RAC North

Background: Seletar Jetty / Jenal Jetty opposite Seletar Aerospace park is the last fishermen jetty in Singapore. With a bit of mangrove, wooden jetty and off the grid building, this is as rustic as it could get in stark contrast with the Air hub on the other side of the road. Something special about this place is that it is "off the grid" i.e. the buildings (used by fishermen for resting, sorting and sales) here are powered by solar panels and water had to be brought in by the user. The lack of municipal support also means that the trash on the beach front are not cleared regularly and the wooden jetties are maintained by the user rather than the authority.

Food for Thoughts: What would "living off the grid" be like? 

Links: Learn more here.

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Background: There used to be a water village along Sungei Khatib but it was cleared by the early 2000s. Sungei Khatib Bongsu is a mangrove habitat but unlike Sungei Buloh and Pasir Ris, it is not yet a protected area (although plan to create a nature park here is in the works). Despite being surrounded by military training area, it is a favourite for anglers, kayakers and nature-watchers.

Food for Thoughts:  

(1) How would you envision a Nature Park at Khatib Bongsu to be like?

(2) Would you rather this bay be dammed up to become a reservoir?

Links: Learn more here.

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Background: The northern coast in the Sembawang area used to be dotted with small Malay villages. One of the earliest and longest lasting is Kampong Wak Hassan (1914 - 1998), from which the Wak Hassan Beach (the last natural beach in Singapore) and Wak Hassan Mosque (formally Masjid Petempatan Melayu Sembawang) got their names. 

Kampong Wak Hassan was established by an ex-policeman called Wak Hassan bin Ali, who bought a large parcel of land near Sungei Sembawang. It was later relocated to its current location due to the construction of the British Naval Base in the 1930s. 

Wak Hassan Mosque (set up in 1964) as a single storey Kampong mosque surrounded by greeneries and low rise residence is a magnet for ghost stories. People spoke of sounds of children playing at night, trees swaying when there were no wind and the road leading to it that seems much longer when walked upon. While quiet during the weekdays, it is still used for madrasahs and religious activities on the weekends and Islamic holidays. 

The Assyafaah Mosque at nearby Admiralty town stood in contrast with Wak Hassan mosque, being 4 storey tall, built in modernist style and large enough for 4000 congregants. It was built to replace the Jumah Sembawang Mosque and Naval Base Mosque in the northern area.  

Food for Thoughts: (a) Religious diversity in Singapore. (b) How has religion kept up with age? 

Links: Learn more about Kampong Wak Hassan and Assyafaah Mosque. 

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Background: Passion Wave @ Sembawang and Boys Brigade & Girls Brigade HQ, both along the coast of Sembawang are both possible campsites for the route.

Links: Refer to OPS guides for PW@Sembawang (log in to Workplace required) and BB/GB (TBC).

Background: 

Food for Thoughts: 

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Background: Sembawang Park is one of the larger park in Sembawang. It had infused elements of the natural, cultural and historical heritage beside providing residents and visitors with a place of leisure and recreation.

The Sembawang area is rich in history especially military and maritime history. Singapore Naval Base (HMS Sembawang) was operated by the British here since the 1930s. It was handed over to Singapore end 1960s but there were still presence of Commonwealth forces here (British, NZ, Australia) as part of FPDA. The construction of this shipyard was said to be due the British contractors not heeding to the local practice of praying to the "Keramat Tree". (Credit Annie) 

Today, the Sembawang Wharf is used by US Pacific 7th fleet as their logistics centre. Hence the higher security signature in this area (regular joint SAF / SPF patrol). The signature playground at Sembawang Park is modelled after a warship . This is one of the thematic playgrounds in Singapore. 

