Singaporeans make a difference in society through gardening

Ali Smith, Channel NewsAsia 31 Oct 08;

SINGAPORE: Six of Singapore's most passionate gardeners were honoured at the first-ever Community in Bloom Ambassadors Award 2008 ceremony on Friday.

One of the winners, Kamisah Bte Atan, has created six gardens for her community to enjoy, using a grant from the Southwest Community Development Council.

She said all six gardens are maintained by getting women of all ages involved.

"Some of the elderly have aches here and there, and since they started gardening, they have felt much better and they look forward to every gardening activity that we have," Kamisah said, adding that her group aims to plant 100,000 plants in the next four years.

There are also others in Singapore who are using gardening to teach basic skills.

Less than a year ago, former chef Philip Li mobilised his students, who attend the Association for Persons with Special Needs, to create a garden using recycled plants and donated pots.

"Identification, observational skills and motor skills are involved because they need to identify what are the weeds, what are the plants and what are the things you are supposed to weed," said Li.

In addition, he said gardening has paved the way for employment opportunities for the students. So far, three special needs graduates have landed jobs with landscaping companies in Singapore.