Rooting for Resilience: SIT Launches Mangrove Conservatory with Seed Funding Support from the Foundation of Rotary Clubs Singapore

(From left) Mr Barry Rassin, Trustee Chair, The Rotary Foundation; Mr Chew Ghim Bok, Board of Directors, Rotary International, and 2024 Rotary International Convention Head of Organising Committee Chair; SMS Low Yen Ling; Prof Chua Kee Chaing, President, SIT; and Prof John Thong, Deputy President (Academic) & Provost, SIT, at the signing ceremony. 

The Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) has announced the establishment a new Mangrove Conservatory at its Punggol Campus. This innovative project combines community outreach, education, and applied research to enhance Singapore’s climate resilience through mangrove conservation. The Mangrove Conservatory is made possible with the seed funding of $680,000 from the Foundation of Rotary Clubs Singapore (FRCS). The signing ceremony, held on 23 May 2024, was graced by Guest-of-Honour Ms Low Yen Ling, Senior Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth & Trade and Industry.  

The Mangrove Conservatory at SIT will focus on preserving a wide array of mangrove genetic diversity and reintroducing lost species, as well as serving as a hub for knowledge, innovation and test-bedding efforts. It will educate young Singaporeans on the importance of mangroves in a climate-challenged future and provide SIT staff and students with real-world learning opportunities about the critical role mangroves play in environmental protection.  

"With the ongoing climate crisis, mangroves should play a critical role. Mangroves, coral, and seagrass can protect our shores, increase biodiversity and sequester carbon. We are grateful to FRCS and Rotary Clubs in Singapore for helping us build this Conservatory. The Mangrove Conservatory will be very special, as it will help to address climate challenges and simulate Singapore’s climate in controlled environments, and with our public outreach and education efforts, we can raise awareness of the importance of environmental protection in a very tangible way,” said SIT’s Associate Professor Cesar Jung-Harada, the principal investigator and project lead of the Mangrove Conservatory.  

Mr Chew Ghim Bok, Board of Directors, Rotary International, and 2024 Rotary International Convention Head of Organising Committee Chair, said, “With the drive of Singapore Green Plan 2030 and Rotary International’s seventh area of focus, Protecting the Environment, the timing cannot be better than now. For Rotarians, who are People of Action, the establishment of a mangrove conservation facility at SIT is a huge opportunity for us to make a lasting impact on the world and community around us. The Rotary Clubs in Singapore and SIT partnership, in mangrove conservation to mitigate effects of climate change and maximising carbon sequestration, is a match made in heaven.” 

An artist's impression of the SIT Mangrove Conservatory

Projected to be completed by December 2025, the Mangrove Conservatory will also be accessible to members of the public, community volunteers and agencies including the National Parks Board (NParks) and Conservation International. Additionally, the Conservatory is part of SIT’s ‘10 Acts for Good’ (a year-long endeavour community and social initiative in celebration of its 10th anniversary as an Autonomous University).  

For more information, please go to SIT’s Digital Newsroom.