Wild places
Adrone sweeps through the forest, first tracing the spine of an exposed river. It skims the undergrowth, banks smoothly and turns back just before the treeline meets a road, diving through the narrow gap between two branches of a leafy giant.
If this were a dream, you could decode its subliminal messaging to mean any number of things: a longing for adventure, a need for fresh perspective, a craving for stability. But this is the waking world-specifically, Clementi Forest, a lush patch of greenery and a wildlife habitat second only to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve in scale.
Clementi is one of several local forest patches recently ‘rediscovered’ by Singaporeans after two drone flight videos were posted in October and December. The footage went viral. Astonished by the beauty they’d never realised was hidden just beyond impenetrable-looking foliage, many laced up their boots, spritzed mosquito repellent, and plunged through the green wall to see for themselves. With COVID-19 still strangling most nonessential travel, there has been a dearth of strange new worlds to explore. So foot traffic into Clementi-and other wild, unmanicured forest spaces like it-has spiked in the last six months. On any given weekend, you can cross paths with hikers, cyclists, photographers, drone pilots, retirees, families, joggers and birders, both on-and off-trail.
Conservationists, activists, scientists and members of the government have been watching this ‘green awakening’ carefully. When Shawn Lum, president of
