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Thank you for sharing your ideas with us!
Since the start of our public engagement exercise in August 2011, we have received many inspiring ideas and suggestions from you. We would like to give you an update on some ideas which we are already addressing through our programmes.
Singapore Botanic Gardens
We have received many requests to preserve public memories of SBG, have more family themed activities as well as enhance access within the Gardens. Based on these suggestions, we have put together some ideas which could be implemented. Take a look here.
Gardening at home and within your community
Many of you touched on the need to inculcate greater community ownership of our green spaces by encouraging residents to initiate gardens or start farms within their community. We have started the Community in Bloom programme since 2005, and we have more than 400 community gardens island-wide. Some of these gardens have vegetable plots too. We are planning to double the number of community gardens to 800. We also received requests for instructional videos to help those who wish to start gardening but do not know how. If you need help to develop green fingers, you can find some useful gardening tips here, and a series of videos here
Engaging and inspiring the community to co-create a City in a Garden
Several suggestions revolve around getting more Singaporeans, especially our younger generation, involved in co-creating our City in a Garden. We just launched the Community in Nature programme, which aims to encourage greater appreciation, and protection of nature and biodiversity. Through this programme, participants will have opportunities to grow from being a casual observer to becoming a more active participant in nature-related programmes. Drop us an email at
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if you wish to sign up!
We also have many programmes to engage our youth. We just launched new online resource packages to let educators and students learn more about our parks and nature reserves. Through active engagement with MOE and schools, we reach out to thousands of school children on a yearly basis, mainly through the programme for active learning (PAL). More online resources can be found here and here.
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Your Ideas
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Angelina Chan
People are interested in avenues to grow our gardens. But how to do it? Where to get recycled materials? We need some advice. In Australia, you can get web programmes or TV programmes on this (Gardening Australia). The public can write to them with questions for the programme. Also, different videos can be downloaded from the web. NParks can partner with schools to create such web casts (e.g. How-to videos). It is also less costly to do web videos. |
Michelle Ng
For the Singapore Botanic Gardens, I wish there would be "cooling shelters" installed throughout the Gardens, like those at the SG Zoo which have aircons that allow visitors a quick and cooling rest stop during their walk around the zoo. This will certainly attract more visitors; I know I would go more often. |
Chin Eng
May I suggest we put up some bulletin board of the animals, like birds, small animals, snakes and other reptiles, that are in our parks. Besides being educational to park users, it will also help the users look out for them. Once again, thank you for making our parks a wonderful place to spend time and get away from our hectic lives. |
David Koh
Collaborate with art groups (live bands, youth dance schools, studios, industry) to explore how the arts and culture can be integrated more in parks. (e.g. art installations, programs, performance spaces). Also think about how to integrate food to attract more Singaporeans, without affecting natural landscape. E.g. food kiosks and hotdog stands |
Zhou Shuai Xun
My vision would be to set up a 2-container-sized gallery for art, events. It could be made of glass and plastic, incorporating the latest energy efficient technology to showcase our current methods of energy use (solar, wind farm, and for the canal in Bishan, even hydroelectric). The main purpose of this gallery would be to showcase the artists in heartlands, mostly having no funds to stage an exhibition on their own. The few copies of work they produced might not be enough to book a gallery on their own, but with this Gallery In Green concept, they can submit their work for a period of exhibition. Other than housing art pieces, this spot could be set up for classes, of course, the capacity would be limited to the space allocated (> two containers). The structure design could prove to be an additional project for polytechnics, and the running of the facility to secondary/poly/JC students. On non-visiting hours, the venue can be open to artists looking for a peaceful and quiet environment to work in, at the same time, mingle with other like-minded. The running cost of this project can be funded by small sales of handmade work, or even paid off by the amount of electricity it can generate. The environment impact should be negative, if not zero… |
Matthias
Trees and existing green corridors should be protected from infrastructure development. I feel very sad whenever I see a tree giving way to a road development. In the Chinese proverb, - Ten years to grow a tree, hundred years to mould a person - I think it should be the reverse. It takes years to grow a tree, even more for it to survive the ravages of Nature. Please do more to protect the trees and greenery. Roads can always circle around them |
Vivian Yuen
Hello. It is great to see new park connectors coming up! Our regular group cycling rides make use of the park connectors. We find them safe, convenient and fun to use. It will be wonderful if NParks can consider developing a round island park connector in the near future, for bike commuting and leisure cycling. This round island track can even develop bike tourism as well. |
Jane
Apart from HDB housing estates, landed housing estates have playgrounds or parks, and residents could play a part in taking care of these parks by taking greater ownership of these green spaces. They can gather together as a Green Club, and with permission granted from the town council/relevant authority, plant fruit trees or other flora there. Green enthusiasts and/or those with green fingers could build on each others ideas. This synergy would be helpful in creating more vibrant estate parks. This could also bring communities closer together and foster a greater sense of kampung spirit : |
Zhou Shuai Xun
My vision would be to set up a 2-container-sized gallery for art, events. It could be made of glass and plastic, incorporating the latest energy efficient technology to showcase our current methods of energy use (solar, wind farm, and for the canal in Bishan, even hydroelectric). The main purpose of this gallery would be to showcase the artists in heartlands, mostly having no funds to stage an exhibition on their own. The few copies of work they produced might not be enough to book a gallery on their own, but with this Gallery In Green concept, they can submit their work for a period of exhibition. Other than housing art pieces, this spot could be set up for classes, of course, the capacity would be limited to the space allocated (> two containers). The structure design could prove to be an additional project for polytechnics, and the running of the facility to secondary/poly/JC students. On non-visiting hours, the venue can be open to artists looking for a peaceful and quiet environment to work in, at the same time, mingle with other like-minded. The running cost of this project can be funded by small sales of handmade work, or even paid off by the amount of electricity it can generate. The environment impact should be negative, if not zero… |
Bertram
I hope that there can be more varieties of plants at the parks near our housing estates, including fruit bearing trees. Perhaps these can attract some of the small animals like squirrels and bats, as well as a wider variety of small birds. Otherwise, most of the time, our children only get to see crows, sparrows and pigeons. It would also be nice to have some small, habitat ponds with their own ecosystem for children to observe. To show them that there are other animals like frogs, toads and dragonflies. Good luck with your efforts in keeping Singapore green. : ). |
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