Take an Urban Walk on the Wild Side. Leopards and Tigers Are Now a Common Sight in Orchard. Are You Kidding?

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Take an urban walk on the wild side. Leopards and Tigers are now a common sight in Orchard. Are you kidding? No, we are talking about the Leopard and the Plain Tiger butterflies who have made the Butterfly Trail @ Orchard their home - and why not? There are plenty of food shopping outlets for them. Our active NSS Butterfly Interest Group members chase more of the latest A rather confused, if beauties to hit the Orchard parade. voyeuristic, Peacock Pansy looking at a mating pair of Cycad Text by Anuj Jain, Gan Cheong Weei, Simon Chan & Chenny Li Blues in Dhoby Ghaut Green butterfly Diagrams and tables by Anuj Jain garden. Ah! Photos by Anuj Jain & Gan Cheong Weei Photo: Charles Tiang

8 Nature Watch Jul - Sep 2012 hat started as a coffee- secondary schools on student projects our efforts to showcase such a rich natu- table discussion back in involving the Trail. In a series of 14 ral heritage of butterflies through this 2008 is now a reality indoor and outdoor sessions, students urban conservation project will pay off - the Butterfly Trail @ learnt how to identify these winged in the long term. Orchard.W To date, 60 species of butter- beauties, weed and prune gardens, flies have been sighted on the Trail and propagate butterfly plants and study the Monitoring butterflies on we are still counting! nectaring behaviour of species on the the Trail The entire Trail project is intended Trail. To reach out to the wider com- The Butterfly Interest Group of NSS to comprise 15 gardens and connectors munity, NSS has trained members from has been monitoring the Trail since Sept spanning the 4-km Orchard corridor Society of Tourist Guides (Singapore) to 2009. There are many more butterfly between Singapore Botanic Gardens and conduct walks along the Trail. We hope species spotted on the Trail now as com- Fort Canning Park. Of these, 8 gardens have been completed so far. The rest are The entire Trail project is intended to comprise 15 under planning pending sponsorship and approval. gardens and connectors spanning the 4-km Orchard corridor between Singapore Botanic Gardens and Fort A collaboration in urban Canning Park. conservation Butterfly Trail @ Orchard brings together conservation initiative, outreach pro- gramming and corporate social respon- sibility. Spearheaded by Nature Society (Singapore), NSS, a not-for-profit NGO, funded by corporate sponsors and backed by government agencies – we believe this tripartism is an effective way forward. The on-going Trail is an attempt to bring nature into the heart of Singapore’s best-known shopping dis- trict and, so through it, deeper into the hearts of Singaporeans. We conducted 8 public and NSS members’ walks, and 2 butterfly photography workshops in 2011. We further collaborated with 3 Penang Road Open Space.

Dhoby Ghaut Green.

Jul - Sep 2012 Nature Watch 9 pared to the original baseline surveys. Species abundance and diversity increase with food availability. 3 gardens planted with butterfly host and nectar plants, at about the same time (between Oct – Nov 2010), are compared. They are Penang Road Open Space, Istana Park and Dhoby Ghaut Green gardens. These sites lie within 0.5 km from each other and enjoy proximity to the greens around Istana and Fort Canning Park. Penang Road Open Space has seen a threefold increase in butterfly diversity over time! 14 species were recorded there prior to NSS plantings (Oct 2010). Since then, 43 have been recorded! Only 5 species were recorded at Istana Park prior to NSS plantings. Now it has an impressive list of 36. The smaller Dhoby Ghaut Green garden has also increased its diversity from 7 to 31 species. The more recent Nassim Green plantings (Oct 2011) has attracted 27 species. The Butterfly Trail @ Orchard is becoming a favourite breeding ground for many species. There are a few that even feel jealous at times when they cannot find a mate amidst all the hustle and bustle! Plain Tiger butterflies are now a common sight. Their hosts, Crown flower and Blood flower, have been planted all along the Trail. Forest species such as Cruiser and Aberrant Oakblue, too, shop at Orchard!

Return of the giants Common Birdwing and Common Rose butterflies have been breeding actively Istana Park gate. on the Trail since Aug 2011. Our planting of their host plant, Dutchman’s Pipe, at multiple locations along the Penang Road Open Space has seen a threefold Trail seems to have been a fruitful increase in butterfly diversity over time. 14 species exercise. Once common in Singapore, decline in numbers of these gigantic were recorded there prior to NSS plantings (Oct butterflies from the family Papilionidae has occurred because of a severe loss in 2010). Since then, 43 have been recorded.

