Skip to content

Team
Approach
Impact
Research
Contact

Contact

Dr. Gretchen Coffman

National University of Singapore
Department of Geography
1 Arts Link, #03-01 Block AS2, Singapore 117570

email: geogcc@nus.edu.sg

Twitter: @GenRestoreSG

View our adventures on Instagram

generationrestorationsg

Restoration and Conservation

NUS students in Bintan, Indonesia—planting mangrov

NUS students in Bintan, Indonesia—planting mangroves alongside EcoTourism students from Politeknik Bintan Cakrawala, guided by the incredible Ibu Ayu Dewi. We mapped a mangrove restoration site right next to campus… and found the endemic Bintan langurs there! 👀🐒

Beyond the forest, students met the local community—Meldi from Dudem Bee Farm and his stingless bees 🍯🐝, and Laila from the KSBL community coffee plantation ☕🌱

Exploring Bintan’s mangroves with founder of Wild Space Daphne Ong and local guide Ali, we spotted some unforgettable wildlife: mangrove snakes, Rudy kingfishers, and even a baby water monitor soaking up the sun 🐍🦅🦎

Fieldwork, community, conservation—this is immersive environmental geography learning beyond borders

#NUS #MangroveRestoration #Bintan #Conservation #generationrestorationsg

🌿 Filming along the Kinabatangan River in 360° mea

🌿 Filming along the Kinabatangan River in 360° meant slowing down, listening, and learning — from the river, the forests, the wildlife, and the communities who call this place their home.

Working hand in hand with local Sabahans, we learned how community-led habitat restoration supports wildlife while sustaining livelihoods. Conservation here is not something done to a place — it is done with people.

Along the river, mangroves, and tropical forests, we documented life across scales — from charismatic megafauna to the often-overlooked small species that hold ecosystems together:

🐘 Borneo pygmy elephants
🦧 Endemic primates — orangutans & proboscis monkeys
🐻 Sun bears, tarsiers, slow loris
🦋 Flying snakes, illusive frogs, jumping spiders, colorful butterflies

Each encounter reinforced a core lesson of this field course: river and mangrove ecosystems are deeply interconnected social–ecological systems. Protecting them requires immersive methods, ethical storytelling, and community-centred conservation.

But the most important lesson? Conservation must be community-centred, ethical, and immersive. Real impact happens when local knowledge leads and outside support listens.

The future of biodiversity depends on how we choose to tell these stories — and who we choose to tell them with.

This is what learning in the field and authentic community engagement looks like.

#CommunityConservation #Kinabatangan #BorneoEcosystems
#FieldCourse #360Filmmaking #ImmersiveConservation
#SocialEcologicalSystems #GenerationRestoration

🌊 The Ocean Collective Summit 2025 🌊 Innovative De

🌊 The Ocean Collective Summit 2025 🌊
Innovative Design Thinking Workshop | Reimagine Island Futures with Fabien Cousteau

Grateful to be part of an inspiring, hands-on, interdisciplinary workshop empowering changemakers to tackle urgent ocean challenges through human-centred design thinking 🌍💡

We walked through empathy, ideation, and prototyping to explore creative, practical, and sustainable solutions for our oceans — guided by Fabien Cousteau, founder of the Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Centre. 🌊✨

💚 Our Green Group explored community stewardship of marine ecosystems — proposing 360° storytelling for engagement and education. Thanks for the inspirational constructive feedback Fabien on our use of 360 conservation communication and 3D coral reef visualisation!

🌴Team 360’s Vision:
“Pulau Oshen thrives as a model island community where fisherfolk, youth, and leaders work hand-in-hand to restore and protect the sea. By blending tradition with innovation, they create sustainable livelihoods, safeguard biodiversity, and nurture a culture of stewardship that inspires the world.” 🌏💫

🙏 Huge thanks to @SeaKeepers and Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Centre for sponsoring and leading this inspiring event — turning ‘What If’ into ‘What’s Next’! 💙

#OceanCollectiveSummit2025 #FabienCousteau #SeaKeepers #GenerationRestoration #MarineConservation #OceanInnovation #DesignThinking #CommunityStewardship #360Storytelling #ConservationCommunication #CoralReefRestoration #BluePlanet

🌏✨ From Bali’s coral reefs to Lombok’s mangroves —

🌏✨ From Bali’s coral reefs to Lombok’s mangroves — we’re pushing the boundaries of conservation science with 3D LiDAR mapping! 🚀💡

Thanks to our August expedition with YellowScan and James Cook University, we’re documenting reef restoration with Livingseas and unlocking new ways to monitor Marine Protected Areas. 🌊🌱

Teamwork makes the dream work! 🙌

#LiDAR #3DMapping #MarineConservation #CoralReefRestoration #MangroveConservation #LivingSeasfoundation #YellowScan #JamesCookUniversity #InnovationInScience #GreenLiDAR

