I was just channel surfing a while ago and chanced upon the last episode of Once Upon A Tree: Tides and Coastlines – Hopes and Future on Arts Central. The show is a locally produced info-ed on the ecological footprint in Singapore. The show showcased Singapore’s tidal and marine habitats, and also described how Singaporeans could be more pro-active about conserving Singapore’s natural marine habitats. Having just completed a report on the conservation of Singapore’s natural heritage, I found it incredibly gratifying that my team’s report was incredibly relevant to the show and also reflected similar themes and veins.
My team has attempted to relate Singapore’s natural heritage to its national identity, thus encouraging more Singaporeans to engage conservation efforts through a sense of pride and ownership. The host of the show, Dr. Shawn Lum, also commented on hoping to see a future where Singapore would be able to celebrate her marine biodiversity as much as her ports and urban developments. It was so satisfying to see some form of vindication for our efforts, to know that our research could actually go some way towards fulfilling his hopes and dreams.
As an avid scuba-diver that has dived so much around the region, writing this report was an opportunity to learn so much about my country's biodiversity, right here in my own backyard. If anything, it reinforced my belief that all of us can do something if we really care about our natural heritage, something I believe we have so much to be proud of.
If anything, I believe reports should be this way, not just an experience in terms of team building and personal development, but also of relevant material that can come in useful to society.
Picture courtesy of www.cjproject.blogspot.com
2 comments:
Thanks, Benjamin, for this extra post! It's very well done! (I've seen the show as well, and found it very informative.) I like the way you relate your studies to your real world interest and the report writing to social needs.
!!!
hi Brad, thank you for your kind comments, and thank you also for giving us so much freedom with regards to our choice of research topic. It's much easier to find motivation to work when the topic is one we're passionate about! Thank you!
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