Page 57 - Scholarship Guide Feb 2020

LEE MEI HUI, REBECCA 55

What sparked your interest in Academics aside, I liked the experience of the organisation. Work becomes enjoyable
your course of study? meeting people from varied backgrounds and most meaningful when you believe you
can contribute to a larger picture, and if you
and living in a completely different place.
My decision to pursue geography stemmed The UK has such awesome landscapes just love nature and want to ensure green spaces
from a love of being outdoors and fascination a few hours’ train ride away, which provide for people to enjoy, then NParks might be the
with the natural environment. I was always beautiful backdrops to go walking, climbing place for you.
curious about landscapes – how they were and camping. These gave me a great chance
formed, evolved naturally over millions of to apply what I was learning, and truly
years, infl uence the biodiversity they host, appreciate these landscapes in their entirety
and how they are now changing drastically which are not just pretty to look at, but also
because of humans. Most of my free time as beautiful for their complexity and dynamism.
a teenager went into weekend forays into
places like Chek Jawa Wetlands and Central
Catchment Nature Reserve, which opened What do you do at the Park
my eyes to the wildlife our tiny urban island Planning Branch, and what are
hosts. I wanted to play a part to protect these
places and knew that a career in NParks could some of the projects you are
give me that opportunity. currently working on or have
worked on in the past?
What were some of the In Park Planning, our role is mainly to ensure
memorable/interesting green spaces for recreation and biodiversity,
which can be challenging given our land
encounters during your course scarcity, growing population and need for the NParks Undergraduate Scholarship
of study and why? country to remain economically competitive. Lee Mei Hui, Rebecca
I studied geography at the University College We work with other agencies and developers Age
on projects concerning land use. I really enjoy
London, which gave me the chance to learn the collaborative environment, which allows 23
from leading researchers in the fi eld. One me to learn the intricacies behind Singapore’s
memorable experience was an internship with planning. I also get to learn about matters Attained
one of my lecturers. We aimed to reconstruct concerning other agencies such as transport Bachelor of Science in Geography (1st Class Hons),
climate variations during the Pleistocene, and housing. Understanding their concerns is University College London
which began around 2.5 million years ago and crucial to being a good park planner, because
ended 11,700 years ago. We did this through while we want lush green spaces for native Now
studying microscopic fossilised algae known wildlife and people, there are plenty of non- Manager / Park Planning (Policy &
as diatoms, which are biological indicators greenery related assets that are also essential Planning)
of surrounding conditions like temperature for Singapore to function. It is both challenging
and moisture. It was incredible to observe and exciting to fi nd innovative solutions to From
the 40,000-year-old diatoms, which hold so resolve these differences to create a high School of the Arts (SOTA)
much history and information about the past. quality liveable environment for people while
These ornate organisms are like beautiful conserving our natural environment.
time machines!
I have learnt a lot from projects such as the
My degree also gave me plenty of Rail Corridor, which comprises a sizeable
opportunities to work in the fi eld, which amount of land and goes through multiple
is my favourite way to learn. Particularly planning areas with vastly different profi les
memorable was a trip to Mallorca in my and planning concerns, such as Sungei Kadut
second year. We spent most of the days and Bukit Merah. I really appreciate how
rowing in an open lake to collect data on lake there is always something new to learn in
depth and turbidity, which we would digitise Park Planning.
in GIS to map out the lake bathymetry. This
exposure to GIS has since been helpful in my
job in Park Planning, which we use in our
daily work. What advice would you have
for those who are exploring
Studying in London also offered many their scholarship options?
opportunities to volunteer with institutions In choosing which organisation you would
such as the London Natural History Museum, like to work for, it is important to really
which hosts one of the most extensive natural understand its core values and what it stands
history collections in the world. It was great to for. If the organisation offers an opportunity
work with the collections, and I really enjoyed to volunteer or intern, take that chance to
repairing damaged dragonfl y specimens in a better understand the organisation and its
room that held some pretty iconic specimens. people, and see if your values are aligned with