Science @ SAFE now online
In late 2020 I participated in the Science@SAFE (Stability of Altered Forest Ecosystem) Project virtual conference:
“The Stability of Altered Forest Ecosystems Project has been running for ten years with generous support from the Sime Darby Foundation. The Science@SAFE 2020 virtual conference brings together the science and achievements of the past ten years. We look at our impacts, capacity building, new technologies, carbon and how this project has improved our understanding of oil palm dominated landscapes and the resilience of Borneo's forest ecosystem.” - SAFE PROJECT MALAYSIA.
It was great to be involved and hear about some of the findings from SAFE.
I talked about ecosystem resilience in a tropical landscape, summarising a handful of the many important results on ecosystem resilience from the SAFE project. The whole conference has been uploaded to Youtube (link below).
Here’s to 10 more years of research @SAFE!
- Louise
Walks in the woods; combining field site-scoping and Saturday-afternoon saunters - By Brinna Barlow.
After 2020 caused a severe dearth of data collection and general PhD progress, we members of the BiodiversityAfter 2020 caused a severe dearth of data collection and general PhD progress, we members of the Biodiversity and Ecological Change lab are keen to get out and scope sites before March; when we will begin this year’s data-drive in earnest. This past Saturday (23.01.2021) three of us ventured into the New Territories to visit as many Fung Shui Woodland (FSW) sites as we could, all along Lam Tsuen valley.
The first we visited was long and narrow, wedged between farmland and the village proper. The next was mostly removed for an outdoor adventure camp and surrounding car park. Though here we did find three small shrines to the Goddess of Mercy, Guan Yin (觀世音 or 观世音, “[The One Who] Perceives the Sounds of the World”) as well as two small bomb shelters; remnants from World War II. Both of these were free of any sort of rubbish or other human-made debris, I spoke about how in the UK it would be filled with rubbish (and was provided evidence of this when a friend sent me a video of a British pill-box which was home to piles of empty cans and other less mentionable litter) and we congratulated the people of Hong Kong for their cleanliness, which was short lived as you’ll read after this intermission.
Distraction #1 -Lam Tsuen wishing tree
The Lam Tsuen wishing tree is heralded as a top attraction in Hong Kong. The original tree is many years dead, as are several of its successors. The current “official” wishing tree is a handsome Bayan maybe 10m tall, cut in a bonsai style. It has 23 branches, which its plaque told us is symbolic of having “good fortune all through life”.
Tourists coming here write their wishes onto joss paper, attach them to oranges (currently plastic replica oranges) and try to toss them into a plastic wishing tree, which stands perhaps 20 metres from the bayan and is styled after the original tree (this is used to protect the actual tree following an injury to its predecessor in 2005). It is said that if your wish gets caught in the branches on your first throw that your wish will come true in the following year.
After enjoying the tree we gave some coins to our respective zodiac animal statues (as well as some extra to the Ox, who’s year will start next month) at the nearby offering-area and sat together to eat some fresh-baked bread (courtesy of Bartosz) and fruit.
Back on the FSW trail we were disappointed to see that our next stop was little more than a wooded rubbish tip, with everything from bicycles, to washing machines to endless bin-bags of mystery refuse. As we waited for an iced coffee at a café on the edge of the woodland we lamented people’s disregard for this otherwise lovely area and spent some minutes in our minds to redesign the car park, remove the rubbish and add quaint paths, benches, maybe a fountain and small shrines to this woodland. Our next stop was much the same, minus the café; a small scrappy wood littered with quite attractive large glass bottles and assorted car-parts. But it was across the road from a wonderful orchid showroom, which was filled with a colourful array of flowers ahead of the Lunar New Year, when orchids are an essential buy.
Finally, after a morning and most of an afternoon of disappointing woodlands, our next stop was just what we were hoping for. We traversed some home-farms, with clean, clear water flowing in the irrigation ditches beside us. Dodged a couple of loud village dogs and made friends with a couple more and headed up into some old-growth forest as the afternoon became golden. We followed a small path into the woodland, which, naturally, lead us to a grave (those living and walking in Hong Kong will know that at any point you can come across a grave whilst rambling in the hills). Downhill from here we found people-free, litter-free forest with old, tall, sturdy-looking trees: perfect for canopy work. Site one was GPS-tagged.
