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The Root Of The Science Podcast
*Disclaimer: The views expressed by the guests in the podcast episodes do not reflect my own*
The Root Of The Science Podcast
EP 137: Nthabiseng Dhlamini, From Human Genetics to Sustainable Forestry
Can forests be the salvation for our planet's future? Join us as we explore the dynamic intersection of genetics and sustainable forestry with our guest today, Nthabiseng Dhlamini, a Tree Breeder from South Africa.
In our first ever video episode, we take a deep dive into the vital role forests play in our ecological balance and the pressing need for sustainable solutions to combat the threats of deforestation and unsustainable logging.
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Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of the Root of the Sands podcast with your girl and with an E. If you are new here, you're probably wondering how come you can hear me and you can see me. Well, that's the thing. We are switching things up. Not only will I be on your ears, but I'll also be on your screens, which is so, so exciting. I've been sort of running away from this for a while, but the time is now. Four years later, you will get to see the face behind the voice. I'm so excited to start this journey because, as you might or might not know, the Root of the Science podcast is now under the Root of the Science Media, which is an online multimedia platform where we share credible science news and we still amplify Africans in STEM, showcase the diversity, and also we amplify African science communicators like myself, who started this and didn't know where to put our work out. So what we do is we have this podcast, the audio and the visual. We've got the newsletter. We've also got an opportunity for people to volunteer, if you think you'd love to be part of our team and showcase your work as a science communicator, whether it's written, whether it is visual or whether it's just your voice. Please do reach out. All of the information is on our various social media platforms or you can send an email at info at root of the science mediacom and we'll get back to you. Now let's get into today's episode.
Speaker 1:Forests play a critical role in maintaining ecological balances, providing a habitat for countless species, while also regulating the climate and supporting local economies. However, the relentless demand for timber products and expansion of agricultural land poses a significant threat to forest ecosystems across the globe. Poses a significant threat to forest ecosystems across the globe. Unsustainable lodging practices, deforestation and habitat destruction jeopardize every resource and services that the forest provides. As we confront the challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss, it becomes increasingly imperative to adopt practices that ensure long-term health and resilience of our forests. Join us today as we explore the urgent need for sustainable forestry solutions. My guest today is Ntabi Singh Jamini. She's a student and a tree breeder at Sapi Research in South Africa. She embodies the intersection of passion and purpose in sustainable forestry. Coming from South Africa, her master's in Bloemfontein. Her master's project focuses on devising a cold tolerance to screening method for eucalyptus, which is a tree, and it's also crucial for the South African nation's forestry industry. Let's get into it and hear what she has to say. Hi, I'm Tubby Singh. Welcome to the show.
Speaker 2:Hi and thank you so much for having me on the show.
Speaker 1:It is such a pleasure I'm so excited we had this conversation off air already that you are the first guest on our official visual podcast. I mean, in the past we've just did the audio, so we are rolling it together for the first time and I couldn't be happier that we're doing it with you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thank you so much.
Speaker 1:Don't worry, girl, I'm nervous too, but we're gonna ride through it. You've got this. You're in really good hands. Now, ntabi Singh. I know you personally, but my guests and the other listeners do not, so may you just kindly introduce yourself. Who is Ntabi Singh? Where are you from? And, just briefly, what do you do?
Speaker 2:So, as everyone would have heard, I'm Tabisela Lamene, originally from the Free State, a small town in the Free State, coldwood, so it's 50 kilometers north of Harris Smith, so it's quite, a very, very small town. My home language is Soto, but I speak quite a few other languages as well. So, born and bred in the Free State, grew up in the Free State, and then I studied in the Free State as well, invested in the Free State in Bluefontein and yeah, undergrad studied human genetics and was first introduced to forestry in 2016 when I first moved to Hawick Okay, fantastic, yeah, and the food said there are no trees. So I didn't know. I wasn't exposed to forestry. So I'm a tree breeder, I'm working for a forestry company. I working with eucalyptus species.
Speaker 1:Okay, great, thank you for that overview, ntabi Singh. We're going to get to all of these other things that you've touched on, but first let's go back to the beginning. Like you rightfully said, you're from a small town in the Free State in South Africa. For those who are unaware, um, of the location and um you, you touched on it briefly, like did you know that this is something that you wanted to do? You said you started with genetics. Um, when you think of yang and chavi saying did, did you think, hey, this, this is where I want to. This is like science is something that I want to do.
