i. Sit in the groups assigned to you by your teacher.

ii. Do independent online research and analysis of the place of interest you have

chosen for your learning journey.

iii. Research the history of the place or the place in its previous iteration. Find

emotive and expressive photos that capture the spirit of the place.

iv. Consider the physical aspects of the place and you could also include thought-

provoking statistics if it helps you consolidate the big picture you want to

capture.

v. Identify the connections / relationship between the place and Singapore’s

national interest, especially in the context of a globalised world.

vi. You will need to find a way to situate the place into the hearts and minds of

Singaporeans.

The stunning result is a mixed-use development with gardens, attractions, retail, dining, a hotel and facilities to support airport operations. This integration of nature with engineering marvels housed under a striking glass and steel dome is poised to make headlines.

Before Changi Airport opened in 1981, commercial flights landed in Paya Lebar Airport, which had begun operations in 1955. However, within two decades, Paya Lebar’s shortcomings became obvious. The alternative was to build a new airport in Changi, taking over the former Royal Air Force base there. Such an airport would be located away from the city centre and flights into and out of Changi would be over water. In addition, there was the possibility of future expansion by reclaiming land. Site preparations began in June 1975, which eventually involved demolishing 558 buildings, exhuming 4,096 graves and clearing nearly 200 acres (80 hectares) of swampland. Given the scale of the Changi Airport project, the construction process inevitably encountered numerous challenges. Takao Kitamura, the director in charge of international operations at Takenaka Komuten, the main contractor for the airport’s passenger terminal building, recalled that after the company began work on the project, the price of sand rose by about 300 percent, and labour costs rose by 50 percent.

As with any big event, there were a number of dry runs before actual operations commenced on 1 July 1981. The first test flight, a Boeing 747, touched down at 7.25 pm on 13 May – two weeks before the big day.16

The first flight with paying passengers, SQ 100, landed on 31 May at 9.50 am. It was a chartered flight with 246 passengers, comprising mainly families with children. Organised by a travel agent, the flight had taken off from Paya Lebar Airport and flown up the east coast of peninsular Malaysia to Mersing before turning back and touching down at Changi.

Changi Airport began operations on 1 July 1981 with just one terminal and one runway. Work on the second runway was completed in 1983 and commissioned the following year. To cope with increased passenger traffic, Terminal 2 was opened in November 1990, while Terminal 3 began operations on 1 January 2007. In 2006, the Budget Terminal commenced operations. This was built in response to the increasing trend of low-cost travel in the region, but it closed in 2012 to make way for the construction of Terminal 4, which opened in 2017. Over the years, Changi also improved on its connectivity with the city centre. In 2001, the Changi Airport Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the East-West Line was opened. Such a link had not been viable back in the 1980s when most of the land around the airport was relatively undeveloped. In future, the airport will be accessible from the city via the Thomson-East Coast Line as well. In 2008, Changi Airport Group was formed as a result of the corporatisation of Changi Airport. One of the key projects it subsequently embarked on was building Jewel Changi Airport, a large shopping and entertainment complex that opened on 17 April 2019. A joint venture between Changi Airport Group and CapitaMalls Asia, the project took three years to gain the approval of Singapore’s Cabinet.

https://www.jewelchangiairport.com/en/our-story.html

• multi-purpose complex

• forest valley, indoor oasis, controlled entry points and crowd control

• various stores, cafes and restaurants after check-in

canopy park:

• walking trails, gardens, play areas to foster physical activity, playfulness and social interaction

• abundant natural light, extensive use of glass and open spaces which creates a recreational, bright and airy atmosphere

• glass facade and captivating interior design: visually pleasant environment that engages inhabitants

The physical aspects of the airport and canopy park highlights the amount of investment and attention to agricultural details, showing how far Singapore has came economic-wise, from a poor island that barely has enough to get by to a major centre of wealth that could afford to invest handsomely in infrastructure. This goes to show how despite Singapore’s unprecedented existence, we still managed to drastically develop ourselves within a short amount of time.

the Southern Ridges offers. Away from the hustle and bustle of city life, it is one of the latest and most exciting recreational destinations that Singapore offers.

The most distinguishing feature about the Ridges

is the seamless experience it offers to visitors – the 9-kilometre chain of green, open spaces spanning the hills of Mount Faber Park, Telok Blangah Hill Park and Kent Ridge Park are mostly connected by nature pathways and bridges.

The other highlights of the Southern Ridges are

the Forest Walk and Canopy Walk – bridges cutting through the adinandra belukar, a distinct type of secondary forest where the forest regenerates after exhaustive agriculture exploitation. These trails are excellent for bird watchers to observe birds in their natural habitats. You can also find a rich variety of flora and fauna here.

