It is so not true that Singapore is a dull place. There is actually so much to see and do when it comes to nature, especially when we wander a little off the beaten track.

Located in the North of Singapore is the Kranji Countryside; consisting of a cluster of 10 farms, where kids can get to see how fruit and organic veggies are grown, watch fishes being bred, see thousands of bullfrogs culminate in a single place and get up real close to goats.

Our field trip to the farms in Kranji was more targeted towards the organic variety this time round. We stopped by Fireflies Health Farm to view the vegetable plots and picked up some organic vegetables. Since we are able to purchase the organically grown vegetable directly from the farm, the ones that were available for sale were extremely fresh and at a very reasonable prices. For K, it was a interesting experience for him to see how vegetables are grown, since we have just read the book ‘Growing Vegetable Soup’ about a week ago.

We proceeded to Bollywood Veggies for lunch. Our selection of chicken curry, mixed veggies and fish and chips + chicken nuggets for the boys were not too exciting for our taste buds, as the bistro boasts of healthy cooking with low salt and no-msg for all items on their menu. I guess our taste buds have been spoilt by our home-cooked food which is often laden with gravy and sauces for extra taste.

The boys much preferred eating the fries that was served alongside the fish and was soon back to chasing each other in the cafe and picking up pebbles outside the compound of the bistro.

After lunch, we took a leisure drive past Kranji Reservoir. Initially planned for the boys to see the scenery from inside the car, but K insisted that we stop for a while for them to enjoy the view. Their enthusiasm for the scenery was abruptly disrupted when silly me stepped into a patch of muddy grass.

Some must-haves for any field trips with preschoolers; wide-brimmed hat for both tot and adult, sunglasses, a bottle of drinking water, wet and dry tissues. And this I have just realised is extremely crucial for any mishaps that could result in dirty hands/ muddy feet / legs; 1.5 litre pet bottle filled with tap water stashed in the boot of the car.

It has been 2 weeks since our last nature walk. This morning we went to another nature park near our home; Hinhede Nature Park, just beside Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. The Hinhede Nature Park is a great alternative to the nature reserve, as it is filled with easy trails designed for families with young children and the elderly.

As we ventured onto the walking path, we were greeted by one of the park’s regular resident; the clouded monitor lizard. It was a nice, serene and breezy walk, being surrounded by the canopy of trees around us, we hardly felt the heat of the morning sun.

The key feature of this nature park is the adventure play station. K enjoyed climbing up the bridges and was really keen to try the playground slide. I dissuaded him from going down the slide, as I felt it looked daunting for someone his size, all I could say to him was “Next time, when you are taller you can try the slide.” I guess the adult was probably more afraid of the slide than the little one.

K then got on a swing for the first time and I think the ride on the swing was the key highlight for him at the nature park. I wonder why there are hardly any swings in neighbour-hood playgrounds these days. The last time I recalled seeing a swing was at one of those old school playgrounds in a housing estate (still with laced with sand and not rubber mats that we now see) in the east quite a few years back.

We kept our eyes and ears peeled for the park’s other residents; banded woodpecker, drongo, plantain squirrel but could not spot any during our walk. The other highlight of the park was the scenic view of the Hinhede quarry, located at the end of the park.

On the way back, we came across signs warning visitors not to feed the monkeys but did not catch the sight of any monkeys.

We ended our walk with a visit to the visitor centre at the entrance of Bukit Timah nature reserve. Included in the exhibition area was 2 stuffed tigers, captured from the reserve eons ago, now stuffed and preserved for our viewing pleasure.

I was hoping that we will get to see more animal life in the park, but I suppose most of them are hiding in the safety of the nature reserve. K needs to be much older before he gets to experience his first hike in the nature reserve.

K and I took a different route this morning when we went for our nature walk at Dairy Farm Nature Park. The distance we covered was about 2x further than the distance we walked during our last visit. My little trooper was all gamed to explore this new route and did not even asked me to carry him once throughout our 1 and a half hour walk. Actually I wouldn’t be surprised if we managed to cover at least 3km from our walk

It’s amazing how how nature can be viewed so differently when we take that effort to observe nature in it’s organic form and see the patterns that it creates. Every walk that we take together, K and I will always stop, observe and marvel at beauty of nature. Admire the vast variety of species of different wildflowers/plants on display and watch insects going about their business in their natural environment.

From our walk this time, we were rewarded with a breath-taking view of the Singapore quarry, located at the south-western end of the park. We took in the tranquil sight of the wetland and watched the aerial antics of a fuchsia-coloured dragonfly flying near the cattails.

We spend some time seated under the pavilion next to the quarry and quietly listened to hidden birds, one which sounded like rhythmic drumming of a woodpecker’s bill on a tree.

K even wanted to explore one of the trails away from the walking path. I asked him if he knew what to do if a snake crossed our path, He shook his head. I then told him that it will be better if we explore this other trail the next time when daddy comes with us.

On our way back to the entrance of the park, we were greeted by a group of wild monkeys and caught a glimpse of 2 squirrels scampering across the path in front of us.

K was totally thrilled with the sights he saw this morning and he exclaimed really loudly on our way back, “I like nature!”

“Is there fountain?” was the question that Kyle continually asked me in the car when we were on the way to the plant nursery. He absolutely loves water fountains and waterfalls, and often asks if he will be able to see one whenever we go for our nature outings.

This morning’s field trip to the plant nursery tied in with our lesson plan for ‘The Carrot Seed’. I told him yesterday that we will go to the nursery to buy some flower pots, soil and seeds to plant our first vegetable, just like the little boy in the book.

K saw a cactus and he was so intrigued by the thorns on the plant.

While we were walking around the nursery, I was so tempted to get more plants for the home but realised that I have never tried growing my own plants (unless mung beans can be qualified as a plant), and these plants could likely die in my hands.

He climbed into a garden swing by himself.

We finally got what we needed and went home to plant our first spring onion plant.

Looking forward to see the seeds germinate in the next one week. Now when I ask K, “What does the plant need to grow?” He can tell me, “Soil, water, sun and air.”

After our last nature walk, K and I have gotten quite hooked to the rush that we experienced after each trip, that I have decided that we will make this a weekly habit. This time round, we ventured slightly a little further; the Dairy Farm Nature Park, located about 2 km away from our home.

Butterflies of various colours greeted us as we started our walk. We craned our necks, looked left and right as we heard numerous birds chirping, in the hope that we will spot some uncommon birds but alas, did not see any.

The park was relatively quiet on a Monday morning, except for a couple of nature photographers and families that we met along the way. We spotted many wild flowers, unfortunately, with my lack of knowledge of flower species, I could not really tell K what they were. Fortunately for me, K did not show tremendous interest in the plants and much preferred looking out for insects and other creepy crawlies. Anyhow, looks like I have a bit of homework to do to get myself up to speed on my knowledge about things in nature.

K spotted his first spiderweb in the ‘wild’, his first stream that morning and plenty more wild flowers along the way. The view of the lush greenery, fresh air and peaceful surroundings made up for the lack of birds. Most definitely we will be back to explore a new route, and will be armed with our magnifying lens the next time