Lucy Liew

Mapping and Arts for Nature Conservation

Lucy Liew: Mapping and Arts for Nature Conservation and Mother Earth

Lucy Liew

I am currently the Spatial Conservation Planning & GIS officer with Danau Girang Field Centre, a local conservation NGO in Sabah. My main job is MAPPING: management and analysis of spatial data to assist with the conservation of wildlife and their habitats. When I am not working, I enjoy hiking and running in the wilderness.

During my free time, I enjoy exploring the great outdoor with friends, and be surrounded by the good energy and love of Mother Nature.

Prior to this, I served as an environmental executive in various environmental consultant firms focusing on environmental impact assessment (EIA). I coordinated field works to collect spatial data, used for analyzing developments in their spatial context. These data also expedited the identification of potential aspects and impacts that may have to be assessed while the EIA process goes on. Throughout my position as an environmental executive, I have involved in a multiple EIA projects around Sabah of different types such as the development of water treatment plant, sewerage treatment plant, oil palm plantations, river sand mining, mixed agriculture development, quarry, etc.

I am also currently a GIS instructor under Juniper GIS and the Society of Conservation GIS (SCGIS) in which I involved in destination training with a mission to take GIS training to interesting places all over the world, connecting GIS training to relevant places on the earth and empowering GIS users everywhere.

Mapping the world for nature conservation: with the Society for Conservation GIS (SCGIS) scholars in Davis, California.
Mapping for Nature

I believe geographical information plays a very important role today in the conservation of biodiversity and wildlife. Habitat loss, global climate change, and human disruptions, such as pollution and deforestation, are threats to wildlife biodiversity and can cause fragmentation and extinction. GIS technology is an effective tool for managing, analyzing, and visualizing wildlife data in order to target areas where conservation practices are needed. By understanding geography and people and wildlife’s relationship to location, we can make informed decisions about the way we live on our planet.

Arts for Nature

I am also a visual artist at heart. During my free time, I often do digital art and most of my artwork are wildlife themed. Some of my artworks have also been featured on a number of websites, magazines, and in several international exhibitions, online and offline. I have also been involved in writing tutorials for digital art for print media such as the UK Photoshop Magazine. I believe that creative art work could also be an alternative platform to raise awareness about wildlife and environmental preservation, it’s what we call creativity with a cause. Follow my artwork here and here.

Arts for Wildlife Conservation: slow loris and pangolin are some of the most-trafficked wild animals in the world. Through my art-pieces, I hope to raise awareness on the importance of keeping these beautiful animals wild.
Otter not a pet: my artwork on Otter entitled “I am not a pet” was featured at the otter exhibition in Brueggen, Germany.
Hope for Panda: My artwork on Giant Panda entitled “Hope” has been recently exhibited at the Panda International Art Center in Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding organized this art exhibition as part of the fight against wildlife trading, the main suspected cause of COVID-19.

(Text by Lucy Liew & M.S. Khoo. All photos by Lucy Liew, all rights reserved.)