Bishan -Ang Mo Kio Park is one of the largest urban parks in central Singapore, covering a full 62 hectares of unique waterways and greenery. Under PUB’s Active, Beautiful and Clean Waters (ABC) programme, the old concrete canal has been de-concretised and naturalised into a beautiful 3km meandering river with lush banks of wildflowers. The river now sits home to a wide array of interesting fauna and flora. Its transformation has created a seamless blue-green recreational network which is well-integrated with nearby residential areas.

Consisting of the Pond Gardens and the River Plains, the park promises a myriad of new spaces for the community to enjoy. Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park is a popular choice for cycling, jogging and family gatherings along the open lawns and the gently sloping grassy banks along either side of the river. Amid its grounds are spots for the individual to explore and learn. This guide will particularly focus on the attractions that Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park Park Pond Gardens bring to the neighbourhood. Spanning 27 hectares, it offers a variety of habitats with various degrees of tranquillity and serenity.

When you come to the area of the forest walk, sit in the midst of a chorus of cicadas and spot the occasional visitor from the nearby nature reserve hidden amid the dense tree canopy.

Take a meditative stroll along the bridges of the lotus pond and see the lotus gardens in full bloom. Relax in serene tranquillity under the shade of the surrounding Casuarina forest and watch kingfishers hunt for their afternoon lunch from the nearby trees.

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Distance of the trail: 1kmEstimated walking time: 1 hour

Pond Gardens at Bishan- Ang Mo Kio Park

A Guide to

The lotus pond is home to a healthy population of dragonflies and is even the nesting ground of a family of waterhens.

Be sure to check out the cleansing biotope, an artificially-constructed wetland that offers effective water treatments to help maintain the quality of the pond water. A special selection of wetland and aquatic plants has been carefully picked for their ability to cleanse water by absorbing nutrients.

Take the time to slowly admire one of Singapore's largest urban parks burgeon in the spirit of community bonding and activities.

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How to get to Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park Pond Gardens

By Bus: From Ang Mo Kio bus interchange, take Bus 262 to Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and stop at the bus stop near Carpark 1. Alternatively, take Bus 132, 165 or 166 to Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and Upper Thomson Road.

By Car: To get to Carpark 1, go towards to Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 from Central Expressway, passing by Marymount Road. The carpark entrance is along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1, opposite Block 220.

To get to Carpark 2, go via Sin Ming Avenue from Marymount Road or Upper Thomson Road.

Pond Gardens at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park

A Guide to

Highlights

• Walk leisurely through a variety of habitats offering different degrees of tranquillity and serenity

• Observe the unique and thriving riparian (water bank) habitat rich in flora and fauna

• Catch the lotus pond in full bloom

• Discover the two themed playgrounds for the young and young at heart

• Spot rare fauna from the nearby Central Nature Reserve

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Water Playground Bioswales Large Pond

Cleansing Biotope

Adventure Playground

Lotus PondForest Walk

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Water Playground 1

1Water PlaygroundAs you enter from the carpark, you can see blue mounts emerging from the ground – these are part of the play equipment in the water playground. It is open on Saturday and Sunday, 8am to 11am and 4pm to 8pm. Children can develop their imagination and engage their innovative instincts through the manoeuvring sluice gates to control water flow and manipulate the flow of water by moving the ropes on the ground. Children can even soak their feet and splash around in the water castle.

The water playground is a unique feature of the park as the water running through it is recycled water. This water is treated by the phytoremediation system (the use of living plants to remove impurities from contaminated soil) in the cleansing biotope (read Section 7 for more).

2BioswalesBordering the oval green roof shelter and the open lawns is a network of bioswales. Bioswales are urban landscape features used to reduce surface runoff. They are vegetated open channels, specially designed to treat storm water runoff. Like open ditches, they transport a large amount of water, but unlike open ditches, they intentionally promote slowing, cleansing and infiltration of runoff along the way.

