of living things. 5th Anniversary The annual BirdWatch event will be held again. In addition to the regular wader spotting, we will also be conducting bird-sketching workshops, mime performances and story telling sessions at the Park.

Message from
Tan Wee Kiat
Chief Executive Officer
National Parks Board
at the launch of
the 5th Anniversary Countdown
30 Nov 1997

Sungei Buloh's rich food source, thanks to its mudflats and mangroves, has made it a natural stopover site for migratory birds during the colder months. Luckily for us, this very unique attraction and its potential was recognised, and in 1989, the government conserved it as a nature park. Today, people from all walks of life come to see the large variety of birds and plants, which thrive in diverse habitats here in Singapore's only wetland park.

Sungei Buloh Nature Park was officially opened on 6 December 1993 with this mission, 'To be a centre for excellence in tropical wetland management for conservation, education, research and compatible recreation'. The team here at Sungei Buloh has worked very hard, through its educational programmes, publications and collaborations with researchers and institutions, to bring Sungei Buloh closer to Singaporeans. And the response has been encouraging. The Park sees more than 200 visitors each day, However, more can be done to draw on the large untapped market out there.

Sungei Buloh and HongkongBank have recognised this potential, and in preparation for Sungei Buloh's 5th anniversary in December next year, they have come together to organise, not a 3-month, or even a 6-month, but a whole year's programme aimed at letting people discover this very different, very natural part of Singapore. HongkongBank is kindly donating $120,000 towards the Sungei Buloh Education Fund for this purpose. On behalf of the National Parks Board and Sungei Buloh Nature Park, I would like to extend our appreciation to Hongkong Bank for their generous support.