About The Biodiversity Collective

TBC stands for The Biodiversity Collective series. TBC plays on "To Be Continued" as we believe that biodiversity must be continued for generations, and that it's also not just something for experts/researchers to understand. But the learnings must continue for everyone because biodiversity is the bedrock of society!

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☕The Biodiversity Kopitiam: Sip & Learn

Kopitiam Edition: The Biodiversity Kopitiam allows attendees to Lim Kopi (Drink Coffee), and learn about various topics of biodiversity through 3 main segments.

The Biodiversity Kopitiam is hosted at a local cafe, to sip & learn about our local biodiversity, over small group coffee chats with a leading Biodiversity expert.

Topics can range from specific wildlife, research papers, nature experiences, advocacy and much more! Each TBC Kopitiam has its own unique theme.

24th June: Crawlies and Insects @ Foreword Coffee

Tiny Creatures, Big Impact

For this edition of TBC Kopitiam, we zoom in on the incredible world of insects, from the buzzing pollinators in our parks to the beetles hiding in plain sight across our city.

We do a round-table kopitiam style where attendees can choose up to 2 tables to rotate around and hear a speaker share their Biodiversity Insights & Knowledge for 20 minutes at a time, and rotate to your next table.

Whether you're a nature lover, art enthusiast, or just bug-curious — this is your chance to sit, sip, and rediscover the small lives that make our world work.


☕ Buy a coffee!
This event is free to attend, but participants will order a drink or snack at Foreword Coffee to support our host café. :)

About Foreword Coffee:
Not your average café — Foreword Coffee is where coffee meets cause.

Foreword Coffee is more than just a place to get your caffeine fix. It's a social enterprise that brews purpose into every cup. Here, you’re not just drinking ethically sourced Asian coffee but you’re supporting inclusive hiring, sustainable practices, and a radically kind business model that puts people first.

They specialize in specialty coffee sourced directly from smallholder farmers in countries like Laos, China, and Indonesia, highlighting unique Asian flavor profiles in every sip. Their drinks come with stories: of resilience, dignity, and the journey of beans from farm to cup. The space itself is cozy, minimalist, and designed for conversations that matter. It’s the perfect spot to pause, learn, and connect, just like this TBC Kopitiam session.

So come for the insects, stay for the coffee, and experience how a cup can spark change.

💡 PS: Try their Yunnan pourover or cold brew oolong — sustainably delicious!

Kopi Stall #1:

Wendy Zhang is an artist, educator, and researcher who weaves the worlds of art and science together through her love for insects. Based in Singapore, she creates delicate artworks and community projects that reveal the hidden beauty and importance of the small creatures that share our world. Wendy’s work invites curiosity, wonder, and reflection — encouraging people to see insects with appreciation. Her practice blends research, conservation, and creativity in ways that feel both personal and universal.

Kopi Topic: Insects are often introduced primarily through their ecological functions — as pollinators, decomposers and keystone species — yet the human-insect relationship extends far beyond these roles. In this talk, Wendy will explore the idea of a “relationship ecology” where cultural, emotional, and artistic interactions with insects form a shared ecosystem of coexistence. She will share how insects have inspired design, traditions and symbolism across societies, with art serving as a vital medium for expressing and shaping these connections.This perspective invites a deeper appreciation of insects not only as ecological agents, but as integral participants in our shared cultural and natural worlds.

Kopi Stall #2

Angelica See, a PhD student interested in land use ecology and insect biodiversity. Her interest in insects started during her undergraduate research project where plasticine caterpillars were used to study the effects of forest fragmentation on predation rates. By choosing insects as her subject of study, she hopes to contribute to local ecological knowledge that may inform future land use and conservation decisions in Singapore.

The project involves the study of the effects of land use on tropical insect communities in Singapore. Malaise traps were set up for a year across forest patches of varying recovery quality/potential in Singapore. Insects were barcoded and compared with plant and forest structural data collected over the same time period. The project aims to understand insect biodiversity patterns in Singapore better, such as what factors may encourage insect biodiversity and shape insect community composition. The data can also contribute to the baseline ecological survey of insects in Singapore, where future sampling may uncover long term biodiversity trends.

Kopi Stall #3

Foo Maosheng a passionate entomology communicator and researcher based at the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, NUS. With a deep love for insects—especially the often misunderstood ones like cockroaches and dung beetles—he is on a mission to discover as many species as possible and to shift public perception of these tiny yet vital creatures.He embodies the saying, “You are what you eat,” quite literally—contributing to a more sustainable future through the sharing and consumption of edible insects. He is part of the team that described the dazzling Nocticola pheromosa, a new species of cockroach named after a Pokémon character!

Mr Foo Maosheng studies the often overlooked diversity of cockroaches and termites in Singapore. Through fieldwork, morphological identification, and DNA barcoding, his work aims to document species richness and uncover the ecological roles these insects play as decomposers, pollinators, nutrient recyclers, and indicators of ecosystem health. By deepening our understanding of Blattodea biodiversity in Singapore habitats, his research supports ongoing efforts in species discovery, habitat conservation, and public appreciation for these misunderstood insects.

Kopi Stall #4

Ong Xin Rui | Dung Beetles (SEA) , Tropical Ecology & Entomology Lab, NTU

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