Distraction #2 -Rubbish bin haul
A friend and I coined the term “trash-panda-ing” after months of frequenting our dormitories clothes recycling bin to liberate worthy items. To trash panda is to raid bins in search of items of desire. As we were walking down the road from the fourth FSW site one family was having a house-clearing and plenty of treasurable items were being left on the pavement. This included some hand-knitted tops, which are far too precious to end up in landfill. We spent a good while pawing through the bags and left with a number of items of clothing, a mah-jong set and knitting supplies. Fortunately, at the next set of bins we came across we found a suitcase to put all this in.
As the sun was falling, we hauled our haul into a minibus to take us uphill to our sixth and final FSW site of the day. This was abutting an evidently affluent village and we appreciated the graffiti murals as we walked through. With our suitcase of bin-goodies stashed in some tall grass we carried on past more graves and into the woodland. Though initially we tripped on vines underfoot and caught spider webs on our faces, the woodland soon opened up and we walked on crunchy leaf litter through patches of wild coffee saplings. Another ideal site, with secondary forest rising on the hills above the FSW and ancient camphor trees nestled at the edge of the village below. We GPS-tagged site number two and took a moment to throw our arms around the largest of the camphor trees and wonder how many ecologists it has suffered in all its long years.
Call for papers!
The canopy is the defining component of any forest ecosystem. The canopy, however, is not readily accessible and progress in understanding the ecology of forest canopies has been limited. With increased research interest combined with new technologies there have been recent advances in canopy science.
Despite substantial advances in our understanding of canopy ecology, many critical knowledge gaps remain. Forest canopies form vertically stratified ecosystems, but we know little about the vertical stratification of microclimate, species and genetic diversity across multiple scales. We must engage observational and experimental approaches to better understand the mechanisms that form verticality in diversity and ecosystem processes. This Research Topic will cover a wide range of topics associated with microclimates, microhabitats, biodiversity, ecosystem processes and their interactions among forest canopies. The studies presented will showcase our advances in canopy science ahead of the 8th International Canopy Conference.
For more information: fro.ntiers.in/8zMW
Mindfulness in the midst of a PhD and a global pandemic - By Brinna Barlow
Mindfulness is the practice of intentionally and acutely experiencing the present without judgment.
Kindness towards oneself is important at all times in life, but especially when undertaking challenging and demanding work, such as a PhD. The desire to be in the future, where I have the data, have the knowledge and have the skills can sometimes consume my time and prevent me taking the steps I need to take in the present to achieve those future states. This effect is exacerbated by being surrounded almost exclusively by academics. Whether in the office or at a bar I am in the company of intelligent, skilled and often more advanced members of the university. This is of course mostly a blessing, but it can be a curse on those days where the evening comes around and I am disappointed that I have not achieved the goals that I set myself in the morning.
My frustrations peaked this summer as Hong Kong experienced it’s third wave of COVID-19 and the university implemented working from home to increase the safety of offices and labs for those people who really did need to come in for experimental reasons. I was not one of those people; my focus was solely on finishing a document to complete my confirmation of candidature. So, being a responsible sort of person, I stayed out of the office, every day, for seven weeks. I worked from home, I worked at friends’ houses, I worked from cafes and restaurants and bars. I rotated my workspaces and stretched and worked-out and ate well and drank a lot of water and did everything I could to keep myself motivated and of sound mind. Out of those 49 or so days I think I completed my daily goals on just one or two occasions.
Near the start of these seven weeks, when I was already feeling defeated, I began to practice mindfulness. This is not a new concept to me; I have dabbled in the past. But I earnestly taught myself different practices, different focusses and I began to train every day. Mindfulness did not make me more productive, but it allowed me to accept my failings without judgement, during a period that I think the global community can all agree has been… less than optimal. Third wave has now broken (well done Hong Kong) and I am back in the office in my focus-space and sat on my very supportive desk chair, but I continue to practice mindfulness daily. Taking the time to sit in the present moment and patiently steering myself back to the present moment when my mind inevitably wanders elsewhere, is (among other things) teaching me to be a better academic.
Although I do still procrastinate about which task to do first, I find myself better able to stay on-task once I have started. I am also becoming much more adept at drawing my attention back to the paper I am reading when my eyes start to glaze over and I begin to think about lunch, or dogs or really big trees. Mindfulness is not a silver bullet, but I have found that regular practice is helping me in all the ways described above. So, if you’re feeling limited by circumstance or by yourself and you’re expending energy in frustration, might I suggest trying mindfulness to move towards acceptance and maybe you’ll find yourself benefiting in other ways to boot.
If the practice of mindfulness interests you, check out this Wiki-how to help you get started on your own mindfulness journey.
https://www.wikihow.com/Do-Mindful-Meditation