Gain a deeper insight of Singapore’s history as you walk on the Ridges. Take beautiful photos of wild flowers and birds, and panoramic shots of the city, harbour and Southern Islands from strategic spots along the Southern Ridges.

The park, opened in 1988, was built upon an original hill park. A fairly large park, Kent Ridge Park is bordered by a business technology park called Science Park (not the green kind of park) and ends at the National University of Singapore (NUS) campus on the West side.

The area, which used to be known as Pasir Panjang Ridge, is a historical site as one of the last battles of Singapore – the Battle of Pasir Panjang, was fought on this site. There is a separate war history trail in this area, the Kent Ridge Heritage Trail, which starts from Clementi within NUS, to Bukit Chandu

Changi Airport is consistently ranked as the best airport in the world with iconic facilities.

There are 100+ airlines operating in Singapore Changi Airport, flying to 400+ cities. About 7,400 flights arrive or depart at Changi each week.

Changi has such good facilities and attractions, including multiple terminals, stores, food and beverage and Jewel Canopy Walk, visitors will be able to have great experiences travelling within Changi Airport. This wou”d make Changi Airport more popular among  tourists, keeping the airport open. This is especially important as many people fly around the world. Singapore’s airport being as great as possible is important to attract tourists and protect our air lines of communication.

Singaporeans also find Changi Airport and Jewel attractive, visiting them often even for non travel related activities. This is because of the lush greenery present in the airport as well as the entertaining experiences offered there. For example, the mirror maze. Singaporeans are also familiar with the rich history of the airport. These would eventually lead Singaporeans to be proud of their country, and to be United in appreciating singapore’s efforts.

1. Beyond self-interest: As Singapore aims to be an inclusive community, wheelchair rental services and wheelchair-accessible toilets are provided to ensure those with disabilities are also able to enjoy their time at the park. To attract more visitors into Singapore, our locations need to be easily accessible for everyone.

1. Beware of fault lines: The shift of Jurong Bird Park to Mandai was to provide a larger area for the park to expand and provide a better home for the birds and the opportunity to create a more sustainable and eco-friendly environment. This aligns with one of Singapore’s fundamentals of constant improvement. Continuously improving our tourist attractions will attract more visitors to Singapore as well.

In 2016, the Mandai Wildlife Group announced that the Jurong Bird Park would be relocated to a much larger park at Mandai Lake Road by 2020, consolidating with the three existing wildlife parks together with a new Rainforest Wild Park to form an integrated nature and wildlife precinct known as the Mandai Wildlife Reserve.

iv. Bird Paradise spans 17 hectares and is home to 3,500 birds from 400 species, of which 24 per cent of the species are threatened. Designed to encourage discovery at every turn, Bird Paradise welcomes guests into immersive and naturalistic mixed-species habitats in eight large walk-through aviaries that reflect different biomes of the world, from dense African rainforests, South American wetlands, Southeast Asian forests to Australian dry eucalypt landscape, and more. Other unique experiences include Ocean Network Express Penguin Cove, a state-of-the-art penguin habitat, and animal presentations at the 2,000-seater Sky Amphitheatre.

v. Singapore today has many programmes to promote its conservation efforts, especially by the National Parks Board. Previously, similar to Singapore's efforts, Jurong Bird Park was designed to contribute to conservation efforts. Its Breeding and Research Centre focuses on propagation of threatened species and research on breeding biology. Not only that, the Mandai Wildlife Group joins the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and has committed to reducing its organisation-wide greenhouse gas emissions at a pace and scale required by climate science to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

Singapore, in the area of education has shifted to grooming self directed and digital learners. Mandai Bird Paradise has also incorporated that in their enrichment programmes through their initiative: Virtual Programmes From The Wild.

vi. One way to situate Mandai Bird Park into the hearts and minds of Singaporeans is to incorporate cultural aspects. This can be done by organising and hosting events or performances that showcase and educate Singaporeans on the significance of birds in our culture. For example, in Chinese culture, the magpie (喜鹊) is associated with happiness as well as good fortune. In Malay culture the songbird (merbah jambul) is valued and celebrated for it's song. This reflects the multicultural society present in Singapore, a trait many Singaporeans are proud of. These events and performances can be made even more special by showcasing exclusively local artist. By doing so it helps Singaporeans create memories, that they feel a sense of connecting and belonging to, within Mandai Bird Park.

However, the park must also include some new elements that are unique, especially for the younger generation. Since the younger generations are more technologically advanced, the park could include some more advanced attractions that could include for example, an interactive exhibit or infographic that describes the different birds on the park. This could make the park more interesting for the younger generations as they make find the standard/old kind of exhibits boring. The bird park can include some high tech exhibits while keeping some traditional exhibits for the older generation. This would make the Bird Paradise more inclusive for everyone