Gaggles of excitable aquarium-goers tap on glass panels the way they’d prod touchscreens at a video arcade, while others startle marine creatures with their blinding camera flashes. The scene isn’t a foreshadowing of calamity in the next Jaws movie. It is, however, all in a day’s work for an education executive at Resorts World Sentosa’s (RWS) S.E.A. Aquarium.
Marine educator Ng Lee Kiang, who once herded young visitors around the 800-species-rich facility as part of programmes she’d helped to develop, attributes their transgressions to ignorance rather than belligerence.
“When there’s a glass panel between them and the animals, people tend to see them as exhibits, as if they are 2D images. But when they’re out there in nature and really observing the marine creatures in their natural ecosystem, there’s a slight difference in perception.”
During her tenure at RWS, the 34-year-old also discovered that most people are unaware of Singapore’s rich marine biodiversity. It fuelled her impetus to cofound Young Nautilus, a social enterprise that develops nature-themed enrichment programmes designed to encourage environmental responsibility in youths. Since its inception in 2015, its roster has offered intertidal and mangrove walks, coastal cleanups, and other sun-stippled excursions.
How can you appreciate or conserve what you don’t know? “We started Young Nautilus to bring more people outdoors, to experience nature first-hand, and to develop a greater appreciation for our local ecosystem,” shares Ng. After hoisting on her first scuba tank at 18, she studied biology at Nanyang Technological University.
Like many experienced divers, Ng laments encounters with dive sites filled with marine debris, a stark reminder of the fragility of our oceans. Despite this, she stays buoyant and keeps her fins kicking.
“I see marine education work as planting a blue seed in young individual minds. Eventually, it can blossom into something impactful, such as someone becoming a negotiator at a climate change conference.”
Ng Lee Kiang on the impact of her efforts
When Ng speaks of “eagle rays gliding gracefully past us and coconut octopi running around carrying their shells” in lilting tones that appeal to children, it becomes clear how she convinces educators of nature-based education’s value. Yet, she says her biggest obstacle has been altering notions about outdoor learning being risky.
“We have to convince them that it’s about managing risk within an authentic learning environment,” says Ng, adding that Young Nautilus majors in inquiry-based learning. And if participants’ interactions in the field are anything to go by, the company may be gaining ground in making nature relevant to city dwellers. Some students question the impact of their intertidal walks on natural ecosystems, while others shush their yattering classmates to avoid disturbing wildlife—an encouraging contrast to the kids gawking at a hermetically sealed aquarium.
Though that may not represent a sea change, Ng is happy to share that past programme participants have subsequently majored in environmental science and taken up employment at organisations such as World Wildlife Fund and Singapore’s National Parks Board.
Ng’s efforts towards marine conservation were recognised at One°15 Marina Sentosa Cove’s Blue Water Heroes Awards, 2024, where she met venerated US oceanographer Dr Sylvia Earle as well as other regional eco-champions.
While the young conservationist looks towards cross-border collaborations with the latter, she also wants to underscore the environmental impact of individual actions—from reducing single-use plastic usage to opting for sustainable seafood—in our own backyard. “Singapore has ongoing land reclamation to mitigate rising sea levels due to climate change,” she stresses. “So, we need more individuals to support conservation efforts and be aware of the policies that can help protect our habitats.”
Art direction: Ed Harland
Photography: Mun Kong
Photography assistant: Melvin Leong
Hair: Sarah Tan
Makeup: Keith Bryant using Lancome
