Christina Lantian Ma '24 builds a legacy towards a sustainable future

Christina Lantian Ma '24 and UWCSEA Communications Team
27 September 2023

#UWCSEAGiving nurtures the next generation of reforestation scientists and eco-entrepreneurs. By empowering students who have the drive and desire to address environmental problems now, we are helping them develop a toolkit and mindset to forge a sustainable future. 

Christina Lantian Ma ‘24 was the Co-Chair of the Rainforest Restoration Project (RRP) initiative, where she worked hand-in-hand with students and teachers to ensure the smooth flow of planting trees, nurturing saplings, and running campaigns to raise awareness of conservation within the community.

Christina tells us her motivation for getting involved in this initiative.

Rainforest Restoration is a very important part of global sustainability efforts as rainforests provide home to more than half of the Earth’s species and absorb billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. 

Like many of her fellow students at UWCSEA who work with local partners, the impact of her service has extended beyond the College.

I joined the Rainforest Restoration Project in Grade 9 and in the past three years, I was able to learn the practical skills of planting, weeding, and watering and really make an impact through our daily work of nurturing the tree saplings. We then plant the saplings on the Rail Corridor as part of the One Million Tree Project initiated by National Parks Board Singapore.

With the Rainforest Restoration project, Christina has taken ownership of her learning and uses the skills that she acquires in and out of the classroom to propagate both seedlings in the soil and the seeds of how to care for nature in a systematic and engaging way.

Being part of the project has also taught me to take initiative to educate the community. We have engaged in various awareness-raising activities, like the Christmas Tree Project whereby we delivered indigenous tree saplings to mentor groups for them to decorate for Christmas, the Middle School outreach programme whereby we go into Middle School advisory classes to teach them about meat consumption and carbon emission, the Scavenger Hunt for indigenous trees around the campus and the educational planting workshop we hosted at the Community Fair. We are able to transform our learning and even spread knowledge around the campus. 

Her stewardship of the environment is ongoing and sustained by the College’s focus on conservation and environmental education. She is able to apply classroom learning to solve problems and meet the challenges of reforestation work.

Sustainability education is not about sitting in a classroom, discussing how you can save the world and only using theories and data points. It is more importantly about understanding the hard work on the ground that goes along with it, within the context of the  society, economy and the environment we are in. 

There were times when we had to do research and experiments to find out the best conditions to grow the seeds of the indigenous species. That’s where we use the skills and knowledge we learn inside the classroom and apply them to the outdoor setting. 

Only when the learning inside and outside the classroom complement each other, we are able to bring about practical, meaningful and educated changes to the world. 

Seeing the impact of her work on a day to day basis inspires her to keep going and growing as a person and future eco-entrepreneur or reforestation scientist and advocate.

I think our work in the Rainforest Restoration Project is very meaningful as we are actually able to see our impacts. For the continuous, hands-on aspects of our work, seeing the seeds germinate and sprout, then grow into saplings, and just knowing that perhaps 50 years later, the trees we have once planted will be there, looking after the ecosystem, are really what makes this special and meaningful. It is a kind of legacy within the environment. 

My takeaways from the sustainability work made me realise the importance of teamwork, collaboration and education. Along with the fact that the changes may take steps and time to get to their full shapes.

She values her UWCSEA education and the community that nurtures her.

I am lucky to be part of the UWCSEA community where I am able to receive a holistic education and really get to explore my interests through a wide range of activities and services. I am currently exploring what I want to major in university and I hope I will find one to learn more about sustainability so that I will be able to give back to the community with all the privileges I have. 

Christina’s story is an inspiring example of the impact of community giving and how it can support the growth and development of future changemakers.

#UWCSEAGiving invests in a future with possibilities and potential, inspiring more young people to be the change they want to see in the world.

Help us provide opportunities for students.

Donate to the Annual Fund