A long time ago, giants stood tall among us. And no, this is not a fairy tale. Before great swathes of our natural forests gave way to concrete jungles, giant trees could be found throughout our landscape.

The very thought of weeding, especially on a weekend morning, sounds like a dreaded chore to most. Yet, a group of enthusiastic Central Nature Reserve volunteers immersed themselves in this task one sunny Saturday morning – marshalled by Roy Tan, a Senior Outreach Officer with the Central Nature Reserve Branch.

Between 22 May 2010 and 20 June 2010, a parade of local flora and fauna invaded the pedestrian malls of Orchard Road.

Dragonflies hold a unique fascination for people all over the world. They represent swiftness and pure water to Native Americans, and are symbols of bravery and happiness to the Japanese. In parts of Europe, they even have been linked to evil legends. Here in Singapore, our interest in dragonflies extends beyond myths and curiosity, into the realm of serious research. NParks conducted a dragonfly project for two years from 2008 to 2010, with the objective of surveying ponds in parks for their dragonfly diversity and population.