Transport for elderly visitors also on new director's agenda
Straits Times 5 Dec 11;
HE HAS been on the job for just over two months but the new director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, Dr Nigel Taylor, already has big plans.
The 55-year-old Briton is planning to introduce transport in the gardens for the first time, to help elderly visitors get around.
During the week, he does his daily rounds in the 74ha gardens either on foot or in a buggy. At weekends, he visits with his wife and teenage daughters, traipsing over from their home in nearby Tanglin.
These rounds help him keep his ear to the ground.
'Elderly people who may not be able to walk far have repeatedly said they wish there was some transport,' he said. 'So we are looking into it.'
But the gardens' narrow paths mean any type of transport, if introduced, would have to steer clear of visitors who prefer not to use it.
The National Parks Board (NParks) is soliciting public feedback for ideas on its website.
Dr Taylor is also keen to make people's experience of the 16-year-old National Orchid Garden more educational, with more displays explaining the biology, geography and diversity of orchids, and using live specimens wherever possible.
He said: 'As a botanic garden, I would like there to be more botanical learning, to add to the experience that colourful mass plantings of orchids and those named after famous visitors currently provide.'
But while changes are afoot, there are some things that must be preserved, he said, such as the iconic bandstand area and Swan Lake.
This move towards a more educational and immersive experience is something he is applying from his 34 years at the world-famous Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in Britain.
For example, a Learning Forest, with thematic walks featuring giant trees and a conservation collection of rare fruit and nut species - to be ready here in 2013 - will hopefully offer a 'Kew-like experience', said Dr Taylor.
Kew Gardens, as it is known, is one of the world's leading botanical institutions. Dr Taylor joined as a horticultural taxonomist when he was 21 - his job was to name the plants. He rose through the ranks to become head curator of horticulture.
He left in September to fill the director's position at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, taking over from Dr Wong Wei Har, who is on an indefinite leave of absence due to family commitments. She had been director since last year.
NParks went on an international executive search, which took six months. Dr Taylor fit the bill as he was of 'notable and credible international standing as an accomplished botanical scientist', and was able to 'lead and motivate a group of professionals to contribute to the continued success of the Gardens', said NParks. He is in charge of about 100 people at the Gardens.
One other reason he snagged the job might be that he can communicate well - he was one of the main spokesmen at Kew. 'I love plants but I also love interacting with people,' he said.
This gift of the gab makes connecting plants with people easier. 'We have to get people into the gardens; that is very important,' he added.
He is not the first expatriate director of the Gardens. The first director, Henry Nicholas Ridley, served for 23 years from 1888. Another famous director was Professor Eric Holttum, also from Kew Gardens, who joined in 1925. He pioneered experiments in orchid breeding and hybridisation here.
Asked why he gave up his job at Kew, Dr Taylor said: 'The job had become too easy and I needed more of a challenge.'
In Singapore, he has to oversee the science and the scientists, visitor services, the visitor attractions and centre, and events such as the Singapore Garden Festival. And after years of dealing with temperate plants, working with plants that flourish in a humid, tropical atmosphere is an eye-opener, he says.
But there is another, more practical, reason: Bad times at home pushed him towards an economically stronger Asia. 'The British government was cutting funding to all its major institutions and Kew suffered in this respect. The economy here is much stronger, with more opportunities,' he said.
Searching for greener pastures meant uprooting his family of four: his wife, a botanist at Gardens By The Bay at Marina, and their two daughters, aged 14 and 16.
But a first glimpse of his new home on a taxi ride from Changi Airport boded well for his new job. 'There's this extraordinarily well-manicured row of plants in the middle of the highway, and you think, 'This cannot be real'. It is the most impressive arrival experience anywhere,' he said.
