The vigilant cyclist: One man’s love for nature shows how individuals can make a difference

SINGAPORE - For civil servants managing public feedback on environmental issues over the past five years, the name Jimmy Tan will ring a bell.

He is not a policymaker, but a part-time delivery rider who cycles around parts of the island weekly, scanning the treelines, waterways and streetscapes for any harm suffered by the Republic’s shrinking natural spaces and its wildlife.

Whether it is the

plight of four birds

that slammed into transparent bus stop panels in Dairy Farm Road, or a Tengah

construction site spewing silty wate

r, the freelance editor diligently documents these encounters.

He uploads the evidence on social media and submits it to the authorities for their attention, plugging gaps in bureaucratic oversight.

“First and foremost, I’m not trained as a scientist. I’m just a geography enthusiast who started nature advocacy because I want to do my part for the environment,” said the 52-year-old, who also works as a part-time security officer.

His vigilance has borne significant fruit. In January 2024, national water agency PUB said the contractor for the Tengah construction site flagged by Mr Tan had been ordered to rectify its lapses. Nine months later, it declared that the firm

had been fined $17,000

for unauthorised earthworks and failing to comply with monitoring requirements.

More recently, in November 2025, Mr Tan’s video on TikTok showing bird collisions at a Dairy Farm bus stop triggered a groundswell of public concern.

The bus stop sits on the edge of the luxuriant Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, home to the last extensive patch of Singapore’s mature dipterocarp forest, where

previous research

has suggested that certain species of birds are more prone to collide with urban structures.

For avian visitors, the clear glass panels were effectively death traps.

Within a week of Mr Tan’s post going viral, the Land Transport Authority and the National Parks Board announced that they had installed frosted strips and decals to make the panels visible to birds.

However, for Mr Tan, elation over these small victories is often dampened by a sense of wistfulness, as several forested areas close to his heart remain slated for development despite his attempts to provide feedback.

“While it was good that a contractor in Tengah was taken to task for the lapses, it would be even better for the Government to halt the clearance of Tengah forest, limiting the impact on its wildlife,” said the Bukit Batok resident.

Plans to develop Tengah, a 700ha site between Bukit Batok and Jurong, were first mooted in 1991, before detailed plans

for a new town there

were revealed in 2016.

Even as the forest is felled in phases, conservationists and scientists have long lamented the loss of Tengah forest, viewing it as a vital green corridor that allows wildlife like the critically endangered

Sunda pangolin

and locally critically endangered

leopard cat

to travel safely between the island’s forest patches.

Undeterred by the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) Master Plan, a statutory plan that guides Singapore’s development for up to 15 years, Mr Tan launched two Change.org petitions.

One, started with two nature advocates, called for the preservation of at least 30 per cent of Tengah forest, and another mooted the conservation of Bukit Batok Hillside Park, part of which has been planned for housing.

The latter in August 2020 marked the start of his journey into environmental activism.

“Back then, HDB conducted a public feedback exercise about their environmental impact assessment report of the park, so as a resident of Bukit Batok, I felt that I should go have a look at the forest,” he recalled.

“I realised that the dense greenery made a difference because Bukit Batok is much cooler than Toa Payoh, where I grew up.”

The Bukit Batok Hillside Park area has been zoned for residential and park use in the URA masterplan since 2003.

In a push to save the park, the self-professed introvert forced himself out of his shell. Drawing on his experience as a former member of the outdoor activities club at Nanyang Junior College, he conducted guided tours for those interested.

Despite his efforts and the support of more than 15,000 signatories as at Jan 21, two plots of land in the park are still earmarked for housing.

In October 2020, the Ministry of National Development said that guided by findings from an environmental impact study and in consultation with nature groups, it rezoned more space for the upcoming Bukit Batok Hillside Nature Park, which will retain a natural stream that runs through the old park and its catchment area.

“I became cynical in a sense because it felt like the Government’s plan was set in stone,” he admitted. “But I feel that even if the petition failed to change their mind, at least I still raised awareness and helped to generate momentum for ordinary people to talk about conservation.”

His guided forest tours, which are part of the campaign, also brought together like-minded people interested in nature in a WhatsApp group, said Mr Tan.

This paved the way for his Facebook group Singapore forests and farms in February 2021, where he shares updates about local biodiversity, such as animals killed by traffic accidents, as well as the latest conservation issues.

He said: “I don’t consider it an official nature group, it’s just a platform for people to post their comments, share their observations and discuss our forests.”

The community has amassed more than 2,100 followers, doubling as a safe space for anyone in Singapore to air their ecological grief – the distress over the planet’s eroding landscape.

However, creating this space on social media has also opened up an avenue for personal criticism.

Detractors have occasionally suggested that if he loves the forest so much, he should “go live in it”, or dismissed him as a trouble-maker.

While some of these negative remarks hurt him, they also spurred Mr Tan to sharpen his knowledge. He recalled learning to explain the difference between harmless soil from the forest and silt from construction sites after a TikTok user questioned why he was making a fuss about “just mud and dirt”.

“It’s good for me as it helps me to better craft my arguments, instead of staying in my echo chamber,” he added.

Going forward, Mr Tan has set his sights on raising awareness about the forest patches near Jalan Bahar, which are slated to be developed in the next phase of Jurong Innovation District.

In December 2025, The Straits Times reported that

more than 52ha of forested land and streams

will likely be developed for the advanced manufacturing hub, cutting into one of Singapore’s four key ecological corridors that ensure the long-term survival of wildlife populations.

The loss of this corridor would be detrimental for forest-dependent wildlife that use the space to move between the Western Catchment forest and Tengah forest, according to the report.

It is a daunting challenge, but Mr Tan has observed a shift in interest surrounding environmental issues.

He said: “Conservation is no longer a niche issue, unlike the 1980s when Nature Society Singapore was the only advocacy group to speak up about Sungei Buloh.

“Now, talking about biodiversity is more mainstream.”

And for as long as Mr Tan can, he intends to continue exploring the island by bike and on foot to make sure the concerns of the forest continue to be seen and heard.