The Singapore American School

Comprehensive Rainforest and

Nursery Proposal

Presented By: Roopa Dewan

Primary Contributors:

Jamie Alarcon Simbulan, Martha Began, Alice Early,

Steve Early, and Kattina Rabdau-Fox

With Input From:

Kate Thome, Rindi Baildon, Natalie Grimbergen, Mike Ferguson, Beth Burnett,

Nancy Von Wahlde

December 2014

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary

Background

Project Proposal

Project Goals and Benefits ● Current Curriculum ● Proposed Curriculum

Timeline

Funding Requests

Appendices

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Executive Summary:

SAS has the rare distinction of having its own

one and a half acre rainforest that should

serve as a unique space for learning and

conservation. SAS Classes across all Grade

levels, invariably incorporate some element of

nature and environmental learning into their

curriculum. We believe this rainforest can be

enhanced and developed to become an

outdoor classroom and a living laboratory

which will foster science engagement,

discovery, and sustainability across all

divisions.

We must develop a comprehensive

Biodiversity Education Program in order to

regenerate and conserve our rainforest.

This outdoor classroom will play a significant

role in educating teachers and students of all

ages about our natural ecosystems, including the cultivation and conservation thereof.

Experts agree that the majority of native plants in South East Asia will become extinct in

the wild in the next 30 years because of environmental pressures from palm oil

plantations, development, and climate change. This space, if managed wisely, can become

a sanctuary for endangered local plants, insects and animals species most at risk. Every

student and SAS community member may then learn to appreciate and respect the beauty,

interconnectedness, and complexity of endangered tropical forest ecosystems through

direct encounters with our rainforest.

Implementation of a comprehensive Biodiversity Education Program will take 12 months –

24 months and be completed in three (3) simultaneous phases. The science curriculum

review committee is currently exploring how we can leverage the SAS forest to achieve the

Next Generation Science Standards.

Total funding for this entire project is projected at S$600,000 to S$625,000. Once

implemented, incremental annual maintenance will be required. The Singapore Botanic

Gardens will provide in kind, and gratis, donations of plants, consultancy, and training

valued at S$100,000. The facilities office anticipates needing a part-time staff to undertake

maintenance and management of the rainforest.

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Background:

On 22nd September 1993, the Science teachers Richard Frazier and Steve Early, requested

the purchase of the forest and wrote to the administration saying; “We have a unique        opportunity to have as a part of the campus a piece of the rich heritage of Southeast                                 Asia. In a sense, the entire region owes its current economic importance to the wealth                             of forest products that formed the basis of trade over five hundred years ago...The value                             as a resource is immense­­from the academic to the aesthetic­­from science to social                         studies­­even to art and literature. In the future, our city will need every bit of green                               space it can protect. Our school can participate in the plan for an urban environment                             which is in harmony with nature. Keeping a patch of forest on the school ground with                               its accompanying biodiversity is having an incredibly rich biological library and                     storehouse for no cost at all. If the educational value were calculated against the                           monetary cost, the forest would be the best deal economically of any part of the school                               plan” (Richard Frazier). Thus SAS procured a rainforest as part of the purchase as a   

unique space for learning and conservation. Currently, classes in the 4th, 7th, and the high

school environmental science programs use this space for exploration and research.

Outside of these classes, few teachers are aware that this unique resource exists on campus.

Our rainforest is a storehouse of endemic

biodiversity. Studies of our rainforest

conducted by 7th graders over the past

three years have identified over 500

species of plants, animals, insects, and

fungi and reported it to scientists at

Project Noah. Rare animals such as the

Green Crested Lizard and heritage tree

species such as Pulai and Terentang call

our rainforest home. Maintaining this

space will help SAS students preserve species that might disappear from the wild.

Our K-12 curriculum provides a constant spiraling of science topics related to ecosystems,

plant life, biodiversity, with a strong emphasis on application projects. Our rainforest and

nursery program will enhance what we already do, building a cohesive bridge between

different grade levels in teaching and learning and it will do so by springboarding on already

existing programs offered throughout the school.

