Date: 28th October 2014, Tuesday
Time: 7.30pm to 9.40pm
Venue: TR+46
Ms. Choo Le Min, former Earthlink Nature Guiding Director came down to NTU to share her experience with around 30 participants of her remarkable learning journey in Churchill, Canada.
Ms. Choo presented her experiences using vivid images taken by a private photographer on the trip. These photographers were representative of the beautiful and diverse wildlife of Churchill. They served as a backdrop to her research – Climate Change at the Arctic s Edge. This ongoing research examines tree lines the geographical line beyond which trees do not grow and how is it affected by climate change, which is led by scientists LeeAnn Fishback, Steven Mamet and Peter Kershaw. They are also concerned with the permafrost thawing due to the global temperature rises. As permafrost thaws and exposes the organic compounds trapped within, the decomposing organic compounds release greenhouse gases that further amplify the effects of global warming, leading to a positive feedback loop. Current plant and animal residents may not be able to adapt to the sudden change in landscape and surrounding temperature.
They went down to the tundra to conduct field work and data mining. Particularly, they were collecting data of the number of sapling of spruce trees in a 1m by 1m plot as well as the height of the individual sapling. From here scientists will be able to monitor the effects of global warming. This will help the scientists in contributing to the trove of information and making the future less uncertain.
Other task of the research team is to observe the flora and fauna in their natural habitats. Churchill was nicknamed the Polar Bear Capital of the World due to populations of polar bear. Nevertheless, due to their migration habits, Ms. Choo and her team were unable to detect any polar bear. They did capture some breath-taking pictures about other type of animals such as seals, birds, and even video of beluga whales surfacing to breathe.
Ms. Choo ended her sharing session by giving her appreciations and blessings to HSBC and NYAA as well as Earthlink for her accomplishment. The Q & A session went well with participants producing questions about her feeling in receiving the award and her future aspiration.
Overall, the sharing session was a motivational one and it inspires us to move forward and pursue our passions no matter the obstacles.