Butterfly Gardens The 15 gardens along the Trail are divided into 5 sections. 8 have been completed (in italics)

Tanglin Trail Embassy Trail Orchard Trail OC Trail Fort Canning Trail

Napier Green Thai Embassy Green Boulevard Green Penang Road Open Space Dhoby Ghaut Green Tanglin Green Four Seasons Green Somerset Green Concorde Connector SMU Secret Garden Istana Park Stamford Green Nassim Green Dhoby Ghaut MRT

10 Nature Watch Jul - Sep 2012 The Butterfly Trail @ Orchard

2007 NSS Butterfly Interest Group (BIG) explores expanding Common Birdwing habitat and population along Holland and Orchard areas

2008 Idea of Trail is born with Dr. Shawn Lum, Margaret Clarkson and Howard Shaw

2009 • Feasibility study and baseline surveys by BIG • NParks, STB and ORBA join as Strategic Partners • NParks sets momentum by start- ing a butterfly garden at Stamford Green with the sponsorship of Ricoh Asia Pacific

2010 • May: Far East Organization (FEO) joins as Grand Biodiversity Sponsor • June: Singapore Post joins as Friends of Butterflies • June: Official commencement of Trail and 1st planting by NSS at Nassim Green • Sep: Self-sponsored butterfly garden at SMU ready • Oct: Ricoh Asia Pacific joins as Conservation Sponsor Common Rose at Istana Park. • Oct: Plantings at Penang Road Open Space with FEO and NParks • Nov: Plantings at Istana Park with Ricoh and NParks • Dec: NParks completes butterfly garden at Dhoby Ghaut Green

2011 • Jan: Self-guided Butterfly Trail @ Orchard walking map. • July : United Parcel Service [UPS] joins as Conservation Sponsor • July: Half century! 49th and 50th butterfly species recorded from the Trail • Sep: Plantings at Concorde Connector with NParks. • Oct: Plantings at Nassim Green with UPS • Oct: Butterfly Trail documentary aired on Okto Channel in Project Neighbourhood: Orchard Stamford Green.

Jul - Sep 2012 Nature Watch 11 the habitat of their host plants across to NParks. This scheme may further the island. But they appear to be mak- encourage private landowners and ing a comeback in Orchard. The Istana rooftop garden owners along Orchard and Singapore Botanic Gardens could Road to join the project, if implement- be critical green zones for these newly- ed. Apart from promoting biodiversity, established populations. Common such plantings would also help control Birdwing is the only CITES-listed but- water run-offs. terfly in Singapore. It is globally vulner- Do keep a look-out for more able to extinction. developments on the Butterfly Trail@ Orchard. Try accessing our new NSS For the future Butterfliesiphone applications and latest NSS continues to work closely with media news in the meantime. National Parks Board in creating and enhancing the remaining garden plans Acknowledgements: We would like to along the Trail. NSS Butterfly Interest thank numerous groups and individuals Group has already proposed a National for their continuing support in making Butterfly Garden Certification scheme Common Birdwing pupa. the Trail happen. Advisors - Prof. Tommy Koh (NSS patron), Dr. Geh Min (NSS immediate past President), Dr. Shawn Lum (NSS President), Margie Hall, Margaret Clarkson, Christy Davis, Liak Teng Lit, Rosalind Tan and Howard Shaw; Strategic Partners – National Parks Board, Singapore Tourism Board, Orchard Road Business Administration; Partners – Singapore Management University; Sponsors – Far East Organization, Ricoh Asia Pacific, United Parcel Service and Singapore Post; Extraordinary volunteers & members of NSS Butterfly Interest Group – Steven Chong, Richard Ong, Tsang Kwok Choong, Amy Tsang, Lena Chow, Laurence Leong, Aries Tay, May Tan, Adeline Yeo and Ching Chabo; Educational volunteers from NIE iOne, Raffles Girls Secondary School, Pierce Secondary School and Queensway Secondary School; Former & present NSS Common Birdwing caterpillar. Secretariat staff Justin Wong, Chenny Li, Joe Lim, Goh Ter Yang, Agnes Sng and the NSS Executive Committee.

Anuj Jain is a PhD student in the Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, where he presently works on tropical urban butterfly conservation. He is the Chairperson of NSS Butterfly Interest Group (BIG). Gan Cheong Weei is the Vice-Chairperson. Simon Chan is a long- standing BIG member and has held many committee positions in the past. Gan and Chan have worked together for many years on butterfly projects, butterfly publications and the setting up of sustainable butterfly gardens in schools and private institutions. Chenny Li of the NSS Secretariat han- dles outreach and partly co-ordinates the Butterfly Trail@Orchard project. Common Birdwing adult.

12 Nature Watch Jul - Sep 2012