🌊⚓️ 6 days. 22 dives. Just what the doctor ordered

🌊⚓️ 6 days. 22 dives. Just what the doctor ordered for my summer exploration and discovery immersive Coral Triangle experience sailing!!!
Exploring Komodo National Park by land + sea aboard the majestic and authentic Indonesia sailing vessel Eliya with @scubajunkiesliveaboards 🐉🇮🇩

✨ Highlights from under + above the waves:
• Thrilling drift dives in crazy current + insane biodiversity at: Castle Rock, Cauldron/Slingshot, Siaba Besar, Manta Point, Golden Passage, Lighthouse, Batu Bolong, Shotgun, Tatawa Besar, Crystal Rock, Siaba Kecil… and so many more 🐠💫
• SUP + snorkeling every day through mangroves 🌱
• Filming in 360° with my new X5 cam — colours still blow me away at 20m+ 🎥🌈

🤿 Couldn’t have done it without my amazing dive buddy Maria, our fantastic dive guide Kaleb, and of course a huge thank you to expedition leader Max + his incredible crew. The food = delicious every day 🍜✨, the accommodations = extremely cozy-comfortable 🛏️, and the boat itself… I’m in love with the high biodiversity 💙⛵️ on this immersive experience. This gives me hope for our coral reef restoration around the Coral Triangle! Can't wait to dive back in!

#KomodoNationalPark #LiveaboardLife #ScubaJunkie #DiveKomodo #GenerationRestoration #MantaPoint #CastleRock #Underwater360

🌾 Farms, Flows & Fertilisers 🌿 One of many incredi

🌾 Farms, Flows & Fertilisers 🌿
One of many incredible student-led research projects during our NUS Geography field course in Northern Thailand!

This group of 10 chose to investigate how irrigation and fertiliser practices shape water quality along the Mae Tang Min River—collecting data across rice paddies, cornfields, longan orchards, and even a forest stream. 💧🌽🍈🌳

Armed with pH meters, drones, GPS, and 360° cameras, they built a compelling case for how agriculture alters soil and water chemistry—while learning to communicate science through maps, infographics, and film. 🎥🛰️

They were just one of several student teams! Other groups explored ethnic cultures, religion, and agricultural shifts to tea and coffee in the Golden Triangle, among many other themes. 🛕☕🌱

Northern Thailand became our classroom. Curiosity was our guide.
#NUSGeography #FieldStudies #MaeTangMinRiver #GenerationRestoration #GeographyFieldwork #StudentResearch #DroneDeploy #360filmmaking #ScienceCommunication #ThailandFieldCourse #SustainableFarming #GoldenTriangle #GeoSkills #RiceToRivers #ConservationTech

🌿🪸 From Roots to Reefs 🌊🐠 Columbia University grad

🌿🪸 From Roots to Reefs 🌊🐠
Columbia University graduate students in the Sustainability Science MS Program are diving deep into tropical coastal ecosystems in the Caribbean's Little Cayman Island, exploring coral reefs, seagrass meadows, and mangrove forests 🌴🐟🌾 Join us on our adventure exploring these coastal ecosystems and learning about their restoration and resilience over the next week. We will:

🔹 Fly over reef-fringed shores and vibrant lagoons
🔹 Snorkel among coral reefs, seagrass meadows, and mangrove forests
🔹 Discover coastal wildlife - sharks, sea turtles, star fish, lobsters, colorful reef fish, our favorite beach hermit crabs and critically endangered Rock Iguanas
🔹 Explore amazing wildlife underwater and in our terrestrial ecosystems
🔹 Analyze ecosystem services, resilience, and connectivity across habitats

Through fieldwork, restoration science, and policy discussions at the Central Caribbean Marine Institute, graduate students are learning to assess ecological linkages, apply field methods, and appreciate the value of conservation through Marine Protected Areas 🧪🌍

From mangrove roots to reef crests, these ecosystems protect coastlines, support biodiversity, and offer nature-based solutions to the climate crisis. 🌎💙

#RootsToReefs #CaymanIslands #ColumbiaUniversity #columbia_susci #columbiasuma #TropicalEcology #CoralReefs #Seagrass #Mangroves #ClimateResilience #EcosystemServices #FieldCourse #MarineProtectedAreas #GenerationRestoration #OceanConservation

🌊 Happy World Oceans Day! 💙 From mangroves in Tha

🌊 Happy World Oceans Day! 💙

From mangroves in Thailand 🇹🇭 working with Ranong UNESCO research team and in Lombok 🇮🇩 with @sorce_org,
to seagrass meadows in Singapore with NParks and SLA 🇸🇬,
to coral reefs and turtles in Sabah Borneo with @tracc & coral Restoration in Bali with @livingseas.asia! 🐢🐠🌱

Every coral 🪸 and tree 🌱 planted and protected in these conservation areas counts!

Let’s protect the blue heart of our planet 🌍💧

#WorldOceansDay #Malaysia #Indonesia #thailand #generationrestoration #conservation #insidenatgeo

Follow on Instagram

copyright © 2026 Gretchen Coffman