Outdoor adventure education sites to be consolidated from 8 to 4; public golf course to make way

SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Education (MOE) said on Friday (Feb 23) it will be consolidating eight outdoor adventure education sites to four locations, allowing all schools to conduct upper primary and lower secondary cohort camps at those locales.

The four consolidated locations include the existing MOE outdoor adventure learning centre (OALC) at Dairy Farm, which is in Bukit Timah, as well as two new centres to be built in Mandai and Sembawang. 

The location for the other new centre is being studied in consultation with other government agencies and details will be shared when ready, said MOE.

The Mandai centre will be developed on the site currently occupied by the Mandai Executive Golf Course at Upper Seletar Reservoir after its tenancy expires.

This centre will potentially allow students to participate in water activities - depending on an environmental impact assessment - and accommodate larger-scale camps by uniformed groups, said MOE.

Meanwhile, the Sembawang centre will be developed at a site near PAssion WaVe @ Sembawang.

This centre will support water activities like kayaking and outrigger canoeing, and allow uniformed groups to participate in land and sea expeditions, added MOE. 

The exact locations and development of the Mandai and Sembawang centres will be guided by environmental impact assessments, which are expected to start next year. 

Nature groups such as Nature Society (Singapore) and Singapore Youth Voices for Biodiversity have been tapped for the preliminary phase.

The Education Ministry also said it will work closely with the National Parks Board (NParks), the National Environment Agency (NEA) and national water agency PUB, while public feedback from stakeholders in the vicinity of the new