Hello guys!
Let’s talk about Community Gardens.
Do you know many community gardens are there in Singapore?
I couldn’t believe it when I first saw the value. Singapore has about 1000 community gardens (“community gardens”, 2016). This actually indicates that there is a high likelihood of having one or more community gardens near where you live.
Can you spot a community garden in your area?
Photo courtesy of Nparks – Spread of community gardens in Singapore
Due to their abundance and close proximity, the community gardens are very accessible to most, if not, all of us. I really appreciate how these tiny green spaces within our compacted living environment can become areas of interaction for residents. Although many knew about the existence of community gardens, not a lot of people actually knew how easily they can be found. In where I live, there are quite a few community gardens and here is one of them:
Yes, I understand that gardening is not for everyone. Worms, hard labour, sweat, hot sun. These are what some would picture whenever the word ‘gardening’ is mentioned. Yet the fruits of labour are what make gardening so enjoyable. Here is my view about the benefits of a community garden:
1) Revive the kampong spirit
Living behind metal gates and doors, there is significantly lesser opportunities for neighbours to interact amongst one another. Despite living literally just a few steps away, the relationship between neighbours could even be comparable to strangers. Community gardens can provide opportunities to bring residents with similar interests together so that bonds can be forged. This promotes social cohesion and thus revive the kampong spirit.
2) Bring people of various ages together
It is really interesting how gardening can evoke interests of people from various age groups. I believe that community gardens have the potential to bridge the gaps of people from different generations and allow them to spend good quality time together.
3) Low commitment due to collective effort
Gardening requires a long-term and consistent commitment. However, we don’t have to find time everyday to take care of plants in a community garden unlike a home garden. This is because the whole community is looking after the garden. Hence, the responsibility of watering and fertilizing the plants can be shared which can allow people who are busy (like many of us!) to participate in gardening as well.
With benefits, there will also be problems. When there are more people involved, there is a greater likelihood of disputes occurring due to different ideas. Since the garden belongs to the whole community, this also means that we cannot design our garden to our liking. Nonetheless, this issue goes back to consideration and the willingness accept different ideas, both being important attributes in our daily living.
If you are interested in gardening, why not help out in these gardens? Otherwise, you can just make a visit and watch how the hard work of these residents translates into rewards. 🙂
Cheers!
♣ Johanah
References:
Community gardens. (2016, June 13). Retrieved October 1, 2016, from National Parks Board, https://www.nparks.gov.sg/gardening/community-gardens
Visit a community garden. (2016, January 15). Retrieved October 1, 2016, from National Parks Board, https://www.nparks.gov.sg/gardening/community-gardens/visit-a-community-garden
Wonderful heritage estates garden homes – community garden. (2016, June 27). Retrieved October 1, 2016, from Ravrangifts, http://www.ravrangifts.com/heritage-estates-garden-homes/wonderful-heritage-estates-garden-homes-community-garden/
Community in-bloom. Retrieved October 1, 2016, from Housing & Development Board, http://www.hdb.gov.sg/cs/infoweb/community/practise-eco-living/community-in-bloom