Current situation on energy conversation at Jurong Eco Garden(JEG)-CleanTech Park

Current situation on energy conversation at Jurong Eco Garden(JEG)-CleanTech Park

There will be 4 questions on the current situation on energy conversation at JEG

-Write down a brief introduction of the possible alternative energy(not specific to JEG)
-Suggest 3 ways that Jurong Lake Park can adopt from JEG to improve on energy conversation
-Explain briefly how our suggestion works
-Support our suggestions with our own diagrams or photos from the internet

-Write down a brief introduction of the possible alternative energy

The alternate energy could be solar energy, wing energy, light energy and etc. All sources of energy are renewable energy. As parks try to be as eco-friendly as possible, the government tries to make parks and reservoirs eco-friendly.

-Suggest 3 ways that Jurong Lake Park can adopt from JEG to improve on energy conversation

-JLP can have more solar panels to use
-JLP could have LED lights
-JLP can have boards showing facts about energy conservation.

-Explain briefly how our suggestion works

Jurong Lake Park can have more solar panels to attach onto street lamps and rubbish bins. This is so that the solar panels can absorb light energy to convert it to electrical energy, therefore conserving energy. JLP could also have LED lights equipped on the street lamps. As LED light bulbs consume less energy compared to normal light bulbs (florescent light bulbs), installing them would save electricity. Lastly, JLP could have notice boards educating the people of energy conservation. This will allow people to be more conscious about energy saving and therefore conserve it more.
 -Support our suggestions with our own diagrams or photos from the internet

LED lights on street lamps


Solar panels on rubbish bin


A energy conservation poster

Jurong Lake Park

Jurong Lake Park

There will be four questions about JLP

-Suggest what we can do to make JLP more eco-friendly and at the same time,

-Improve the water quality in the lake

-Make reference to the various seperation techniques we have learnt in class or researched on our own

-Suggest how water quality in the lake can be monitored

-Suggest what we can do to make JLP more eco-friendly?

We could make JLP a more eco-friendly environment by reducing the amount of toilet flushing. We could also increase the amount of rubbish bins around the park so users will not litter in the park.

-Improve the water quality in the lake

Park rangers could ask user's to reduce the amount of littering in the lake. They could also prevent users from feeding marine animals in the lake.

-Make reference to the various seperation techniques we have learnt in class or researched on our own

We can use filtration, distilisation, and crystallisation.

-Suggest how water quality in the lake can be monitered

Water in the lake can be monitored through water testing. Water could also be monitored by calculating how much living organisms can live in that water.

JEG - CleanTech Park

JEG - CleanTech Park

Main separation technique utilised in JEG?

Cleansing biotopes

What is that technique?

It is a way to filter and clean water naturally without the use of any chemicals. Cleansing biotopes offer effective water treatment while maintaining a natural and beautiful environment. They consist of carefully selected plants in a filter medium which helps to cleanse the water by filtering pollutants and absorbing nutrients.

 

How is it used in Jurong Eco Garden?

The technique is a form of artificially constructed vertical flow wetland, typically with recirculation. The cleansing biotopes consist of nutrient-poor underlying layer (substrates) that are planted with wetland plants, which are known for their water cleaning capacity. 

It ties in with the 'eco-friendly' theme at JEG, why and how?

Benefits
 • Filters and cleans water naturally without the use of any chemicals
• Encourages habitat creation and promotes biodiversity
 • Beautifies surrounding landscape 

Maintenance
 • Maintain healthy vegetation growth, as it plays a key role in porosity of the soil, taking up of nutrients and promoting the growth of microorganisms that degrade pollutants from the percolating surface runoff.
• Cleansing biotopes can be divided into several areas that are alternately activated. This allows each section to be deactivated for a few days for regeneration. 
• Under extreme conditions, the filter media may become clogged at the surface by organic matter. When this happens, the water feed is switched off or diverted to allow the substrates and organic matter to dry for several days and the biotopes surface to be mineralised. The top layer of the filter media should also be raked to loosen it. The cleansing biotope system can then be turned on again.

WATER QUALITY IN JEG

Water Quality in JEG

There will be three question on the water quality in JEG:

-What is water quality?

-How can water quality be tested?

-Why is good water quality important in an ecosystem?

What is water quality?

Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, biological, and radiological characteristics of water. It is a measure of the condition of water relative to the requirement of one or ore biotic species and/or to any human need or purpose.

How can water quality be tested?

Water quality can be tested in three ways:

-Testing for TURBIDITY

-Testing for DISSOLVED OXYGEN

-Testing for ACIDITY

Testing for TURBIDITY refers to the level of murkiness of the water, caused by the amount of particles such as soil, sediments, algae or organic matter suspended in water.

Testing for DISSOLVED OXYGEN refers to the amount of oxygen dissolved in a given volume of water, as a given temperature and atmospheric pressure. It can be measured in milligrams per liter(mg/l) or parts per million(ppm).

Testing for ACIDITY refers to how acidic or basic a particular solution is.

Why is good water quality important to an ecosystem?

Good water quality is important to an ecosystem so no living organism in that ecosystem dies of dehydration. The ecosystem needs water so that soil fertility has enough moisture for all plants have water to drink and photosynthesize. As animals need water to keep themselves hydrated and to help in the flow of blood in body, animals  need water to move around to hunt for food and to find shelter to live.

