It has been 4 years in. The greater Dairy Farm Nature Park has been the Home of Forest School Singapore from the start of 2019 till 2022. She has been the source of protection and education for all of us, Children, Coaches, Parents and the Greater extended Community.
Many folks have passed through our doors locally and overseas. We have brought folks from Ukraine, Sweden, South Korea, China, Netherland, Malaysia and more through this wonderful terrain of Magic and Life. The 2 main troupe of Long Tailed Macaque families and periodic Wild Boar families have watched over us for the past 4 years so well. They teach us the meaning of life, while showing us how to be a better earthling.
And how can we forget the Legendary Mr See (or as like to call him Professor See). He watched over our kids, coaches and families so well over the past 4 years. When we are at the Kampong Garden, he will ensure our safety, enjoyment and wellness. He does it so naturally, that it makes many of us take it for granted so often. Mr See embodies what Nature and Forest School means, in its most organic form as a community. Oftentimes, in our most challenging moments he shows us the way to the wisdom of the Kampung and Mother Nature. Without him we wouldn’t have been able to be around till now.
But all beautiful things have their temporal end. And this relationship with Dairy Farm and her existence has arrived at that moment.
The guardians of Dairy Farm Nature Park have been vibrating strongly. She has indicated the need for rest. Rest from our existence in her land. Physical landslides and hence block-off areas are more common now than in the first two year (probably also due to the torrential rainfall and heavy road and building constructions). We have also been dealing with more authority (aka Human) behaviour challenges in the past 6 months (The Battle with Bullying).
In practising Forest School in Singapore, we resonate closely with the Forest and Mother Nature. These signs are what we have to pay close attention to. And these are signs of the need for us to pay attention and make changes to. So with a sincere heart and a sensitive soul, we heed the Forest message, to begin our migration in a bid to let the land rest.
We will migrate to Mayfair-Clementi Forest. Mayfair Park was our original home from 2017-18. We dwell amongst the Mayfair-RifleRange Forest during that time. But since RifleRange Forest hasn’t been fully redeveloped, we have made a decision with the blessing of elders from the Clementi Forest to move to the Mayfair-Clementi Forest area.
Mayfair-Clementi provides the FSS communities a land of space and wilderness. The change of environment is also aligned with the Tropical land Nomadic behaviour of moving to allow for land to rest. We moved to another space to allow for rest for the one we were on.
This Migration also gives our community of children, coaches and parents a space to grow differently and healthily from as they deal with new behaviours, energy and challenges of a different land. It improves the children’s ability to adapt and read a different environment. It improves the coaches safety awareness and group management through a different environment. It also improves the parents’ relational engagement through a different, more circulative energy of the Mayfair Park environment. All these culminated with the incidents and issues we have been facing at Dairy Farm Nature Park, leading to the final push for the Great 2022 Migration of FSS that we are now on.
For everyone else normal understanding, what this Great Migration will mean is:
1) Weekly Forest School Sessionwill move to Mayfair-Clementi from 1 OCT 2022 (as they are most actively present in Forest School session on the land)
2) Holiday Camps and Workshops will continue at Dairy Farm Nature Park until 22 DEC 2022 (with approval from the elders of the space).
And subsequently moved to Mayfair-Clementi from 1 JAN 2023. (so that we get to say goodbye to the land and space, while giving the camp community space to make the transition)
3) By 1st JAN 2023, FSS will officially move to Mayfair-Clementi Forest.
Cheers
Darren Quek
Principal of Forest School Singapore
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