Tampines Eco Green Gets Few Visitors

Tampines Eco Green- The Biodiversity Haven in the East of Singapore

Since its opening in April last year, the Tampines Eco Green park- which is located just adjacent to the Tampines Biking Trail and Sun Plaza Park- has had increasingly few visitors. The once barren piece of land went through a period of development at the cost of S$3 million and opened with great fanfare, and was intended to serve as a place of tranquility where residents can gather to better appreciate nature and to relax their body and mind.

Nature is everywhere at the Tampines Eco Green

In the first few months since the park’s inauguration, dozens of families, adults and children alike, can be seen strolling through the park, which is essentially a biodiversity haven. The park features various natural habitats such as marshes, secondary rainforests, and freshwater ponds. More than 70 species of birds, 32 species of spiders, 13 species of dragonflies and 12 species of butterflies can also be found in various spots across the park. Key features such as a viewing platform, vegetated swales, and bird hides also helped to attract many visitors to explore nature in the park in the first few months since its opening.

However, in recent months, there has been a noticeable drop in visits to the 36.5-hectares park. During daytime, in which most of the visits occurs as there are no lighting in the park at night, there are frequent scenes of emptiness in the park, with barely a few people exploring the park.

54-year-old Alfred Lim, who exercises daily at the nearby Sun Plaza Park and often drops by the Tampines Eco Green, believes that although the park has lots of attractive sites, not many residents are interested in visiting the park for more than once.

“I love the park, but I don’t think many people shares this sentiment. Who would really visit the park after they had gone through it once and seen it all, besides me and a few other uncles?” quipped Mr Lim.

“This park is a very good place for me to go to after my morning exercises. I can stroll through the park, get intimate with nature, and cool down. There isn’t many people here too so I feel even more relaxed,’ he added.

Scenes like these- with few people strolling in the park- are common these days

Joyce Liew, an 18-year-old student who visits the park at least thrice a week, also believes that the reason why there are less visitors to the park these days is because the park lacks features that would attract multiple visits from the same group of people.

“I think the park has standard features and attractions which would pull people to visit and explore, since they may be curious. But I don’t think people will visit the park again and again, because they could get bored looking at the same things after the first few times,” she explained.

“But for people who just wants to relax and those who are deeply passionate about nature, they would frequent this park for many times,” she added.

Located conveniently for residents living in the East, Tampines Eco Green is expected to retain a core group of visitors

The attractions may not pull people to visit the park for multiple times, but its main purpose- as a place of tranquility where residents living nearby can gather to appreciate nature- remains attractive to selected groups of people, such as photographers and nature lovers, says Jessie Toh, a 26-year-old working mother of two children aged 4 and 6.

“I have noticed that there are few people in this area whenever I visit. I live nearby and I visit the park about twice a week with my husband and two kids. But I think there will still be a core group of people interested in coming to this place over and over again. People such as photographers…they may visit the park to take photos of the freshwater ponds and birds to add to their collection, and nature lovers may also visit this place numerous times considering this park is quite rich in biodiversity,” she explained.

Despite the fall in visitor numbers, Tampines Eco Green, which is located conveniently for residents living in eastern Singapore, is still expected to remain an attractive place for the foreseeable future.