Geography in everyday life

• Nature provides essentials

  People are dependent on nature for many things
• Nature areas

  • NParks' Therapeutic Gardens
  • NParks organises a range of activities for schools during the week of international day for biodiversity in May. One such activity is the Green Wave campaign
• People tend to the health of nearby nature areas

  Ensuring the plants and animals living there thrive
• Local communities and nearby nature areas are dependent upon each other
• NParks organises

  • Educational activities for schools during the week of international day for biodiversity in May
• Things nature provides

  • Air
  • Water
  • Living organisms like bees that help pollinate crops for a continuous supply of food
  • Spaces for recreation and leisure activities
• Local communities and nearby nature areas mutually affect each

  • In a mutual relationship, the parties involved can bring about benefits to each other.
  • The presence of green spaces and urban wildlife in neighbourhoods can enhance the mental health and well-being of local communities.
  • Human activities in nature areas can enhance their biodiversity. Through reforestation activities:
  • People can gain enjoyment and enhance their mental health and well-being.
  • The overall health of the natural environment is enhanced as more shelter and habitat for the urban wildlife to thrive are provided.
• Ways nature areas remove pollutants

  • Absorption of pollutants during photosynthesis
  • Interception of small particles by leaves
  • Improvement of water quality by wetland plants
• During photosynthesis


  Vegetation absorbs carbon dioxide and other air pollutants and releases oxygen
• Nature areas benefit people by lowering temperatures, removing pollutants, and providing space for recreation
• Air pollutants absorbed by vegetation

  • Carbon dioxide
  • Small particles
• Direct and frequent interactions with nature can bring about health and wellbeing benefits to people, which reduces severity and occurrence of health conditions
• Presence of vegetation

  • Provides shade and reduces the amount of direct sunlight that reaches the surface
  • Cools the surrounding air through evapotranspiration as the water that plants absorb through their roots is released into the air as water vapor. This process uses heat from the surrounding, thus cooling it
• Benefits of nature areas

  • Lowering air temperature
  • Removal of pollutants
  • Provision of recreation space
• Benefits of community activities to nature

  • Raising awareness about the value of nature areas
  • Conservation efforts
  • Clean-up programmes to remove pollutants from the environment
• Local communities raise awareness about the value of nature areas

  Encouraging positive behaviour that does not damage nature
• People bring benefits to nature through community activities that promote the importance of environmental protection
• Conservation efforts

  • Clean-up programmes to remove pollutants from the environment
  • Organising or participating in conservation efforts
• Littering can worsen pollution in natural areas
• Littering


  Some animals may also mistake the litter for food and consume them. This may cause the animals to get hurt and suffer, and may eventually lead to their death
• Littering


  Animals can get cut by metal cans or become entangled with plastic containers and bags
• People bring disadvantages to nature by causing soil erosion, damaging vegetation, worsening pollution and disturbing wildlife
• Causing soil erosion and damaging vegetation

  1. People hike along non-designated trails in nature areas

  2. They may cause soil compaction which prevents rainwater from infiltrating the surface. This leads to higher surface flows and soil erosion as the flowing water washes away the soil particles.

  3. They may trample on the vegetation, damaging plants and affecting their growth
• Water cannot infiltrate because of compacted soil → more surface run off
• Littering


  Worsens pollution in natural areas
• Feeding wild animals may also lead to changes in the habits on behaviours of wildlife, and human-wildlife conflict can increose when animals associate food with people.

  Example:Some people think they are doing wild animals a favour by feeding them but it actually does them more harm than good.

  Singapore, the law prohibits the feeding of any wild animals, on anyone caught intentionally feeding wildlife will be fined $5,000

  on the first offence.
• People are now spending more time in nature areas
• Reasons for increase in human-wildlife encounters in Singapore

  • Urban expansion
  • People's growing interest in outdoor recreation
  • Greening efforts by the state
• Nature may bring disadvantages no evil to life from nearby development
• Nature draws may harm

  People and environmental protection
• Singapore continues to urbanise and develop, leading to natural habitats shrinking
• Singapore aims to bring nature back into the city and promote human-wildlife encounters
• Wildlife may venture out of the nature areas in search of food or shelter
• Human-wildlife conflict may increase

  Due to an increase in human-wildlife encounters
• • As the wildlife population in the city increases, people who may not know how to deal with them may unintentionally provoke them eading to attacks.
  • Some animals may be confused and fearful when they venture into unfamiliar urban spaces, increasing their likelihood of attacks when fearful or triggered.
• Protection of nature


  Done at the expense of the needs of some people in local communities
• Critically endangered species

  • Central Catchment Nature Reserve is home to numerous critically endangered species
• Environmental protection may be perceived to be limiting development
• Fears of residents

  • Bring them inconvenience
  • Damage their property
  • Homes being acquired to make way for the construction
• The Cross Island MRT Line proposed to be built around the Central Catchment Nature Reserve

  Protects the largest primary rainforest