I could see a huge difference in people’s preferences towards man-made and natural environments. Gardens by the Bay, an iconic man-made nature park which features some extraordinary natural systems built to regenerate a natural foreshore, has achieved a high annual visitors number of 8.8 million, recorded in 2015. On the other hand, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve which is a protected nature area for wildlife, flora, fauna and other biodiversity species, received only 400,000 visitors in 2015. So, in every 20 people who visited the iconic man-made nature park Garden by the Bay, only 1 person has been to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve before. That is a huge difference in people’s preferences towards man-made and natural environments.

There are over 400 parks and 600 community garden built in Singapore, but only 4 nature reserves are preserved and maintained. The dramatic difference in numbers can turn into a worrying situation in the latter years as people start to form a misconception about nature. By perceiving that artificial or man-made environment is regarded as the “real” nature, the natural world will soon be substituted by built environment. Thereby, forging the true significance of nature.