Sat 03 Dec 2011

If you go for ONE talk this year, this is it: Ria Tan's "Secret Shores of Singapore" talk is unparalleled and she speaks from the heart.

Category : talks

Ria Tan of Wild Singapore and Wild Shores of Singapore speaks TODAY (Sat 03 Dec 2011: 2.30pm) at The National Geographic Store at VivoCity, 1 HarbourFront Walk, #01-19 [website]

She says,

"No need to swim, no need to dive! Ordinary people can experience much of Singapore’s amazing marine life on the intertidal shores. Otters, wild dolphins, sea turtles, sea snakes, living corals and more!

I’ll be sharing lots of photos from our regular trips to about 40 local seashore locations. Lots of stories of recent adventures, and how we can make a difference for our wild shores. Bring your friends and family for a comfy intro to our amazing shores!"

A two-time recipient of the Biodiversity of Singapore Symposium Award (2003, 2007) presented to exceptional volunteers who have contributed selflessly to biodiversity in Singapore, she has been indefatigable since I worked with her in 2000.

Her mission to spread awareness about Singapore's biodiversity began over a decade ago. In 2001, she played a critical role in the conservation of Chek Jawa. That fueled her to do more and she began to investigate our shores, generating voluminous tagged and labelled photos on Flickr which have become an international resource. A walking encyclopedia, she probably knows if any marine species has ever appeard on our shores! No wonder she is a valuable ally to scientists investigating marine life in Singapore.

She also supports and promotes others through Wild Singapore, a one stop resource for Singapore which sets an example for private and government efforts in resource generation. She learns, uses and adapts simple tools and it is backed by her marine life expeditions, participation in the community and engagement with people on the ground.

Her powerful delivery during her slide talk is the result of a LOT of preparation to integrate all that information bursting inside of her. When she compressed this into a 10-minute presentation at the Biodiversity of Singapore Symposium III, she inadvertently created compulsory course material for the LSM1103 Biodiversity class in the National University of Singapore as well as for Organisers and Volunteers of the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore.

If you go for ONE talk this year, this is it. Ria Tan's "Secret Shores of Singapore" is unparalleled and she speaks from the heart. Don't wish you could be there, just go!

Posted at 5:41AM UTC by N. Sivasothi | permalink | email |