The community gardening initiative by the National Parks Board (NParks) to help green Singapore’s physical landscape has made good progress, close to ten years after it was introduced.
Most recently, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan visited the Community in Bloom garden at Bukit Panjang Zone 4 to see firsthand the variety of vegetables being harvested by residents, including bitter gourd, lady’s fingers and brinjals.
The garden is one of the largest and most productive of its kind here, NParks said in a Facebook post.
Aside from vegetables, gardens consisting of flowers, herbs and spices can be found in public and private housing estates, schools, hospitals and welfare homes.
Started in May 2005, the first project was carried out in Mayfair Park Estate in Bukit Timah, where residents worked together to spruce up their neighbourhood by creating roadside gardens.
Since then, more than 600 active gardening groups have formed in areas like Marine Crescent, Changi Village and Jurong Central Zone D.
Moving forward, the government plans to bring the programme indoors so that elderly and handicapped residents can also get involved and enjoy the greenery. To facilitate this, NParks will organise indoor gardening workshops to educate the public.
For more information on how to set up your community garden, go to: http://bit.ly/1qnOLz6
Image: Minister Khaw visits the community garden at Bukit Panjang Zone 4. (Source: NParks Facebook page)
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Singapore Editor of PropertyGuru Group, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg