Chek Jawa

In the middle of May we were able to see the Chek Jawa Wetlands with several people from church.  Chek Jawa is on Pulau Ubin, the island off Singapore where we had gone a few weeks earlier.  It includes six different ecosystems within a small area:  a coastal forest, mangroves, seagrass lagoon, rocky shore, sandy shore, and coral rubble.  We were able to get a guided tour of the sandbar at low tide.  The guides also explained parts of the coastal forest and the mangroves as we walked to the sandbar.

On a boat heading to Pulau Ubin

Another group getting off their boat

Beginning our tour

The walk through the coastal forest, heading toward the beach, was beautiful.

Our guide showing us a nipah palm

We also got to see the mangroves.

 

Many tiny fiddler crabs near the mangroves

But the highlight of everyone's trip, I think, was the walk on the sandbar.  There were a few marine biologists collecting interesting sea creatures for us to look at.

Hermit crab

(Thanks to Yang Zhi for this beautiful picture, and a few others.)

Sea cucumber with a crab on it

Sea urchin on the left

Jason holding a starfish ("sea star")

Better view of the starfish 

Emily holding a sand dollar ("sea biscuit")

Flower crab

Jochebed and Megan by a carpet anemone--Megan counted over 30 of these!

Closer-up of an anemone

We ended our walk with a group photo--and then who should appear by our vans to take us back to the ferry terminal, but our "friends" the wild boars?!  And this time there were monkeys in the trees right above them.

Our time together concluded with lunch back in Singapore, with devotions led by Elder Lee.  "O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all:  the earth is full of thy riches.  So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts" (Psalm 104:24-25).