NUS Residential Life

For many university students, their semester abroad is a golden chapter in their university lives. The excitement of moving to a new place, immersing in local cultures, and forging long-lasting friendships is definitely one for the books. Exchange programmes operate on a 1-for-1 basis, if University X sends one of its students to University Y, in return, University Y sends one of its students to University X. Here at NUS, we boast an impressive number of exchange programmes with partner universities from all over the world. As each academic semester comes to a close, NUS bids goodbye to a diverse group of exchangers who had called NUS their home for some months.  

We were curious: how was their stay in Singapore? Did they settle in well? What new foods did they try? What surprised them about Singapore? It’s always exciting to hear about Singapore and NUS from the fresh perspective of an exchanger who’s visiting our Little Red Dot for the first time.   

Choosing Singapore  

For Nikolaus Hellner (Master of Science (Industrial Engineering)) from Germany’s Hamburg University of Technology, the decision to come to NUS for exchange was motivated by the chance to explore Asia while also earning himself a credible experience, “Singapore has a high reputation in Germany. Completing a semester abroad here increases my job prospects.” English being a widely spoken language here, too, made the decision easier for Niko to make.  

On his undergraduate exchange programme, Niko had gone to Canada. For his graduate exchange programme, he wanted something different and chose Southeast Asia.  

The campus life that NUS offers its students is another selling point for foreign students considering Singapore as their exchange destination. This was the case for Abeer Ladhani (Y4, Bachelor of Arts and Sciences) from University College London. Her home university’s campus is located in the middle of the city where the buildings are very much integrated within the city’s infrastructure. “I wanted to experience a college with a campus community that feels like that of NUS: with the campus being a world of its own,” she shared. Moreover, moving to Singapore for a year allowed Abeer to gain first-hand experience of what the island city had to offer, and consider whether this would be a place she could see herself live in the future.  

An exchange semester can also open up opportunities for higher studies. DiscoverNUS and NUS Master’s ASEAN Scholarship Programme is a two-part programme that allows selected students from partner universities to spend a semester in NUS. Afterwards, they may submit an application for the Master’s Scholarship, which if accepted, will grant them a fully funded admission into a Master’s programme in NUS upon graduation. It is through the DiscoverNUS programme that Chan Elina (Y3, English Language) from Vietnam National University landed in Singapore in August 2023. “I found it to be an interesting programme and the possibility of being chosen for a Master’s scholarship pushed me to apply,” Elina said.  

For other students, like Jasmin Saleh (Y4, Computer Science) from Germany’s Esslingen University of Applied Sciences, coming to Singapore for exchange was a last-minute decision that turned out to be a life-changing experience. “Due to some reasons, I had to extend my candidature by a semester. So I decided to go on exchange to Southeast Asia, a region I’ve always wanted to explore. My brother and I liaised with the university and we were informed that there were just 2 spots left for NUS. We jumped at the opportunity, applied, and there we were in August 2022!” exclaimed Jasmin over our Zoom call.  

Jasmin’s exchange trip to Singapore was a spontaneous decision. Looking back, it was one of the best decisions she ever made. This photo of Jasmin and her brother was taken at Mt. Batur in Bali at sunrise.  

Getting To Know Local Cultures 

When we asked Niko what his most enjoyable experience in NUS was, without batting an eye, he replied, “Meeting people from different cultures.” During his exchange period, Niko was introduced to cultures he had never encountered before. The entry into other cultures, for him, was through food. “I had no prior exposure to Asian food. I especially fell in love with Indian cuisine,” Niko narrated. He recommends the classic combination of butter chicken and cheese naan to fellow Indian cuisine novices!  

Elina echoed Niko’s answer. “The people I spent time with were from all over the world. I love them all so much and they motivate me to come back here to pursue my Master’s,” she shared. Elina, too, fell in love with Indian food during her stay in Singapore. “Try the prata!” is her enthusiastic recommendation to incoming foreign students.  

When Jasmin and her brother arrived in Singapore, they were simply amazed at the number of halal food offerings here in comparison to Germany. Hawker centres became a regularly frequented spot for them. “It was so affordable and the food portions were great!” Jasmin recalled with a big smile. “I lived near a Korean stall in Sengkang. The food was so, so good!” Now back in Germany and busy completing her final year thesis, Jasmin says that she still “dreams of eating at the Korean stall again”. 

The Korean stall that Jasmin used to frequent in Sengkang. 

A semester abroad is also an opportunity to immerse yourself in different cultures academically. Jasmin took on a Malay Studies course which helped her to understand the local culture better. Abeer added, “It was really cool to see that NUS had a South Asian Studies department which I was able to take advantage of during my time there. It’s something that my home university does not have.” 

Staying On Campus 

During her exchange, Abeer stayed in Temasek Hall. Although she struggled to find accommodation until a week before classes started due to the high demand for on-campus residence, her stay at Temasek was hospitable and warm. As she put it, “The second you’re out of your room, you’re talking to people. People are always saying hi and having a chat with you when you pass by.”  

Temasek Hall is also well-known for its edge in sports. “It was really cool to have national athletes who play for the Singapore volleyball team sit next to you in the dining hall,” Abeer shared excitedly.  

The hot and humid Singaporean weather often catches incoming exchange students off guard. Without an air conditioner in her room, Abeer, too, felt the heat – quite literally. But life is all about making lemonade from the lemons it gives you, “Not having an air conditioner encouraged me to get out of my room and explore more!”  

Niko was surprised at how easy it was to make friends at NUS. Residing in Tembusu Hall during his time at NUS, he recounted how fellow residents were open and eager to make new connections. Niko noted, “Every time I went down to the dining hall alone, there was always someone waving me over to their table and asking me to join them.” 