At the entrance to the park's Carpark A, one can find a small Sembawang Tree on the island. Sembawang is one of the many estates in Singapore named after trees. (Others being Changin, Tampines, Kampong Glam, Kranji and Katong) 

Links: 

1. Go to Sembawang Park PBL page. 

2. Learn about the Sembawang Keramat Tree here and place named after trees in Singapore here). 

3. Sembawang Park Campsite OPS Guide .(log in to Workplace required)

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Background: Northpoint City (opened in 2017 in its current form) is an integrated development with huge malls, community centre and library, residence units and an integrated transport hub (linking the bus services to the MRT N-S line. Prior to this the land is taken up by North Point Shopping Centre (converted and refurbished as North wing of Northpoint City) and the Old Yishun Bus Terminus. This Old terminal was constructed in 1992, being purpose built for then Trans Island Bus Service (TIBS) that serve the area. 

Food for Thoughts: As transport system become more integrated, it is envisioned that Singapore can become a car-lit society. Beside Integrated Transport Hub, other measures to faciitate this includes Park Connectors, Shared Bike schemes and Private Hire scheme. 

Link: Find out more at Walk Cycle Ride SG page

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Background: Ground Up Initiative (GUI) - Kampong Kampus seeks to promote sustainability leaving through activities like farming, composting and healthy eating. Besides farming activity, this is also a campsite.

Food for Thoughts: Food Security and Food Waste in Singapore.

Links: 

1. Learn more about food security and food waste management.

2. OPS Guide for GUI campsite and Yishun Stadium. 

3. Farming Activity (PBL) (TBC)

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Background: The reservoir was created in 1983 by a damming across the mouth of Seletar River. Originally named 'Sungei Seletar Reservoir', it was renamed as Lower Seletar Reservoir in 1992 to differentiate it from Upper Seletar Reservoir. This reservoir is the 13th Resevoir to be developed in Singapore. (1st Reservoir - MacRitchie Reservoir 1894, 16th/17th - Punggol Reservoir and Serangoon Reservoir 2011).  Besides providing water to Singaporeans, the reservoir is also a place for recreation and community-building, kayaking and dragon-boating are popular water activities here. 

Food for Thoughts: (a) 4 National Taps of Singapore. (b) Making use of spaces around reservoir.

Links: Learn more via PUB's Pamphlet.

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Background: Seletar Airport is actually Singapore's first civilian airport (1930 - 1937) when it was converted from an RAF airbase built in 1928. While the bulk of air traffic now reside in Changi, Seletar still maintain a small commercial airfield, related aviation industry and the Singapore Youth Flying Club. This Airport is at the centre of the tension between Malaysia and Singapore due to the former's objection to the use of ILS (Instrumented Landing System) that was claimed to limit the growth of development in Pasir Gudang. 

Rower's Bay, named after dragon boaters and kayakers using the Lower Seletar Reservoir is one of Singapore's newest park, built with wetland broadwalk and a great collection of plants. It is also the first phase of Singapore's 150 km Round Island Route (RIR) for cycling

Food for Thoughts: (a) Is Seletar Airport still relevant with the expanded Changi Airport? (b) What are the benefits of RIR?

Links: Learn more about Seletar Airport and RIR. 

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Background: The 2 Punggol Islands (P Punggol Barat and P Punggol Timor) were reclaimed from the sea around 1998. Originally gazetted for military training, there were then converted into mixed industrial land use. 

The southern part of P Punggol Timor is currently used as a sand reserve storage (sand being one of the critical resource for Singapore). Barges can be seen regularly hauling sands to the docks at the north of this island for this precious commodity to be offloaded. There is also a foreign worker dormitory situated at the eastern part of P Punggol Timor. It is well known for its rainbow coloured buildings (as well as being one of the COVID-19 cluster during the 2020 pandemic).

Food for Thoughts: (a) Importance of imported resources (sand, water, workers) for Singapore's development. (b) Environmental impact of sand mining.

Links: Watch clip on sand mining's impact on environment here. Learn more here.

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Background: OBS Reception and Activity Centre serves as the staging point for OBS on P Ubin as well as an interim campsite. It has a Pre-school as its only neighbour. It is frequented by monitor lizards, wild boars and the occasional blue-throated bee-eaters which are a favourite of bird watchers and photographers.

Links: See OPS guide for RAC. (log in to Workplace required)

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