Bukit Timah Turf City nature park to preserve threatened flora, fauna

40-hectare green oasis will serve as buffer against urbanisation, offer nature play areas

- Shabana Begum Correspondent

Residents of the future Bukit Timah Turf City will have a new nature park for a backyard, home to the shy pangolin and a critically endangered songbird.

On Oct 10, National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat announced on social media that two forested areas at the northern edges of Turf City will be connected to form a green oasis of up to 40ha.

Bukit Tinggi, the forest patch next to Swiss Club, and the adjacent — and larger - Eng Neo Avenue Forest will be connected by a 400m-long green corridor to enable wildlife movement.

This merging will form the ninth nature park bordering the green lungs of Singapore — the Central Catchment and Bukit Timah nature reserves. Other parks abutting them include Thomson and Windsor nature parks.

"It will serve as a buffer to protect the Central Catchment Nature Reserve (CCNR) from urban development, while providing more opportunities for nature-based recreation," said Mr Chee in a Facebook post.

An environmental impact study for the 176ha Bukit Timah Turf City - a planned housing estate - and inputs from nature advocates showed that these lesser-known forested areas are rich in biodiversity and home to 25 fauna species of conservation significance.

Among them are the globally critically endangered Sunda pangolin, the straw-headed bulbul songbird and the nationally threatened bamboo bat.

Of the plant species recorded in the study area, 177 were of conservation significance, according to the study done by infrastructure consulting firm Aecom between 2021 and 2024.

Mr Chee said 80 per cent of the nature park area will be conserved as green spaces. Trails, boardwalks and nature play features will be added for parkgoers.

The National Parks Board (NParks) is conducting feasibility studies for the park area.