Making science fun and not giving up! An interview with Sam Shu Qin
BY KATH WHITTEY
I had the pleasure of interviewing the lovely, enthusiastic and high-energy Sam Shu Qin. We had a great chat and our shared love of coral reefs and desire to protect them left me feeling full of hope for the future! When working in a “crisis discipline” like conservation it is often easy to feel quite blue and totally overwhelmed by the problems we face. But talking to individuals like Sam gives me hope that if we all do a little, we can achieve a lot!
Hey! Tell us a bit about yourself.
“I am an avid diver and coral scientist actively involved in restoration of coral reefs in Singapore, Southeast Asia!”. Coral conservation is very close to Sam’s heart, working closely on the reef she sees first-hand the harmful effects humans are having on the corals. She sees the pollution and rubbish, and the impact this is causing to the reef. “It’s really hard when you’ve just planted a coral, and you come back to check on it and see that it’s tangled in discarded fishing line”. To try to overcome this, Sam engages in many outreach programs to spread awareness of the impacts that debris has on reefs. Sam co-founded an organisation “Our Singapore Reefs” (follow them here) to connect like-minded marine enthusiasts through diving. “We plan programs to bring divers together to pick up trash and we design fun and engaging outreach programs to raise awareness of marine biodiversity and the impact on biodiversity from marine debris”.
So what are some of the ways you’ve made science fun and engaging?
“In Singapore, a place with high rise buildings, it’s really far away from nature, so it’s challenging sometimes to engage people. Which means you have to bring the ocean to them in creative ways. So we do things like busking! We make it fun and play games, go into parks and make things visual!” A big problem that reefs face is coral bleaching (where corals become too hot and expel their photosynthetic zooxanthellae) and Sam has an ingenious way of demonstrating this in an engaging way! “Well we have a lot of coral skeletons which wash up on the beach, which is normal right. But what we do, is we take those skeletons, and we cover them in colourful wax and we use glitter to represent the zooxanthellae! Then we dip the wax covered skeletons in hot water, when we do this the wax melts off with the glitter zooxanthellae and leaves behind the white “bleached” coral skeletons”
How did you get to where you are now?
“I was always attracted to the sea and always asking my parents to take me to the beach or the aquarium after school and always watching documentaries. But it’s tricky in Singapore, there weren’t any marine science degrees so I applied to go to Australia, but my parents persuaded me not to go! Thinking there was no future in marine sciences, and wanting the best for me, they persuaded me instead to do biology.” Sam reflects on the lack of momentum for marine science at the time in Singapore, but says it is so much better now! She recalls her biology degree saying “I learnt about bacteria, viruses and plants….you know that kind of thin…And then!” (The change in Sams voice is so pure and happy I can’t help smiling ear-to-ear) “I see this opportunity to study great white sharks in South Africa, so I went and got to study and see how cool marine biology is!”
Photo Credit: Virginia Bria
So did you get the swim with the sharks?
“No, I think I would be terrified! No, when they breach you identify them then and you take samples ...and you also take water samples! It was a great experience.”
Can you explain more about what your job entails?
“The sea around Singapore is very highly sedimented so visibility is quite bad between 3-5 metres so it’s hard to see what’s there! And actually, people don’t expect to see corals because of so much sediment.”
(Here Sam and I have a side bar and nerd out about a paper which discovered corals growing in the highly sedimented area of the Amazon river mouth)
“… So I dive 7 - 8 days a month monitoring the corals that we out-planted (mostly corals of opportunity that we rear on underwater coral nurseries) onto natural reefs and artificial reefs. While we’re diving we assess our planted corals and also any natural settlement that has happened. So that’s the fun part! And then the rest of the time is analysing the data! Writing reports, writing papers and designing analysis...
Something about my work in particular, which is really interesting and important, is where we look for key findings, and translate that into information for policy makers and for public engagement”
This sounds like you are doing the job of 5 people here?!
“hahaha yes! But this is also how we learn!”
How do you hope your voice and work as a marine educator will influence others?
“I hope my training in science comms makes science more accessible. A lot of science is behind a paywall and by using science communication we can broadcast our message further and reach a wider audience. Through science communication we can also discourage misconceptions about marine life and also encourage marine stewardship”. Sam explains that she especially wants to help raise awareness in young people and to demonstrate what career paths are available for them.
What has the most challenging part of your career been? And how did you solve this?
“Ermmm….my parents! Because you know I had to convince them that the marine environment was safe! I’m a dive master now which you know shows them that I’m safe and I can keep others around me safe! So I keep showing them pictures and videos to show them the marine world. Now they are so proud and they spread the word on all my work and their friends will you know follow me on Instagram to see what I’m up to!
…I do still get loads of missed calls from them when I’ve been diving though! Because they still want to check I’m ok!”
After that heart-warming account of acceptance form Sams parents of her career, Sam then goes on to say that a second challenge is Climate change. She talks about the devastation to the reef from bleaching and more frequent storms which bring in marine debris which can further damage huge areas of reef.
“You spend all this money restoring these reefs and then other impacts occur and …it’s painful to watch”
So how do you stay motivated?
“My colleagues! My team, and the younger people, I’m so proud of them! They reach out to me and ask what else they can do, you see this fire and passion in their eyes and that makes you want to help them! So all these people share your ups and downs and that makes me want to do more for them, and not just for the cause itself. So that keeps me going”
What has your experience as a woman in marine science been like?
“I am very fortunate to be in a balanced working environment.…The only thing is it seems to be I’m always the one writing the minutes….haha but you know that’s fine it’s not really a complaint! I also feel so lucky to be following in the footsteps of so many strong female scientists who have paved the way.”
What is one thing you wish someone had told you/taught you a long time ago?
“Learn statistics and coding! Haha and also to be bold and chase your dreams”
Finally, what or who inspires you in your work?
“The ocean itself – the resilience of the ocean. I see the natural recruitment of marine life on sea walls, and you see that they’re doing it themselves. They’re fighting for themselves. That makes me think we should help them even more, to help them fight!” Similar to the young people who Sam wants to keep going for and draws inspiration from, she also wants to fight for these young coral settlers who are fighting back and settling on our artificial sea defences. Sam ends by saying that when she is working in the ocean she is always reminded of something her professor and mentor (the godfather of coral restoration), Chou Loke Ming says:
“The corals have not given up why should we”
Throughout my chat with Sam it was so clear that she is the perfect person for the job of coral conservation and science communication! Who better to inspire others to care for and protect the ocean than someone with such a deep and obvious passion for the sea? Sam will continue her work in ocean science and is considering a PhD as her next step.
IG Handle: @samshuqin
