The Singapore Botanic Gardens welcomed a new addition to its line-up in August, as part of its 150th anniversary celebration. Over 40 students from Assumption Pathway School and Northlight School tapped into their imaginations and rolled up their sleeves to design and build a 500-square metre garden under the guidance of award-winning garden designers. Standing in the Corner Green of the Botanic Gardens, the project consists of four mini gardens connected by footpaths, with plants and recycled materials woven into the garden landscape to create unique and lovely forms.
Proud creators presenting their garden of hope and love.
This collaboration, called “Gardenstars”, was spearheaded by the Botanic Gardens to nurture a greater appreciation of nature in the students, as well as to build their confidence, impart useful life skills, and introduce them to the prospect of a career in horticulture. Australia’s Jim Fogarty and Singapore’s Alan Tan, two internationally recognised and award-winning garden designers, led the students tirelessly in exploring the intricacies of garden design, equipping them with the necessary skills needed to create their own gardens.
To celebrate the completion of the students’ month-long labour of love, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan was invited to unveil the ‘Garden of Hope’ on Monday, 3 August 2009. Praising the Gardenstars as a meaningful and inspirational effort, Minister Mah said, “The project sends a message of hope that with hard work, commitment and passion, one can be a ‘star’ in the horticulture industry.”
The minister also congratulated the students and teachers for the passion and commitment they displayed in bringing their project to fruition. He was generous in commending the work of the aspiring horticulturists. “You have created a lovely garden that many visitors to the Botanic Gardens can enjoy for years to come,” he said, expressing his hope that some of the students involved in the inaugural Gardenstars initiative might someday aspire to careers in landscaping and horticulture.
Planting Memories
Before touring the garden, Minister Mah presented the students with personalised mementos of their Gardenstars experience - a framed photo of each of them, taken while working on the Garden of Hope. The participants, holding on to their photos happily, shared that they not only had fun working on the project, but also picked up useful skills and knowledge from the rare experience.
Students explaining the garden’s unique features to Minister Mah.
Muhammad Yushan, a 13-year-old student from Assumption Pathway School, was excited about the enriching experience he had. He said, “We learnt a lot about garden design and how we can express our creativity through gardening. We also learnt about the importance of commitment and responsibility, team work, among others.”
“More importantly, we also had the chance to showcase our school values of care and resilience as we worked under the different weather conditions just to get the garden ready,” he added.
A tranquil nook near the garden’s edge.
As Minister Mah and other guests toured the Garden of Hope, the students beamed with pride and satisfaction as they stood beside the result of their creativity and hard work. With the garden as a showcase of these budding horticulturalists’ renewed appreciation of nature and their continued role in shaping the island’s greenery, Singapore is indeed not far from its vision of becoming a City in a Garden.
New Arboretum at Tyersall Avenue
Click on image for an enlarged version.
At the launch of the Garden of Hope, Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan announced that 9.8 hectares of parkland at Tyersall Avenue will be added to the Singapore Botanic Gardens to form a seamless extension to its western edge, bringing the Gardens’ total area to almost 74 ha. An arboretum will be developed on this site to capitalise on the rich diversity of flora and fauna, integrating the forest in the extension with the existing rainforest within the Botanic Gardens to form an enlarged forest habitat.
This extension will include the Tyersall Learning Forest, which will showcase the best of tropical trees that grow under local conditions, featuring giant trees with the potential to grow up to some 60 metres in height, trees with interesting forms and barks of various textures, a conservation collection of rare fruit and nut species, and a bamboo garden. Another highlight of the extension will be a new marshland that will showcase a diversity of tropical wetland plant species and aquatic wildlife, including birds and amphibians. Visitors will be able to take in the beauty of the marshlands from the viewing decks along the boardwalks. The entire extension is slated for completion in 2012.