Environment / Field learning

Understand the environment.
Then ask what to measure.

Coral conservation connected my interests in environmental engineering with sensing, data, and the tools used to observe a changing ecosystem.

Taiwan Global Pathfinders Initiative ProgramCompleted program

Benjamin listening beside outdoor coral tanks during a marine learning session — Learning at the coral tanks · HIMB

01 An independently prepared proposal

From Taiwan
to Moku o Loʻe.

I independently prepared my application and proposal for the Taiwan Global Pathfinders Initiative Program (青年百億海外圓夢基金計畫). With approximately NT$280,000 in government funding, I completed preparatory training in Taiwan and an overseas learning program in Hawaii.

The experience was an opportunity to learn conservation methods in context—not a claim to have produced original research findings.

Across the Pacific / Taiwan → Hawaiʻi

Moku o Loʻe.
Coconut Island.

Coastlines: Natural Earth · Illustrative journey, not a flight itinerary. Island marker enlarged for visibility.

Benjamin and a friend diving at 18 metres — Diving with a friend / 18 metres below the surface

Benjamin receiving his PADI Open Water Diver certificate — Earning my PADI Open Water Diver certification

02 NMMBA / Taiwan

Build the field foundation.

At the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, preparatory training introduced me to coral identification, marine ecology, bleaching, restoration, and research methods.

Identify & observe

Learn to recognize corals and understand how observations relate to marine ecology.

Understand the stressors

Study coral bleaching, restoration approaches, and the methods used to investigate reef conditions.

03 HIMB / Coconut Island

Many ways to
observe one ecosystem.

At the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, I learned about the following methods through the program. These were learning and participation experiences; I do not present them as independently validated research outputs.

LIVING SYSTEMS

Coral care

Coral nursery and propagation work, coral-health observation, water-quality monitoring, and CoralWatch.

SPATIAL METHODS

Mapping & measurement

Structure-from-Motion (SfM), 3D mapping, GIS and R, and drone / aerial monitoring concepts.

ENVIRONMENTAL DATA

Images into information

ReefCloud and the application of AI and computer vision to marine conservation.

Benjamin and other participants learning from a three-dimensional model on a laptop — Learning 3D modeling · Not a claim of an original mapping result

Learning beyond the nursery

Broader perspectives.

I attended the Hawaii Conservation Conference and earned PADI Open Water certification. Together with the field sessions, these experiences expanded how I think about conservation and environmental work.

What I took forwardEnvironmental questions can become engineering questions: what should we sense, how should we measure it, and how can we turn observations into something useful?

Follow the connection to computer vision ↗

Field notebook / Closer than a screen