From Island to Impact: What Pulau Ubin Teaches Us About Sustainability, Care, and Community Collaboration
Samuel Tan
Nicole Chua
Pulau Ubin is often remembered for its rustic charm but it can also be a thoughtful starting point for conversations about sustainability and stewardship in real places. This session uses Pulau Ubin as a case study and invites participants to co-create the learning: noticing what “care” looks like on the ground where collaboration shows up, and what it takes to host community-based experiences responsibly.
Rather than a one-way presentation, we’ll work through prompts and observations together looking at the roles of local community members, government partners, and the practical infrastructure that supports safety, respect, and learning. Participants will leave with personally meaningful takeaways and a few simple design considerations they can adapt to their own school contexts and field programmes.
About Samuel
Samuel Tan is Head of Operations at Asian Detours, leading the planning and delivery of experiential learning journeys for international schools across the region. With 20 years of project management experience spanning branding, large-scale events, and outdoor learning, he brings a disciplined, detail-driven approach to programme design, logistics, and duty of care. Samuel has supported a wide range of groups from military leaders and corporate teams to youth and international school student cohorts and works closely with educators to translate curriculum goals into well-run field experiences. He brings together partner management, risk planning, and operational execution to support safe, seamless delivery on the ground.
About Nicole
Nicole Chua is the co-founder of Asian Detours and a principal consultant who designs experiential learning and culture programmes that make sustainability practical, human, and engaging. Over the past 20+ years, her work has reached more than 200,000 participants across educational institutions and Fortune 500 companies.
Nicole is also an ecosystem connector, bringing together international schools and educators with government agencies, community partners, ground leaders, and purpose-driven organisations to create field experiences that are locally rooted and thoughtfully designed. Her specialty sits at the intersection of learning design, stakeholder orchestration, and delivery realities, shaping community-based programmes with clear learning outcomes, strong duty of care, and culturally respectful partnerships.
She is a founding member and past Vice President of the Outdoor Learning & Adventure Education Association in Singapore, and is certified as an executive coach and Workplace Health Consultant, as well as a Certified International Cultural Engagement Specialist and Professional Singapore Certified Management Consultant.