Vegetation planted in the swales filters contaminants from the water. See if you can spot

the Lemon Grass (Cymbopogon citratus), which is native to India. Cultivated in Southeast Asia, Africa and America as an aromatic medicinal herb and for perfume, it is also widely used as a culinary herb in Southeast Asian cuisine. It is a hardy plant that can tolerate a wide range of soils and climate conditions, but is best grown on well-drained, fertile soil with full sun. Freshly-cut stems are often crushed and used to prepare Lemon Grass tea. It is grown along the swales as a repellent to mosquitoes.

If you see a delicate grass with tiny bamboo-like leaves, chances are that this is the Baby Bamboo Grass (Pogonantherum crinitum). Native to Asia, this grass grows well with plenty of water and thus is a suitable plant to grow in bioswales. Baby Bamboo Grass has long been used as a remedy in the treatment of inflammatory diseases, especially in Taiwan.

The Frog Fruit (Phyla nodiflora) is native to South America, and can easily be found in tropical Singapore. Its flowers have a rich purple centre encircled by small white-pink petals. The leaves of the Frog Fruit are sometimes used to make tea, giving the drink a grassy flavour.

With its glossy emerald green leaves, the Elephant Ear Taro (Alocasia macrorrhizos) is a massive plant with arrow-shaped leaf blades which point upwards, reaching one metre in length.

Another plant that thrives in the bioswales of the Pond Gardens is the Water Hyssop (Bacopa

Pond Gardens at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park

A Guide to

What you can see in the Pond Gardens

monnieri), a creeping herb commonly found in wetlands and muddy habitats. Their little white flowers are strikingly beautiful. Water Hyssop is effective in phytoremediation as it filters contaminants such as cadmium, lead and mercury from the water.

3Large PondSpanning more than 2 hectares, the large pond is one of Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park's most prominent

features. It used to be an old commercial fishing pond. Three bridges span across the length of the pond to provide more accessibility around the park and also make for a picturesque vantage point for photography. The vegetated island in the centre of the pond provides perfect sunning spots for the exotic Red-eared Sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans) or fishing vantage points for the neighbouring kingfishers. The pond overflows down a series of cascades into the river.

Lemon Grass Baby Bamboo Grass Elephant Ear TaroFrog Fruit

Water Hyssop

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3Large PondRed-eared Slider(Photo by Cai Yixiong)

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Adventure PlaygroundShouts of children playing hide-and-seek might be heard as you move towards the adventure playground. Designed like a castle in a forest with a large tree house and a series of space nets and slides, children can indulge in their inner adventurous spirit and climb to their hearts’ content. Specially-treated woodwork was imported from Europe to recreate a naturalist play-set that allows children to swing from trunk to trunk and watch the world from above. Sand pits in the playground also offer children more opportunities to exercise creativity and stretch their imaginations.

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Forest WalkThe forest walk is a 300-metre stretch of towering Khaya and Cannonball trees. The thick canopy created by the trees is an attempt to imitate the environment in the nearby nature reserve. Understorey layers have been planted to recreate the forest environment. Occasional visitors from the nature reserves can sometimes be spotted in this section of the park. If you are lucky, you might catch a glimpse of the rare Spotted Wood Owl (Strix seloputo) swooping through the canopy in search of dinner, or hear the mystical call of the Greater Racket-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus).

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Lotus PondTake a breather under the cool shade of the fig trees and surrounding Casuarina forest at

Pond Gardens at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park

A Guide to

Collared Kingfisher (Photo by Serene Chng)

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the lotus pond. Explore this little haven of rustic artistry and take a stroll along the bridges. Try and see if you can spot residents such as the Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris). This blue and white bird is commonly spotted along the river in Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park and among the trees near the lotus pond. The Collared Kingfisher has six to seven different calls; the most distinctive one is its "krek krek krek" call. As you sit down to rest, try to listen out for the variety of calls.

The Common Flameback (Dinopium javanese), with its strikingly beautiful red or black head and striped neck, is easy to spot too. Often seen pecking away in search for food under the cover of the fig trees, the bird gleans for ants, termites and other insects on the bark of the big trees found around the pond. Usually seen in pairs, its loud but short rattles can be heard when in flight from tree to tree.

