From Life Science to a Greener Singapore

DYNAMIC. This was how I would describe Lim Yi He – a final year Life Sciences student at the Faculty of Science (FOS). Besides being a student of FOS, and a resident assistant of Ridge View Residential College (RVRC), she is also the president of RV FoRestore – a student interest group that is working hard to help restore Singapore’s forests.

Having a chance to talk to Yi He allowed me to understand more about her passion for the environment, and her determination to contribute to a sustainable future.

NUS – a starting point for the journey towards sustainability

About her decision to study at NUS Life Sciences, Yi He said that her tertiary choice stemmed from her admiration for the lecturers of the Department of Biological Sciences. According to Yi He, since high school, she had already been enthused by many NUS nature study experts – Dr. Ascher, Dr. Amy Choong, and Mr. Sivasothi – through their sharing, projects, and workshops on natural species.

“I wanted to learn more from them so I could better understand how they can love something so much that they dedicate years researching about it” – Yi He said.

While studying at FOS, NUS continued to be “a source of inspiration and opportunities” that drive Yi He to pursue her passion for sustainability. The support and inspiration she received came not only from the FOS lecturers or her plant-related part-time jobs in NUS but also from her encounter with like-minded students and advisors in the sustainability field.

Especially, joining RV FoRestore has allowed Yi He to realize “the real amount of scientific work going on behind reforestation”, which later led to her “developing an interest in reforestation activities.”

Yi He (at the back, purple shirt) presenting her project presentation during this year’s Forest Restoration Workshop (photo credit: Chan Wan Ting)

Taking small steps on the journey to sustainability

Yi He’s sustainability journey was filled with diverse experiences. From RV FoRestore’s habitat enhancement events to National Parks Board (NParks) internships to her natural-related studies, her activities – big or small – were all contributing to creating a sustainable Singapore.

When asked about her most memorable sustainable-related work, Yi He talked about her year-long project for the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme (UROPs). “My project focuses on two different forest restoration methods: reforestation and assisted natural regeneration” – explained Yi He.

Yi He recorded down seedling data in the forest restoration plots for her UROPS

While her findings were not extensive enough to be applied nation-wide, Yi He hoped that her project can be the start to more future long-term monitoring of forest restoration sites, as well as provide greater insights into Singapore’s forest recovery.

Reflecting on her URPOs experience, Yi He said the most valuable takeaway was her increasing appreciation for behind-the-scenes research. “Forest restoration isn’t as simple as just planting trees, there’s a lot of science behind it and I think sometimes most people don’t realize that” – expressed Yi He.

Furthermore, this project enhanced her determination to start her future career in sustainability. “Now, I can’t imagine doing anything unrelated to biodiversity or sustainability in the future” – laughed Yi He.

Follow your heart and be fearless

One would think that to balance all her commitments, Yi He must have strategically thought about her education and works ahead of time. However, the reality could not be more different.

Yi He confessed that, unlike many others, she usually did not pre-plan her time at university. “I just mostly follow my heart and did what I what to do” – laughed Yi He. She explained that, by following this strategy, the learning process would be much more enjoyable: “I enjoyed many of my modules because I was genuinely interested in them, rather than because it was required of me to complete.”

When asked about advice she would give to other undergraduates of NUS, Yi He suggested that every student should be a bit fearless in their academic pursuit: “If you are interested in it, just give it a shot.”  

“Don’t spend too much time following other people’s dreams, take the time to figure out your dreams and interests instead” – chuckled Yi He.