Speaker 2:I've always known that I wanted to be involved. I wanted to do something in the sciences. Sure, I loved biological sciences, yes, but forestry is something I never thought I would be doing in my wildest dreams. Even research per se, yeah, I always thought research is for very, you know, serious people, people who and they do not have time for anything else.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:So as I I studied human genetics in my undergrad because I actually wanted to study forensic genetics and at the institution that I was in they only offered that post-grad. So you had to do undergrad genetics and then only do it post-grad forensic genetics. So that's why. So that's what I was kind of leaning into and sort of you know, when a I feel like forestry picked me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah type of thing. Yes, oh man, it's one of those. It just happened. I'm sure many of us can relate to that so when I think of forestry and tabby saying um I, I think of men lodging trees. I will not lie like that is.
Speaker 3:That is the view that I have of forestry.
Speaker 1:I think of timber, I think of men and overalls so explain to me, uh, what you do, where does the genetics come in and what is actually your role there, so we can have an understanding and also, while you talk about that, I think, also maybe touch on the idea that you know, the stereotypical narrative that we all have is of a man, but yet you are a woman. So yeah, talk me through that being a woman in the space and just like some of the things that you actually do.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sure, I love the question because I think it's everyone's. You know, when you say forestry, people, the first thing they think is for Zulu people they call it Amathati, which means forestiers, so that's what they're thinking and and logs, and you know these kinds of operations. But I just found forestry to be sort of a broad you know it's a broad field. I feel like there's space for everyone because you have the operations where the actual where that happens, with the logs and harvesting and everything and planting of the trees and what so where I am at is actually I'll say it's the beginning of the forest, because I am in the research, in the yes, in the research sort of component of it. But also the breeding is where it all starts, because what we're trying to do is for all these trees that you see out there planted operationally that then later on get to become paper, and now we have chemical cellulose, which is has a lot of other products. There's tissue that comes out. There's quite a lot of products that come from there. Zylose comes from there. I think some part a component of lip that they make lipstick with also comes from the chemical cellulose, some of the kind of fabric that they make so a lot of layers.
Speaker 2:So with us, what we do as breeders is because I'm in the hybrid breeding well, there's other type of breeding but I'm in the hybrid. So I'm trying to sort of get different species, combine them together to get the certain traits that we want, like manipulate it to get what we want out of that tree in the end for it to become the product that we want. So the breeding is sort of where it all starts. When you think about, maybe, people trying to cook up something in the lab, it's sort of kind of that picture. But it's not necessarily in the lab because it's conventional, all conventional. You test and you retest and plant out trials and everything. But the breeding is where it all starts, creating that end product that we want with the breeding, and then it goes through the whole venue chain before it gets to there. So, as I mentioned yes, since I studied, my background was mainly genetics. So the genetics in forestry, where they meet with the breeding, the principles of genetics, whether it's animal genetics, plant genetics, human genetics, the principles are all the same.
Speaker 2:You have to breed in the same place. It's all the same principles. Of course, when I go to forestry, you have to sort of get your head around how forestry works, Because trees, if you're, let's say, working with crops, you know short rotation crops like soybean, and you'd have to sort of kind of something different because trees are like long rotation crops. You'd have to get your head around the forestry, how trees work and years.
Speaker 1:Interesting, interesting. So you've explained that. I think the part that we mostly think of is, when we think of forestry, we think of the more technical side, and here you've painted a picture for us that actually the forestry industry is very, very diverse. The forestry industry is very, very diverse. So in some of the and you said, okay, fine, you are at the beginning, where the genetics and this is the selection of the types of trees that are actually going to be, uh, planted out and the ones that we see across the road, which is pretty interesting, so, um, is that, is that in that field, on that side? Um, I asked you about being a female in this particular industry. Is that where I don't know if the word is easier, but maybe just talk to me Was that like conscious, where you see more women that side versus more on the technical side of things? Not?
