Community Efforts

Erosion Control Blankets
Many types of blankets are available today at hypermarkets or ‘green’ shops to assist with erosion control. They are placed on the affected area and fitted tight and securely placed to be most effective.

Retaining Walls
If flooding occurs, cement pavers can be constructed into a retaining wall. This prevents the water from traveling towards the land,preventing erosion from taking place.

Residue Covers
The most successful in stomping out erosion, residue covers provide a between the topsoil (contains the highest amount of nutrients) and the runoff. If rain occurs, the residue covers prevent water from displacing the soil particles. They can also divert rainfall in other directions away from the soil. For example, the rainwater may go into a water catchments area instead if the plants.

Grass and Mulch
Mulch is the applying of 1 layer of organic matter (e.g. Pine tree leaves, shredded wood etc.). One layer of mulch is enough to protect the soil, even when heavy rain fall occurs. Mulch protects the soil by helping it hold its needed moisture.
Grass can also be used for erosion control. However, the erosion control only takes place on a short-term basis. Grass are grown on the eroded area, and grow and hence, hold the soil together and forms a temporary erosion control.We may turn the grassed area into a ‘green’ place to increase erosion controls because there will be more roots to hold the soil together and less soil will be displaced. For example, we can make a garden by growing plants, and shrubs.


Company Efforts

1. Create new trekking boots that do not affect the soil layer (e.g. removing the spikes)
2. Introduce campaigns to allow visitors to throw their rubbish before entering the nature reserve. For example, “Throw to Win” schemes that encourage people to dispose rubbish such as plastic bags and wrappers and stand a chance to win a weekly prize.
3. Create lockers at nature reserves for visitors to store their bags there and bring their necessary items (e.g. notebook, camera etc.) This can be made compulsory and the visitors can only get their items back when leaving the reserve.
4. Impose security measures such as inspecting visitors’ hand-carried items to ensure that they are not carrying anything harmful to the reserve. They can also hire rangers and guards to be stationed at random positions so that they can have a view of what the visitors are doing but the visitors cannot see them.
5. Place more fallen logs around the nature reserves. They can act as a resting area as well as to compact the soil below. In cases of erosion, they block the movement of soil moving down the slope.
6. Increase the number of animals in nature reserves (e.g. monkeys). They help to compact the soil and create depressions in the ground that can collect water and seep into the soil and taken in by the roots.
7. Encourage the growth of tall trees to form a “tropical rainforest” . This helps in reducing the amount of raindrops reaching the forest floor and hence, reduce the impacts done to the soil layer via rainfall.
   

Individual Efforts

• Be in touch with the latest environmental issue by reading magazines and browsing the Internet. They can learn the right thing to do when they go to nature reserves or other places that promotes saving the environment.
• Provide comments to companies that seem to be manufacturing products that are causing harm to the footpath.
• Form ‘green’ groups that discuss about how to protect the footpaths in nature reserves and come up with new ideas to help the nature reserve accomplish their aim.