by Joshua Raynen Lim
At the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), biodiversity isn’t something to be studied from afar – it's something to be seen, felt, and appreciated inside and outside the classroom.
As part of the nationwide Go Green SG movement, students, faculty, and staff took part in a campus biodiversity walk, transforming everyday footpaths into gateways of discovery. This biodiversity walk encouraged participants to snap photos and record sightings of plants and animals using the iNaturalist app, showing how digital tools can contribute to biodiversity research.
Seeing with New Eyes
Guide and insect expert from bioSEA, James Khoo introduces Bhavna Ganesh (black top) – a Year 3 student, to the wonders of campus biodiversity.
Guided by SUTD’s partner, bioSEA (an ecology and biomimicry design firm), participants meandered through patches of greenery to observe insects and ecosystems hiding in plain sight. It was a walk that challenged participants to slow down and see familiar surroundings through fresh eyes.
“I never once stopped to notice the different diversity that we have in our environment,” shared Bhavna Ganesh, a Year 3 student. “I didn’t realise there is so much we can see."
Learning Through Discovery
Thanks to the experienced and sharp-eyed guides, Dr Anuj Jain & James Khoo from bioSEA, what might have been “just another plant” revealed itself to be a tiny ecosystem teeming with life. Laughter mixed with curiosity as participants compared photos and debated over whether the species they spotted were spiders or stinkbugs.
Eyes on the Canopy
Dr Anuj Jain, Principal Ecologist from bioSEA, points out birds in the trees to Aditi Kaul (brown top), a Year 1 student, and other participants.
Throughout the walk, phones and lenses clicked, pointed at tree canopies to pond edges; participants marveled at the complexity of life all around them. At one point, Dr Anuj Jain paused beneath the tree canopy, gesturing upwards as participants tilted their heads to follow his lead, looking on with curiosity at a pair of Black-naped Orioles perched in the dense leaves.
Technology Meets Nature
Corinna Choong (in red cap), SUTD’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Bong Eng Ying (far right), a Lecturer, and other participants using the iNaturalist mobile app to identify species around a pond.
The campus walk is part of a broader push by SUTD to embed sustainability into its culture. Corinna Choong, the university’s Chief Sustainability Officer, shared how a biodiversity baseline profiling of the entire campus was completed – identifying native species and those on the conservation watchlist. “It starts with awareness and appreciation,” she said. “If we grow to recognise and care for the environment more, perhaps in our daily lives, people will take more action."
These lessons are already reshaping behaviours. “This activity helped me appreciate nature more, you feel like protecting and preserving them,” first-year student Aditi Kaul remarked. She shares that she has a responsibility to protect and reduce her own impact and now uses digital tools to track her online carbon footprint.
This attitudinal shift towards embedding sustainability into the university’s culture isn’t just emotional; it’s educational too. SUTD lecturer Bong Eng Ying shared how sustainability is woven into student projects. “In our ‘Science for a Sustainable World’ course, students dismantle their prototypes (student projects) and sort materials for reuse. These are small efforts, but they show students are thinking not just creatively, but responsibly.”
These moments are what Go Green SG is all about – turning quiet observations into collective responsibility, and fostering a culture where every action, no matter how small, contributes to a greener, kinder Singapore.