Speaker 2:at all. Actually it's, um, when I first got here, it's, I mean from, I feel like it is a still is okay, um, because I've been here five years compared to when I first got here, it still is quite a male dominated industry. The research, um, in the mills where they, they have their own product, where they cook up the trees for paper and everything, there's the engineers it's male-dominated. The technical side, the operations, it is a male-dominated industry. So when I first got here, the research and in my mind, because I feel like with every kind of whatever the industry is, the sector is where you get, wherever you get to, majority of the research has, even, or scientists, it's mainly, you know, the old parents, mainly, yeah, it's people, yes, yes, so it's kind of something like that.
Speaker 2:So it was kind of unsettling and you sort of feel inadequate because you are between, you are with these people who have been here. They have a wealth of experience, they have years and years of experience under their belt and you just hear you are a young and you are a woman trying to also, you know, make waves and make changes within the you know and make changes within the you know. So it is kind of challenging also in that sense that you do not really have people that you relate to as well. Yeah, but I think it is slowly changing. Okay, I'm sure in the future we'll have a lot more women in forestry and forestry research as a whole.
Speaker 1:Wow, kudos to you for being there, for sticking it through. Like you said, it's not easy, but here you are being resilient and, yeah, forging the path for another young girl who likes trees and loves being out in nature and is like, hey, I seen tabby saying I want, saying I want to be like her. So this is not in vain. Like you rightfully said, there'll be so many young people coming in. You touched on the idea that you know some of these people who you work with have a wealth of experience, and you are yourself also upskilling yourself.
Speaker 1:You are doing your master's as well, so I just wanted us to touch on your master's research. Sorry, doing your master's as well, so I just wanted to touch on your master's research. Um, sorry, sorry, it's. Your current research delves into, um, the vital aspect of um hold tolerance screening in these eucalyptus trees that you're working on. So, um, please tell us more about that work and um how it's going okay, well, maybe not how it's going, because you know, post-grads hate that question so just tell us more about your work.
Speaker 3:Yeah, the question is always tricky. Yeah, it is because you're trying to think what have I done? Just tell me about your work. I know what's that like.
Speaker 2:Yeah so, yes, so I'm a breeder, so, as I mentioned this, but now in the, because we have different climatic zones that we also sort of categorize for the trees that we plant, certain trees, certain species you only plant in certain areas, climatic zones we seize um, so I'm more for the cooler sites, so where you get frost and snow um, so I breed um eucalyptus species for those kind of sites. So this um the research that I'm working on, is basically trying to find a method, a screening method, so one that's quick, rapid, that will be applicable not just for this one company but for the forestry industry as a whole, whole um, for us to be able to get you know quick answers for which uh variety that um, which variety or which hybrid um is more um for the colder sides, or more cold tolerant or more frost tolerant, because at the moment there isn't any um research done on that and there aren't any kind sort of screening methods um.
Speaker 3:So let's say if I want yeah.
Speaker 2:So if I want now a tree that will grow where there's frost every year, it would take me years and years, so including the breeding rotation, so the breeding cycle on its own is about 20 years. So we take that and you'd have to be planting on these sites that you think have frost and sometimes you don't get it. Sometimes it's valuable and it's sort of, so there's a lot of noise around that, so we're trying to get maybe a lab-based method that we'd be able to just first strike this so that we get our answers quickly before we make our recommendations.
Speaker 1:That's such significant research, particularly in this context of climate change, where there's a lot of climate variability and places which may not have been colder are now becoming colder, yeah, so I think this research is really important and the type of information that you're going to garner is really going to help people and breeders and other organizations really plan around some of these issues, which is pretty interesting. So I also suspect that this requires a lot of buy in from various stakeholders, because, you know it, just it's because which is with most research. So how, um, how has that been going, the collaboration, um, that you've been doing with this research?
Speaker 2:yeah, so yeah, as you mentioned, with research, I mean, the main thing is collaboration, because that's how you get um a lot of answers, and quickly as well, because you get people who are from different disciplines yeah what you're working for, because now we're thinking maybe this is like a breeding research problem is actually physiological, because to be able to make this work, you need to understand physiology part.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, to understand there's so many aspects to it so you need to get um all those people in there to collaborate with. So it's basically just been, you know um for a lot of people, um getting them um for to be able to get the buy-in it. It's just basically getting them to understand the benefit that this will have for the industry as a whole and for future research. So getting the collaboration has been it's also been quite challenging, but I think so far we've managed to get quite a few people on it some gurus, especially with physiology, and working with a few of the institutions as well, because of the benefit that this will have to the industry as a whole.
Speaker 1:Oh, lovely, lovely. I wish you all of the best with this research and it's good that you are getting the necessary support um that you need. So, um to be saying away from being this really cool breeder and academic um, you really have a special love and a passion for teaching. You know um, like you rightfully said, that you loved life sciences. So, um can you tell us some more um on this passion of teaching um and your plans for um? Like you said that you have, you have a particular interest with high schoolers and teaching them a life science. So, uh, briefly, talk to me about that and how you take your work, your experiences and you know um into this teaching space yeah, so, um.
Speaker 2:So this all started when I was still um doing my undergrad. So during my holidays, when I was back at home, I would tutor this um grade 12 mainly high school students on life sciences, physical sciences, yes, and some of the other subjects that I used to study back in high school. So that's when I found out that I really do love imparting you know, knowledge and helping out other people as well, because I know how it is to not know and not being able, not being able to get help, so it was mainly just being the person that I actually needed at the time. Yeah, I was, yes, yes. So that's how it started. So I'd have these classes, um, go through the the assignments and just teach them whatever they having challenges with, help them with with that. And this is something that I carried on, because even now at work, we have a group of people that are being introduced to working with computers. Oh, okay.
Speaker 2:So they're getting exposure. So, yes, so I was doing over and above my work. It was something that I did on the side as well, because it's it's really something that I love. I'm passionate about helping and teaching people, um, giving people the skills you know, like upskilling people.
Speaker 2:Yes, so my plans regarding that, um, especially with the high school students and teaching them life sciences, because I know I, when I first got interested in life sciences and loving life sciences, it was basically because of my high school teacher. She was so patient and she, you know, she instilled that in each and every one of us, I think, for me, I think sometimes it's not that someone doesn't like something, it's they don't know more about it. The more, the more interest they'll have. Yeah, yes, that's, that's my whole plan. I mean also with the forestry. I want to introduce that to these kids as well, because I think, also, if I was introduced to forestry as a student yeah, high school student it's something I probably would have considered.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm in the career path now, but it's something I mean first hand I would have said, okay, I'll just take forestry as my career path. So, just right now, I think, using social media and you know these um platforms, um the internet and everything, um to do this, because I am not able to go home as often as I used to. But I also managed to rope in some of the alumni, so high school alumni that we studied with, so you know, have people that would also be able to do this when I cannot. But it's still like being able to carry it forward as well, make sure that it's still happening. So we're just trying to sort out logistics and how it will work and get as many people as we can in on this, including the teachers as well, because it does take the whole village.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's true. That's true, that's true. I love the work that you're doing and it's so important. You're right, many of us love a particular subject because a wonderful teacher taught us that, and also, I mean, many of us don't even know that forestry is a career. Like I said, when we think of forestry we think logging.
Speaker 1:Yeah, know that we can take two pretty separate um disciplines and bring them together, so this is really fantastic and I love that you're showcasing visibility and um diversity. It's been, yeah, it's. It's amazing. I wish you all of the best with this. I'm sure you're going to do so many things and I love the fact that, even though you can't physically be there, you are roping other people in. It's so amazing. Tabi Singh, we had such an amazing time just chatting with you briefly about what you do. I've learned a lot and I wish you all of the best in your research and I'm so happy that you know. I know you personally and, like I said to you, I didn't want to know anything about what you do until I have you on the show.
Speaker 1:So I'm so glad that I got to learn more about you and your work, work, life and, honestly, brilliant, brilliant work, thank you. Thank you so much for buying out the time and chatting with me today. I had such a great time thank you um.
Speaker 2:It's only a pleasure, and thank you so much for having me um on your podcast. I feel so, so honored. That makes me feel cool, yeah, and also being part of the first video session this was great and to everybody else who's tuned in.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for tuning in to the first official visual route of the science podcast and those that are listening via audio. Thank you so much for coming back once again. We look forward to doing this more and more. If you have any questions, queries, you'd like to get in touch with intabi singh and the work that she does, please feel free to send us a message. We'll also put her details on the show notes so you can contact her directly. Until next time, it's Anne with an E. Goodbye.