In January 2014, SAS was invited to partner with the Singapore Botanic Garden (SBG) to

transform the rainforest into a home for native trees and to set up our existing middle

school garden as an endemic forest tree nursery. Elango Velautham, the Director of the

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Singapore Botanic Garden Plant Resource Center, visited our rainforest and garden space to

provide consultation. He advised us on how we can ensure the safety of visitors to the forest

by helping us identify invasive species and/or damaged trees that needed removal. He

suggested making investments in infrastructure, including installation of a simple watering

system and replacement of the cement trail with gravel or boardwalk that will help enhance

the health of the forest for years to come. He also supplied us with preliminary design

suggestions for a tree and plant nursery where students could propagate native plants. Dr.

Velautham gave his advice to create a standard operating procedure for managing the

rainforest and garden space.

Through this strong partnership with the Singapore Botanic Gardens, SAS will receive

saplings of endemic plant species as well as ongoing nursery training for teachers and staff.

Through development of our pre existing curriculum, students will become custodians of

this nursery and become invested in planting, germinating, and studying them in our own

rainforest. Our students will become mentors and guides for younger students. This

program will make SAS a center for international conservation education and help fulfill

our vision for SAS to be “a world leader in education cultivating exceptional thinkers

prepared for the future.”

In the interest of preparing students for academic, professional, and interpersonal success, a

great school needs go beyond traditional academics to expand its understanding of what is

required of a 21st century education and monitor the growth and achievement in these

areas. The proposed outdoor classroom would serve to address our DSLO’s - Character,

Collaboration, Communication, Core Knowledge, Creativity and Innovation, Critical

Thinking, and Cultural Competence by providing a real space and authentic opportunities

for experiential and integrated learning. SAS could become an internationally renowned

center for conservation education moving toward a sustainable future.

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Project Proposal:

In order to regenerate and conserve our rainforest, we must develop a comprehensive

biodiversity education program.

This outdoor classroom will play a significant role in educating teachers and students of all

ages about cultivation and conservation of our natural ecosystems. Timeliness is crucial for

the rainforests of SE Asia. As this is our science curriculum review year, the timing couldn’t

be better. Our rainforest will serve as a resource for education – both for students and

teachers, a living laboratory to save rare endemic species, and a space to apply best practice

in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM).

Every student and SAS community member may learn to appreciate and respect the beauty,

interconnectedness, and complexity of endangered tropical forest ecosystems through

direct encounters with our forest patch and Proposed Nursery.

Program Goals and Benefits:

● Create “hands-on” learning about the diverse components of the rainforest and their

intra-dependencies and interdependencies to excite all students K-12 about nature

and science. See Potential Biodiversity Education Initiatives for examples of how we

could learn in this space throughout every division using pre-existing curriculum and

programs that are in development.

● Educate students about forest conservation both in theory and practice

● Cultivate an understanding of nature’s role in local culture, heritage and the

economy, focusing on trade and geography

● Facilitate hands on scientific investigation and field research and publication on

endemic species.

● Generate collaborative, interactive opportunities for problem solving &

implementation

● Provide opportunities for reflective and scientific writing and communication

● Create global awareness for related challenges/solutions

● Create opportunities for student led database management

● Use as a hub for Language Arts and Social Studies classes.

● Generate AP Capstone projects

Hands-on research and experimentation in our own rainforest will raise awareness and

empathy and provide a platform for collaborative inquiry and problem solving consistent

with SAS’s future development goals. In time, our unique rainforest can serve as a learning

bridge between local schools and the SAS community.

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Project Timeline: 2014

Implementation of the initiative will take 12 months – 24 months and be completed in three

simultaneous phases.

Phase 1.

Establishment of a forest tree nursery on the SAS campus for the propagation of endemic

and highly endangered saplings. To this end, establish the following:

1. Diversity and Health Assessment - Embellish the existing Grade 7 biodiversity

survey of the campus rainforest (nearly 500 species already identified) with a biodiversity

survey of the entire rainforest to identify existing rainforest species and clear non-endemic

species. A professional survey would produce an accurate contour map with species

identified and pinpointed. Get a professional arborist to evaluate the health of individual

trees and take action with tree removal as needed.

