NParks introduces new Parks for Health Framework aimed at leveraging existing parks and therapeutic landscapes to boost community well-being

Singapore, 23 June 2025 – Today, the National Parks Board (NParks) launched the Parks for Health Framework, which will enhance access to greenery and therapeutic landscapes, allowing more members of the community to benefit from the health and well-being benefits of nature. 

As part of efforts to transform Singapore into a City in Nature, NParks has been expanding Singapore’s network of green spaces to bring them closer to the community. Since 2021, more than 130 hectares of new parks have been added and over 390 km of park connectors have been established across the island to make green spaces even more accessible for Singaporeans. The public can also look forward to the completion of more than 25 parks and over 50 km of park connectors between 2025 and 2030. Having easy access to such green spaces creates more opportunities for Singaporeans to benefit from exposure to nature in their daily lives. 

The new Parks for Health Framework consolidates NParks’ ongoing efforts, improving accessibility to green spaces, bringing them closer to residents, and making them more conducive for extended visits. This will allow more members of the community to reap the benefits of immersing in nature, while introducing and facilitating programmes that support well-being within these spaces. Key initiatives under the new framework include enhanced access to green spaces, including the introduction of 15 contemplative landscape sites; more rest points along park connectors; and the integration of therapeutic landscapes into housing estates and healthcare institutions, coupled with targeted therapeutic horticulture programming. This framework complements NParks' existing City in Nature initiatives by holistically developing and activating therapeutic landscapes for the community, supporting national initiatives that emphasise preventive health and active ageing in response to Singapore's ageing population.

Enhancing access to green spaces 

NParks will enhance both existing and new parks with lush vegetation and natural landscapes, leveraging on Singapore’s existing network of green spaces. This will offer more opportunities for the public to connect with the natural environment in green spaces such as parks, through sight (visual exposure), activities, or interactions with natural elements such as plants, helping to provide greater health and well-being benefits. 

Curated contemplative landscape sites for park visitors to explore 

While exposure to all green spaces can be beneficial to health and well-being, specific features within such spaces are more likely to enhance mental well-being. These features include colour and light, biodiversity, and layers of landscape that enhance the visual quality and experience for park visitors. This can be assessed by applying a specialised tool known as the Contemplative Landscape Model (CLM). While many parks and gardens feature landscapes that help encourage contemplation, for a start, NParks has identified 15 sites with contemplative landscapes which have a high CLM score within our green spaces such as parks and nature parks. These sites feature tranquil seating areas, natural elements, and scenic views that encourage reflection and contemplation among park visitors. More of such contemplative landscape sites will be progressively identified in parks and gardens around Singapore.

18 therapeutic gardens established to date, more to be introduced

Therapeutic gardens are another form of therapeutic landscapes which offer various health benefits to park visitors, including stress reduction, enhanced mental resilience, improved mood, and positive changes in brain activity. With the addition of Compassvale Walk Park, which opened recently, a total of 18 therapeutic gardens have been established in parks and gardens across Singapore. 

The public can also look forward to more therapeutic gardens in parks and gardens across Singapore, such as at the upcoming Teachers’ Estate Park. NParks aims to have 30 of such gardens by 2030.

Enhancing conduciveness of green spaces to encourage extended visits 

NParks will introduce more rest points along park connectors located in areas with higher populations of seniors to make green spaces more conducive for extended visits. These enhancements include more benches, rest nodes, and lush landscaping to provide shade wherever feasible. Improving thermal comfort and providing more opportunities for rest along park connectors will enable the extended use of park connectors and can in turn encourage seniors to engage in outdoor physical activity, while introducing more opportunities for social interactions. 

Bringing therapeutic landscapes closer to members of the community

To bring the restorative benefits of nature to residents’ daily lives, NParks will work with relevant agencies to leverage existing neighbourhood and estate upgrading programmes to introduce therapeutic landscapes within housing precincts. One example is providing advisory support to HDB in their implementation of wellness landscapes and therapeutic gardens, such as at Commonwealth Heights under HDB’s Remaking our Heartland (ROH) Programme for Queenstown. Another example is at Ang Mo Kio Town Garden West, where a therapeutic garden will be introduced by NParks as part of park upgrading works under the ROH Programme for Ang Mo Kio. 

Additionally, NParks will continue working with healthcare institutions to integrate parks and greenery within healthcare establishments, such as hospitals. An existing example is Woodlands Healing Garden, which is integrated with Woodlands Health and also Singapore’s largest therapeutic garden to date. Upcoming projects with SingHealth include a park which is co-located with the integrated healthcare development at Jalan Damai, which will feature amenities suitable for physiotherapy and support social integration for people with dementia. At Bedok North, the future Eastern General Hospital Campus will champion a holistic model of care. It will promote both individual healing and communal resilience, by seamlessly integrating the hospital spaces with the surrounding natural environment. 

Promoting Therapeutic Horticulture Programmes

Collaborations include working with the National Healthcare Group (NHG) to introduce therapeutic horticulture programmes within all Communities of Care (CoCs) and its anchor partners in Central and North Singapore such as NTUC Health Senior Day Care (Toa Payoh) and SPD@Toa Payoh Senior Care Centre. NParks has also been working with SingHealth on capacity-building initiatives to develop courses and training opportunities for healthcare professionals and community care organisations to conduct therapeutic horticulture programmes within their facilities. 

NParks is also working with the Nature Kakis Network to help introduce therapeutic horticulture programming to more neighbourhoods. This network, comprising Nature Kakis chapters island-wide, is community-driven and brings together individuals who share a passion for nature and conservation to lead programmes and activities in the heartlands that support City in Nature efforts. 

Several Nature Kakis chapters, including those in Choa Chu Kang, East Coast, and Boon Lay, have received training in therapeutic horticulture. Regular therapeutic horticulture programming is also currently being run within the Choa Chu Kang and Boon Lay chapters.

Such efforts to activate therapeutic landscapes through targeted programming builds on existing nature-based programmes offered by NParks that that cater to different groups. These include ad hoc activities such as nature walks and guided tours of green spaces as well as programmes such as Community In Bloom and Community in Nature.  

Leveraging Research for Planning and Design 

To further leverage research to better inform the planning and design of green spaces in enhancing mental health, NParks launched a grant call last month to invite Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) to submit research proposals under Cites of Tomorrow (CoT) RIE2025 to examine the effect of time spent in Singapore’s forest and urban parks on users’ physiological and psychological health. This research study is anticipated to yield insights on how natural environments influence human physical and mental health.

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