Mr Karl Png (NParks’ Youth Stewards for Nature)

NParks’ Youth Stewards for Nature AfA
Mr Karl Png

“As a young boy, my family brought me to parks across Singapore often. I liked to wander around these wild spaces and read up on nature. As I got older, I wanted to study biology but realised nature needs our help. Therefore, I worked on many biodiversity projects to conserve flora, fauna and funga.” - Karl Png

At an early age, Karl was exposed to the wonders of the outdoors. This instilled in him a great appreciation for nature — embracing the greenery, wildlife, and all it has to offer.

As he got older, not only did he put his best foot forward for the environment by participating in many conservation initiatives, he realised his interest lies in biology, a topic he now pursues at the National University of Singapore, studying Life Sciences.

At present, Karl goes above and beyond for our planet, by getting involved in biodiversity projects in science, policy and operations. He was also approached by his friends from the Biodiversity Friends Forum at NParks, providing him an opportunity to lead a campaign under NParks’ Youth Stewards for Nature, where he helped to promote the word of sustainability by encouraging responsible interactions between youths and wildlife.

NParks’ Youth Stewards for Nature, is one of the Singapore Together’s AfA (Alliance for Action) partnerships where youths study and develop solutions relating to urban greenery, wildlife management, nature conservation and climate resilience. The Youth Stewards for Nature AfA has helped many like-minded individuals, like Karl, to connect over their passion for nature, enabling and supporting youths to spearhead their own initiatives, such as surveying wildlife feeding in residential areas, nature tours, and raising awareness of wildlife etiquette.

The Youth Stewards for Nature AfA has also helped Karl gain many precious memories, including a rare, personal encounter with a family of Raffles Banded Langur, which he sees as a gift from nature, in support of his team’s efforts. It happened while his team and he was on a film expedition to Thomson Nature Park to create an introductory film for the guided tours. Pleasantly surprised, they scrambled to capture footage of the wild animals, which ended up being one of the leading stars in their introductory film.

A Greener Future

Karl hopes to further his studies in biodiversity, and manage more projects to create a better world for all. He deeply believes that one will face great difficulty conserving nature without the support of others, as the globe is shaped by societies. He quips: the best way to conserve our planet is to strengthen our will to give back more to the environment than we take and lessen our societies’ materialistic wants.

To achieve this, Karl invites all of us to take a leap into the green, learn more about our environment, and volunteer our time with various organisations that need our help. Visit nparks.gov.sg/learning/youthsgnature/youth-stewards-for-nature to get started, or join other volunteering opportunities here: nparks.gov.sg/partner-us/volunteer

Signing off with a quote by eminent Professor Leo Tan, “Follow your heart, with resilience and persistence, and you will get there”, Karl hopes to inspire others to follow in his footsteps. He encourages others to keep trying, keep exploring, and never lose the sense of wonder for wildlife and nature.

Discover a new passion for nature, and other initiatives for yourself at: www.sg. #SingaporeTogether

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Partnerships are at the heart of the Singapore Together movement. Through the Singapore Together Alliances for Action and other partnerships, Singaporeans and the government can work together to co-create solutions on issues, and Singaporeans can play an active role in shaping our future together.

All responses mentioned above were edited and condensed for clarity.

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