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2.1 Potting Shed – Build a covered open working space

as an outdoor classroom to facilitate students’ hands-on

gardening of endemic species. The potting shed will

store pre-mixed soil, pots, gardening tools, gloves and

watering cans. Inside the shed construct a large flat

cement working table (big enough for 25 people to

stand around), cement benches , deep sinks with

running water, The potting shed will be used by

students K-12 to germinate endemic seeds, and

transplant seedlings.

 Potting shed at SBG Plant Resource potting shed. Note the high roof with open top to keep the area                                     rain free and cool. The building is open on all four sides. Soil, sand and compost is delivered here,                                     stored and mixed. Cabinets store garden tools, a separate room stores pots, there are two deep sinks                                 with running water. A large central cement table provides working space. Behind the shed is the mist                                 house (ICU) and to the left are shade cloth covered plant nurseries with endemic species.

2.2 Mist House - This structure would provide a precise

“intensive care” environment to nurture the germination

of endemic tree seeds, and support young saplings with a

precise automated time released mist spray.

SBG Mist House (Plant ICU) at the Arboriculture, Plant Records                   and Plant Resource Center. Note the shade cloth supported on                   the roof, metal hog­wire fence surrounding the mist house. Most                   plant pots are on top of waist high tables.

2.3 Shade House – To house the potted plants and allow for a

timed watering system to support the young saplings to a

transplantable age. This is the next step after the care of the

mist house.  Shade house as part of the SBG Plant Resource Center ­ note the waist                           high tables constructed of old railroad ties to hold pots, cement walkway,                       overhead pipes to spray water and metal frame to held the shade cloth.                         Shade cloth surrounds the entire structure on three sides.

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Phase 2: 2014-2015

1. Hydration System :

● Restoration of existing rainforest with helps of NParks - Botanic Gardens

● Install an automated hydration system for the SAS forest inclusive of rainwater

recycling tank and pump station.

2. Boardwalk and Safety: ● Remove the sections of the cement path which are obstructing the root systems of

some large trees and replace these with elevated boardwalks.

Phase 3: 2014-2016

Education, Research, and Training:

● Engage a biodiversity educational consultant to work with educators to develop

integrated grade appropriate initiatives and goals.

● Teacher training as part of curriculum adoption.

● Develop Local and regional links to provide students with practical, rainforest

conservation.

● Become a regionally recognized center for conservation education. Build

partnerships with National Parks, Singapore Botanic Garden, National BioDiversity

Center, National University Singapore, and Yale-NUS.

● Make our rainforest a showcase for conservation education. This will provide a

model for an outdoors classroom.

    SAS students transplant Dipterocarpus seedlings into nutrient rich               soil on the large cement table in the SBG Plant Resource Center.

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Funding Request: Total funding for this project is projected at S$600,00.00 - $625,000.00

1 Endemic Forest Tree Nursery $215,000

a. Consulting fees: Landscape Architect,

Land Surveyor, Arborist

$75,000

b. Physical Facilities - Potting Shed,

Planting Tables, Mist House, Shade

House, Shelving; Compost Recycling Plant

$140,000

2 Rain forest Protection $360,000

a. Hydration System $250,000

b. Boardwalk and Safety (Tree Surgery,

Signage)

$110,000

3 Education, Research and Training $50,000

a. Professional Development

Current PD, OOL

Funds

b. Enhanced K-12 Curriculum

Development

Curriculum Review

Cycle

   c. Comprehensive Biodiversity Survey &

Database Mgt

$30,000

   d. Partnerships with SBG, National Parks,

National Biodiversity Center, Yale-NUS

$20,000

   TOTAL $625,000

Once implemented, incremental annual maintenance will be required. Singapore Botanic

Gardens will provide in kind donations of plants, consultancy and training valued at

S$100,000. The school’s existing horticulturist would undertake maintenance and

management of the Rainforest.

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Appendices:

Current Biodiversity Educational Initiatives

Potential Biodiversity Educational Initiatives Rainforest Photos

Student made Google Rainforest Tours

Management Plan

Report from Singapore Botanical Gardens

Standard Operating Procedures

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