Visitors to the newly opened Windsor Nature Park can see dragonflies, pond skaters and the native masked rough-sided frog in their natural wetland habitat.
Located off Upper Thomson Road, Singapore's sixth nature park is home to almost half of the 122 species of dragonfly found in Singapore.
Sales manager and Jurong resident Wing Ching How, 29, said he likes the freshwater streams that run alongside some of the park's trails.
"Other parks don't seem to have that and the swampy areas," he said. "And the paths are in very good condition, so I can stay dry."
Nature lovers can also spot rare native plants along the 350m-long Hanguana trail, which is named after the Hanguana rubinea, a plant found only in Singapore.
Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs and National Development Desmond Lee opened the park yesterday. He also announced plans for Rifle Range Nature Park, a buffer park for the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve that will open in 2020.
Said Mr Lee: "Our network of nature parks is part of our commitment in this city in a garden, towards conserving our natural heritage."
The 75ha Windsor Nature Park is the fourth of five planned buffer parks to protect the Central Catchment Nature Reserve from the impact of urbanisation. The fifth one, the Thomson Nature Park, is expected to open in 2019.
Windsor features a 4m-high sub-canopy walkway that extends 150m, allowing visitors to see the fauna found above the ground.
The National Parks Board (NParks) spent two years repairing existing trails in the park and adding new ones, bringing the total length of trails to 3.85km.
The park's low-lying areas are prone to being waterlogged, resulting in the erosion of old trails used to access the TreeTop Walk and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.
Some of the new trails thus feature raised boardwalks to prevent further compaction of tree roots.
There are four trails in Windsor Nature Park, with one leading out to the TreeTop Walk.
Students helped in the park's development. Ms Penny Low, 21, who just graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic's landscape design and horticulture course, helped to weed the park as part of a school module.
"I feel a sense of satisfaction, having contributed to this," she said, adding that the park gives a good introduction to the wetlands.
Rifle Range Nature Park will also aim to attract wetland fauna through a freshwater habitat. The 67ha park will link Beauty World to the former Sin Seng Quarry, once one of the deepest quarries here at 55m.
