SNR alum David Holdridge is investigating the link between the palm oil industry with the reclamation of abandoned surface tin mines in Bangka Belitung Islands, Indonesia after receiving the Fulbright award in May 2024.

Before departing, Holdridge was sworn in as an active duty Army engineer officer. Holdridge enlisted in the Army out of high school and used a scholarship through the Green to Gold program to pursue his degree in forestry and graduate as a commissioned Army officer.

Holdridge says he met with the University of Bangka Belitung administration, faculty, and staff during his first week, including his host and advisor, Professor Eddy Nurtjahya. He also toured a research forest complex led by AgroForestry Projects where he saw an abandoned tin mine and met with the mining company’s local reclamation and agresearch team.

He spent the following two weeks in Jakarta. Holdridge says much of the city was shut down during the first week because of the Idul Fitri, or Eid al-Fitr, holiday.

He took a charter boat to a nearby chain of small islands and caught different species, including the Talang-Talang, or queenfish. They enjoyed fresh fried fish.

Holdridge met the Fulbright English Teachers cohort while in Jakarta. He also received an invitation to the U.S. Embassy from the Defense Attaché Office and attended meetings at the American Indonesian Exchange Foundation headquarters.

Holdridge is undergoing Bahasa Indonesia language training before starting his research.