Walking the green talk

Affectionately known by his moniker – Otterman, a nickname from his work with otters in the 1990s – Mr N SIVASOTHI, a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Biological Sciences, is an ardent educator and ecologist who believes in teaching the value of environmental stewardship through first-hand experiential learning.

It was in this spirit that he led NUS Toddycats!, a tight-knit community of conservation enthusiasts, to organise habitat enhancement sessions at the Rail Corridor South on 26 August and 9 September 2023 under the inaugural NUS Sustainability CONNECT, the university’s first large-scale sustainability festival held from 25 August to 23 September 2023. Participants planted saplings along the former railway line and learnt more about the work that goes into upkeeping the forest network.  

Toddycats! hosts an active calendar of programmes in conservation, education and research, hoping to inspire the NUS community and the public to contribute meaningfully to biodiversity conservation.  Its activities have helped to drive awareness and action towards the greater good of nature.

For instance, it coordinates regular planting sessions at the Kranji Coastal Nature Park, where participants can get their hands dirty and play a role in reforesting the area.

At the recent Bachelor of Environmental Studies (BES) Groves initiative on 28 September, students collected trash from the Lim Chu Kang Mangrove, which opened their eyes to the adverse impacts of marine trash.

Year 1 BES student AIDIL said, “To actually see the amount of plastic straws found during the mangrove clean-up was a wake up call for me to reduce my plastic intake!”

Find out more about Toddycats! calendar of events here!