Sing Geok Shan Channel NewsAsia 30 Oct 12;
SINGAPORE: Starting next year, a new National Parks Boards (NParks) initiative will help companies and schools do good while reaping the benefits of nature.
The Nature Cares programme will match corporate staff and student volunteers with welfare organisations and to create activities that can help protect the environment.
President Tony Tan Keng Yam launched the programme on Tuesday at St Theresa's Home in Upper Thomson.
As the residents of the home for elders are less mobile, volunteers brought a little nature indoors.
Keppel Group employees and students from Queenstown Primary School showed the senior citizens how plants can be grown on driftwood.
NParks said activities will be tailored to match the needs of beneficiaries.
For instance, if volunteering organisations are paired with a children's home, suggested activities could be guided nature walks or rollerblading in the parks.
As with gardening, the programme is a long-term commitment.
Organisations which are joining the programme will have to pledge at least a year's support so that the interaction with the beneficiaries can be sustained.
Calling the initiative a "very worthwhile effort", President Tan hopes that more can volunteer and contribute based on their strengths and interests.
He said: "What is important is to let people know that working for the community doesn't only mean giving money, which is important, or making a donation, but also giving of your time, your energy, your special skills and in that way, everybody can make a contribution in their own area of interest."
Volunteers also picked up new knowledge from their stint.
"I found it very interesting because it's my first time planting air plants (plants which do not root in soil)," said Benjamin Seet, a Primary 5 student volunteer from Queenstown Primary School.
"I like to help the elderly with what they are doing. It helps to make them more active and it will help to bring a smile to their faces."
- CNA/ck/xq
NParks makes volunteering a walk in the park
Pearl Lee Straits Times 31 Oct 12;
TAKING a walk in the park with the elderly may not sound like a typical student-volunteer activity, but that is one of the options available under the new Nature Cares programme of the National Parks Board (NParks).
The programme partners staff from corporations with student volunteers to reach out to community groups, such as the elderly or children with special needs, through nature-related events.
Activities range from community gardening and nature walks to in-line skating and art and craft with plants. The programme calls for a minimum one-year commitment from both organisations and schools to their beneficiaries.
Dr Leong Chee Chiew, NPark's deputy CEO and commissioner of parks and recreation, said it wanted to "connect corporations, children and the community in a sustained and structured platform".
Speaking at the launch at St Theresa's Home in Upper Thomson yesterday, he said he hoped the programme would reap the benefits that nature can bring.
"Studies show that contact with nature confers health benefits," he said.
He also noted that while the rate of volunteerism has risen, young working adults form the lowest percentage of volunteers. This programme would change that in years to come, he believed.
President Tony Tan Keng Yam, who graced the event, commended NPark's efforts. He said the plan, which begins its pilot run in January, "not only introduces the residents of St Theresa's Home to a fun activity, but also gives them some companionship".
Already, it looks like it will be a success. Madam Bertha Hang, 64, a resident of the home since 2004, described the morning event with the students and volunteers as a "very nice and wonderful experience". She said: "I like nature, plants and animals. I like to admire the plants."