CONSERVATION EFFORTS AT JEG

CONSERVATION EFFORTS

Since Jurong Eco Garden (JEG) is the "green lungs" of CleanTech Park, it is no surprise that there were many conservation efforts made by the authorities and park management officials at JEG. One such example is the creation of green corridors for animal movement. This is typically 30 metres in width, but due to space constraint, it was restricted to 15 metres. So the park officials deepened the corridor and planted it heavily to heighten the sense of privacy and security for animals using the corridors. JTC Corporation has included a composting station to educate visitors about the composting process and also to conserve resources, where horticulture waste generated in the garden is converted into organic resources. The composting station is located in the Stream Ravine sector, near the butterfly garden. The composting barrels are separated into different hand tumblers based on a time period of 12 weeks. The barrels can be opened to view the soil, leaves and dead materials inside. Wet material made of vegetables, fruits and garden waste and dry material made of dry leaves, weeds and twigs are added to the barrels to start the composting process.The 5ha Jurong Eco-Garden also features a freshwater swamp forest, which serves as a central retention pond for storm water. About 65 per cent of the storm water run-off collected will be filtered for toilet-flushing and watering plants, among other purposes. In my personal opinion, i feel that the government is doing their part in safeguarding the environment. This is because just recently, the government has paved the way for many policies and plans, such as the Singapore Green Plan (SGP). Its objective is to ensure that Singapore, through sound environmental management, achieves economic development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the needs of future generations. The first Singapore Green Plan was released in 1992 by the then Ministry of the Environment, now known as the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR). MEWR has since updated it and the current plan is called the Singapore Green Plan 2012 or, simply, SGP 2012. MEWR did a review of the SGP 2012 in 2005 and released a revised edition of the plan in 2006. I feel like the government is doing very well in conserving the environment, but I feel that more things can be done, such as reinforcing the laws. For example, they can increase the severity of the punishments when one does things such as illegal logging. In conclusion, I think that the government is doing very well in conserving the environment, especially in JEG.

Mammals found in JEG

Mammals Found In JEG

What is this Mammal?

House Crow

Scientific Name?

Corvus Splendens 

Details:

The house crow (Corvus splendens), also known as the Indian, Grey-necked, Ceylon or Colombo crow, is a common bird of the crow family that is of Asian origin but now found in many parts of the world, where they arrived assisted by shipping. It is between the Jackdaw and the Carrion Crow in size (40 cm (16 in) in length) but is slimmer than either. The forehead, crown, throat and upper breast are a richly glossed black, whilst the neck and breast are a lighter grey-brown in color. The wings, tail and legs are black. There are regional variations in the thickness of the bill and the depth of color in areas of the plumage.

What is this Mammal?

Squirrel

Scientific Name?

Sciuridae

Details:

Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, consisting of small or medium-size rodents. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots (including woodchucks), flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa, and have been introduced to Australia. The earliest known squirrels date from the Eocene and are most closely related to the mountain beaver and to the dormouse among living rodent families.

  

What Is This Mammal?

Bat

Scientific Name?

Chiroptera

Details:

Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, can onlyglide for short distances. Bats do not flap their entire forelimbs, as birds do, but instead flap their spread-out digits, which are very long and covered with a thin membrane or patagium.

  

Insects found in JEG

Name of organism:Ants


Scientific name of organism: Camponotus

Description: Carpenter ants are large ants indigenous to many forested parts of the world. They build nests inside wood consisting of galleries chewed out with their mandibles, preferably in dead, damp wood.





Name of organism: Dragonfly

Scientific name of organism: Anisoptera

Description: A dragonfly is an insect belonging to the order Odonata, suborder Anisoptera. Adult dragonflies are characterized by large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, sometimes with coloured patches and an elongated body.
 

Name of organism: Earthworm

Scientific name of organism: Lumbricina

Description:An earthworm is a tube-shaped, segmented worm found in the phylum Annelida. Earthworms are commonly found living in soil, feeding on live and dead organic matter. An earthworm's digestive system runs through the length of its body. 


   

Plants found in JEG

Plants found in JEG

What is this organism?

Malayan Banyan Tree

Scientific name? 

Ficus microcarpa

Description :

This tree is in the family Moraceae. The tree is 20-25 meters above the ground. The formation of the roots create a unique pattern which is different for each tree.

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What is this organism?

Pitcher plant

Scientific name?

Nepenthes

Description :

this plant is in the genus of carnivorous plants in the monotypic family Nepenthaceae. It attracts insects with a sweet-smelling nectar. The sides are slippery thus, once the insect lands on the plant, it will drop in and be digested.

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What is this organism?

Chinese Violet

Scientific name?

Asystasia gangetica

Description :

The Chinese is a species of plant in the Acanthaceae family. It is 1-3 meters in length and is normally violet in colour. It is also an invasive plant

INTRODUCTION TO JEG

INTRODUCTION

Jurong Eco Garden (JEG) is a garden located near CleanTech Park at NTU. It has a very diverse variety of species which is amazing. It is home to many many insects, birds, small animals, beautiful flowers and towering trees. For example, our group got to see pitcher plants, Malayan Banyan Trees, the Chinese Violet, Grasshoppers, Crepe Gingers and much more! We saw people chatting, taking photographs, walking their dogs, jogging and some just sit on the bench and take in the scenery. After our little 'excursion' to JEG, all of us agreed that the garden has a peaceful and serene feel to it and if you would want a break time from all the stress, homework and projects you have to complete, JEG is definitely one of the top places to go to to distress.