The whole experience was an eye opener. I’m not a very ‘plant person’ and yet I’m getting interested in all these new herbs and properties.What interested me the most was the fauna I saw in the garden. I’ve never seen mating grasshoppers! It felt like I was watching National Geographic live, when I saw the legs of the grasshoppers twitching. Must be some sort of mating ritual! There were bees and other insects pollinating flowers. Showing these to the students actually brought textbook learning to life!

My research in NUS was on the anti-viral effects of one of the traditional chinese medicine herbs. To pass on the interest, I started an anti-bacterial research team comprising of 5 Secondary 3 students, who confessed that they learnt a lot from the research. Training students to present themselves well in public and teaching them how to look and speak confidently has also been agreat experience. Most of all, it was really satisfying when students thanked me and the committee for their experience.

I believe participating in such events enrich the students in many ways. These real life experiences teaches them about taking initiatives, thinking of answers/replies on-the-spot, and trying to handle difficult situations.

The entire experience was fantastic. And I’ve never regreted being part of this event.

-by Miss Ja Vanitha, Teacher from Kranji Secondary School

I saw this plant in my school garden. I thought this is a creeper plant as it gets support from the wooden pole. However, my classmates said that this is actually dendrobium orchid and the brown “creepers” are actually the aerial roots of the orchid plant.

I went to read up more about such strange roots as I thought all roots should be found under the ground. Plants are amazing, they have special adaptations, such as the orchids having aerial roots to obtain more moisture from the air. I have also found out that pitcher plants trap insects and dissolve them to add nutrients to the plant.

- by Yong Wee Tuck, Catholic High Primary School

During the December school holidays, we organized a Discovery Camp for about 80 Primary1 students from various schools at the Vegetable Gardenat Bishan Park.

Located right in theheartlands, the vegetable garden at BishanPark offers the younger generation an experience of the5 senses. We took the students through 4,000 square meters of the garden, and introduced them to more than 120 species of vegetables, fruits, herbs and medicinal plants.

For many of them, it was their first time seeing the fruits grown from the earth. We could feel their excitement when they recognised the familiar fruits and herbs such as thelongan tree, ribena plant, sugar canes and ubi kayu, etc. They were simply thrilled to discover sunflower seeds in the flower and some even eagerly stuck their noses in bushes of lemon balms and laksa plants to catch the fragrant scent of the herbs. For us, it was a rewarding experience to see the young children enjoying themselves while learning about the fruits and vegetables beyond just seeing them confined in the shelves/carts of the supermarkets. The students had a wonderful time learning and discovering the thrills of nature withtheir 5 senses and so did we!

No longer do you have to go all the way to Lim Chu Kang and Kranji areas to visit vegetable farms for the same experience, so why don’t youmake a trip downto Bishan Parktoday? We hope to see you there!

- by Gin Chua & Chong Wei Teng

A few months ago, our Environment Club members, together with our teachers, went for a learning journey to Labrador Park.

We went there by our school bus. There were lots of trees, plants and shrubs at the park. During our learning journey atLabrador Park, there was a guidethatkindly brought us around for a tour. We learnt about many species of plants and shrubs -such as the nibong plant, the Liana vine, the strangling fig and many more variety of plants. We even saw few mushrooms blooming across the fields. One exciting observation thatwe saw, were the cannons and shelters which stored food andammunition and provided a hideout to the soldiers during World War II.

After the tour aroundLabrador Park, we went upto thepeak, the highest area of the park. We had an amazingbird’s eye view of the sea. Across the sea, we could see Jurong Island which had numerous oil tanks storing processed oil. Occasionally, we could see a few oil tankers and container ships across the horizon. It was really a breathtaking view which I had never experienced before.

After viewing such a beautiful scenery, we went down to the only rocky beach in Singapore, which happens to also be at Labrador Park. The guide reminded us not to collect or pick anything, including seashells along the beach.

The tourwas very exciting and fun. Sadly, it was finally time for us to go back to school.This was a very memorable learning journey which I will never forget. I hope that I will be able to go back there in the near future.

- by Arik Yeo Wen Qi, Concord Primary School