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Passion for nature: two nature lovers made a business out of what they enjoy doing. Bee Choo and Morten run an outlet selling books, gifts, and souvenirs. They have gone into nature publishing as well

Today's Manager, Dec-Jan, 2008 by Tan Chee Teik

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NESTLING next to the gushing waterfalls and foliage of the Singapore Botanic Gardens Visitor Centre is a shop specialising in nature books and merchandise.

The shop is owned and managed by a husband and wife team, Morten Strange and Ng Bee Choo. As a child, Bee Choo used to hang out at her aunt's kampung house during the school vacation and cried when she had to return to her parents' Housing and Development Board flat.

Her passion for nature began at an early age. She collected bird stamps as a teenager and joined the Malayan Nature Society in 1987.

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Morten left his job as a petroleum engineer in 1986 at the age of 34 years. Instead of returning to Denmark, he stayed in Singapore to work on nature conservation. He started off by setting up a business to promote birds, bird watching, and general nature appreciation, and has been involved in nature documentation, promotion, and marketing ever since.

He had some savings and thought that he could spend the rest of his days photographing birds. But he was wrong; he needed a stream of income to continue with his expensive hobby. With their common interest in nature, he met Bee Choo and later they became man and wife.

Despite their passion for nature, Morten says: "We still have to make money. Money is valuable. Nature should contribute to the economy."

They run the Botanic Garden Shop under Nature's Niche Pte Ltd which was formed in 1995. They have a publishing and book distribution arm known as Draco Publishing and Distribution Pte Ltd. It was formed in 2004.

Draco's logo is a flying lizard Draco sumatranus, found only in Southeast Asia. This reptile can glide from tree to tree on its patagium and signal with its yellow throat fan.

Nature's Niche motto is "Seeing, Knowing, Loving". One needs to see a special insect, for example, to become interested. Then one finds out more about it to gain knowledge, and only then can one appreciate and love the insect.

Morten says: "Singaporeans have come a long way. We're into the seeing stage. In those days, the forests have nobody there. Now about 90 per cent of the people are there for a walk. Ecotourism has grown. But there is a lack of understanding of nature conservation. We need to do a few more steps. There has to real knowledge about biodiversity."

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Bee Choo adds: "Singaporeans are affluent today. They have money to do something, like buying expensive photographic equipment to record nature. But we haven't understood how we depend on the natural world. We tend to switch our air-cons to full blast and don't think about the carbon emissions."

She observed that while more are interested in nature photography, they photograph nesting birds to death. People still have a long way to go to be environmentally conscious and to care for nature.

The shop is located where there is a constant flow of tourists. Many buy books on flora and fauna. Sales of books account for 60 per cent of total sales. The rest of the sales come from gifts and souvenirs, T-shirts, and jewellery. The Southeast Asian collection titles can't be sourced by the customers themselves. Foreigners are the main customers of the shop's products. They make up 70 per cent of the sales.

On the management side, Bee Choo, as managing director, does the accounting, sourcing, meeting suppliers, and designs souvenirs that are manufactured in the region. Morten, as marketing manager, handles the Internet enquiries, bulk sales, distribution, and does what he likes best-editing nature books.

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They have no plans to have branch shops in Singapore as the market is small. They are thinking about starting a nature shop in Thailand where there is growing interest in nature.

Looking back on the early days of Nature's Niche, Bee Choo says: "During the first four years, I had to sell my car and get financiers to help. The shareholders all share an interest in nature. They are getting dividends from their investment now."

Morten believes that while retail is essential, publishing of nature titles is very creative but must be viable. He aims to be a regional publisher of such books. He is no stranger to publishing having authored many books on birds of the region. He is an authority on birds and is a well-known bird photographer.

When we met for this article, he reminded me that I was one of the few editors who published his nature stories in the 1980s. The articles appeared in the Changi Magazine. At that time, the interest in nature was very small. But things have changed much since.

Draco Publishing has four titles under its imprint. They include A Guide to the Wild Orchids of Singapore, Birds of Taman Negara, Colugo: The Flying Lemur of South-east Asia, and Southern Shores of Singapore. They produce fold-out nature guides for the schools and tourists.

The two titles in production are Wild Animals of Singapore, and A Passion for Birds. Morten has little time to do bird photography nowadays. He depends on the younger nature enthusiasts to provide the photographs. There are also networks of nature lovers who are keen to get their material published.

Business Services Industry

Passion for nature: two nature lovers made a business out of what they enjoy doing. Bee Choo and Morten run an outlet selling books, gifts, and souvenirs. They have gone into nature publishing as well

Today's Manager, Dec-Jan, 2008 by Tan Chee Teik

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