How time flies! It seems like just yesterday when the idea of having a nature guiding group was conceived by a few Bachelor of Environmental Studies (BES) undergraduates wanting to share their love for nature with the public. 3 years down the road and having trained generations of BES students, let us now take a trip down memory lane to see how BES Drongos has grown over the years.
Follow that monkey?
Ever wondered how our namesake came about? Well, we named ourselves after the Greater Racket-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus), one of a few iconic birds in the Central Catchment area. These birds are extremely intelligent, with the ability to mimic the alarm calls of other birds so as to scare them away and steal the food left behind by them. Sneaky, but also really clever, aren’t they?
First trail
Our first ever public trail launch on 4 October 2014 was rained out on; what a way to begin! Nevertheless, our opening weekend on 11 and 12 October 2014 received fabulous support. Since then, Drongos has reached out to more than 500 participants over 3 years, and we certainly hope to see more of you at our trails!
Conservation booths
Besides bringing people close to nature, we have also brought nature closer to people. Drongos has regularly held conservation booths to showcase our local biodiversity to the masses. With specimens from the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, the public has never failed to be amazed by what’s out there in the wild in Singapore.
On the web
Apart from physical outreach, we believe in the power of social media to garner support for our cause. Our Drongos don’t just guide; many have different talents in photography, drawing and writing!
Below we present to you a small selection of artwork by our resident artists, but be sure to check out our Facebook page and WordPress for more amazing content!
What’s next?
Over the years, the Drongos flock has expanded, with volunteer guides from all batches of BES. We are also currently training up a new batch of guides, so do look forward to seeing them on our trails!
Looking forward, we are excited to be taking part in more outreach events to bring our love for nature to more people. For one, BES Drongos will be taking part in the NParks Parks Festival 2017 at Pasir Ris Park taking place on 28 October. We also have 2 more public trails happening on 21 October and 4 November, so do sign up for an enriching time with us!
With that, our #throwback is over but we look forward to many more great years ahead for BES Drongos. And we certainly hope YOU will be a part of this exciting journey ahead!
Words by: Angela Chan
Header illustration by: Ashley Tan
BES Drongos | Follow that monkey! 