The White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus) is often heard before it is seen. The Malays named it "Ruak Ruak" after its loud and distinctive call. At the lotus pond, it is most often seen running around the lotus leaves on the pond and strutting its walk among the shrubs on the banks. A family of waterhens has been spotted nesting in the area and you might be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the black fluffy waterhen chicks striding playfully across their lotus playground.

Dragonflies and damselflies are also a common sight in the park. The Common Bluetail (Ischnura senegalensis) is often seen in our nature reserves

Forest Walk

White-breasted Waterhen (Photo by Hans Lee)

Adventure Playground

Common Flameback (Photo by Hans Lee)

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5Racket-tailed Drongo (Photo by Yang Chen)

Spotted Wood Owl (Photo by Mendis Tan)

(Photo by Chia Teck Kim)

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Dwarf Papyrus

Pond Gardens at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park

A Guide toCommon Bluetail Common Parasol

Updated as at O

ctober 2012. Information is correct at the tim

e of printing.(Photo by Hans Lee)

The Melati Air (Echinodorus palaefolius) is commonly used as an aquatic plant. With its string of white flowers, it is known to be one of the more beautiful and robust aquarium species.

This is the end of the Pond Gardens trail. If you are interested in exploring more, take a 10-minute stroll across Marymount Road to Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park River Plains and embrace the open river plains. The River Plains offer a dog run facility for dog strollers, a bubble playground for kids, and food outlets for you to dine amid the serenity of the park.

Umbrella Plant

Scouring Rush

Purslane Melati Air

and is widespread throughout the country. This tiny damselfly is the first damselfly to colonise Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park. If you are observant, you can see it perched on the vegetation adjacent to the water or flying low among the lotus leaves.

You can also spot the Common Parasol (Neurothemis fluctuans), a pretty red-winged dragonfly, easily at open ponds. The male is red in colour but the female is a dull brown or yellow.

The Pond Gardens’ close proximity to the Central Nature Reserve makes the park a valuable urban space, with varying habitats created to encourage forest species to visit. The lotus pond is the only urban area that harbours two rare damselflies, Ceriagrion chaoi and Pseudagrion austalasiae, which have previously been known to exist only in the nature reserves. The rare damselflies are attracted by the dense vegetation and unique water habitats with good water quality. As efforts to integrate wild areas in urban parks increase, more of such fauna will make their homes closer to the city.

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Cleansing BiotopeThe cleansing biotope, a new and unique feature of the park, is a series of specially engineered wetland cells that offers effective water treatment. The cleansing biotope helps to treat river water naturally while still maintaining a beautiful and natural-looking environment. Incoming water from the river and surface

runoff from the park are filtered through layers of substrates of varying sizes. The treated water from the cells is then channelled into the large pond and also serves as a water supply for the water playground.

A variety of plants can be found at the cleansing biotope. The Scouring Rush (Equisetum hyemale) is best grown in wet soil under full sun, making it a good plant choice for the cleansing biotope. The rough bristles are used traditionally to scour and clean pots. It can also be used to shape the reed of reed instruments.

The Umbrella Plant (Cyperus alternifolius) is a rush-like aquatic species with its leaves arranged on the stems like an umbrella. It has the ability to absorb nitrogen and phosphorous rapidly, and is also able to accumulate copper and manganese. This plant can been grown all year round in a well-watered environment.

The Purslane (Portulaca orleracea) has thick fleshy stalks and its flowers have a variation of colours, blooming only in the day. The plant can efficiently accumulate copper and remove endocrine disruptors (chemicals that interfere with the hormone system) from water. Its leaves are known to be used in salads as a substitute for spinach.

Usually found on the margins of ponds and on the banks of rivers, the Dwarf Papyrus (Cyperus haspan) has round brush-like balls on the end of each stalk. It can quickly absorb nitrogen and phosphorus.

We hope you have enjoyed exploring the Bishan Park Pond Gardens. To experience more nature, embark on the Walking Trail at Lower Peirce Reservoir Park. To obtain another DIY trail-guide on one of Singapore’s parks, visit www.nparks.gov.sg/eguides.

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