When Elina was on exchange here in Singapore, she stayed at Pioneer House and simply loved her time there. “I got to connect with both local and international students [at Pioneer House]. There were also so many interest groups I could join. I joined PH Dance and had a wonderful time there,” Elina described. Definitely another residential option for exchangers to consider! 

  As part of the Pioneer House dance group, Elina was exposed to various dance forms. Her favourite was street jazz.  

Studying While On Exchange? 

A common trope about exchange students is that they are indifferent to their academic performance. But the reality is not as clear-cut as full-time students might assume.  

Niko, now pursuing his Master’s, shared that he wasn’t too bothered about his grades since they didn’t have a huge implication on his future. He found the academic rigour and workload to be higher than what he was used to back home due to continuous assessments that were distributed throughout the semester. “You can’t mug everything before final exams. In Singapore, you have to keep up all the time due to the graded class participation and group project components,” Niko reflected. 

Abeer, on the other hand, shared a concern that many exchangers face when it comes to selecting courses. “Due to the high demand for courses, exchange students are not given priority for high-level classes. As a result, you’ll see a lot of exchange students in General Education classes that are at a lower level than what they would have taken back in their home universities. This meant that I found it quite easy to do well in my courses although it was a pass/fail year for me,” she said.  

But for Elina, who is hoping to be chosen for the ASEAN Master’s Scholarship as part of the DiscoverNUS programme, grades mattered more. She planned her academic schedule in such a way that she would have an interdisciplinary education, selecting courses from outside her faculty. After much freedom to explore her interests, she realised what she truly likes and now has a clearer direction for what she would like to do as a graduate student. “I found both the lecturers and tutors to be very professional and helpful,” Elina said, “ and I enjoyed my studies very well.”  

Elina enjoyed her academic exposure in NUS with the freedom to choose from various departments. The above photo was taken during a meeting with DiscoverNUS programme coordinators. 

Grades were not very important for Jasmin, too, on her exchange semester. “But there was one computing course which took over my whole life,” she chuckled, “It was an experience.” Like Elina, the exchange programme was also an opportunity for Jasmin to take courses that she otherwise wouldn’t have taken – like an Arabic language course. “Even though I’m a native Arabic speaker, I was surprised at how advanced some of the students in my Arabic class were. It was so cool to see even a Chinese girl in my Arabic course: like all these people from different backgrounds are so invested in my language!” Jasmin exclaimed.  

Travelling! 

Of course, this article would be incomplete if we didn’t mention the travels of our exchange friends. Singapore is the perfect location to come to for exchange if you’re looking to travel across Southeast Asia. The accessibility is great and the tickets are affordable. “I was able to go to Japan (so wow, would totally go again), Malaysia (especially Langkawi with its beautiful sunsets), Bali (in Indonesia), Thailand, Vietnam, and Brunei (so relaxing),” Jasmin shared the list of countries she visited.  

Niko and his friends, Chris and Julian, on a road trip in Taiwan.  

But there’s much to see in Singapore too! “Because I’m from Vietnam, I wasn’t as motivated to travel around Southeast Asia as other exchange students. Instead, my local Singaporean friends took me around the city and showed me many hidden gems. I explore Singapore thoroughly,” Elina explained.  

If you are new to Singapore, Abeer recommends cycling from East Coast Park to Marina Bay Sands. You’ll get forest, beach, and city! 

Connecting With Other Exchangers 

NUS has a very unique exchange student culture. Abeer was the one to make note of this during our interview. “Amongst the exchange students, there were many different group chats for different things like hiking, travelling, movies, and so on,” she explained. People would constantly try to make plans and get to know others. “People would message on the group chats all the time. Hi, I’m going to hike the Southern Ridges on Saturday, does anyone want to join?” That kind of energy and openness in the exchange student community was fantastic for her and not something prevalent in all universities.  

Even more surprisingly, during the first semester of Abeer’s year-long exchange programme, the exchangers were even more creative and engaging. They took the initiative and started doing classes and sessions. “One guy who was into dance led salsa sessions. I know there was this girl who taught Zumba. And another guy did HIIT sessions because he was a personal trainer,” she elaborated. Simply put, “The vibes were great!” 

The sense of community was really there. Jasmin recalled how some students took initiative to make a group chat for Muslim exchangers in NUS, too. “People slowly started joining the group chat and soon there was a very cosy group of us [Muslim exchangers],” she shared.  

Abeer (far right) loved the openness of the exchange student community at NUS. In fact, every time she travelled, it was with a different group of people. 

The camaraderie between exchange students is very welcome, too. Exchangers are looking to have a good time, travel, socialise, etc while the priorities of full-time students are different.  By connecting with other exchange students, the experience of a semester abroad is enhanced for exchangers coming to NUS.  

If you are looking to go on exchange and weighing your options, we hope this article made the decision easier for you 😉. And if you are coming to NUS in the coming semester, we look forward to having you on campus. Happy exchange ✈️!

Muslims around the world observe the practice of eating halal food. In Singapore, you would have come across the term halal many times before; from product labels in supermarkets to our very own NUS canteens that have a halal section for cutlery and plates. But what does the term halal really mean? And how are student experiences in NUS shaped by faith practices such as eating halal food? This week’s blog article is a deep dive into everything halal food on the NUS campus: food options, student perspectives, and insider information!

The halal sign as seen on a supermarket product.

What Is Halal Food? 

First, let’s set the stage. Halal, in the context of food, can be understood to be food or drink that is permissible for consumption in the Islamic faith. “The word halal is an Arabic word that means lawful or permissible. For example, halal food includes vegetables & fruits, and for meat, animals that are slaughtered in accordance with Islamic law,” explained Sayyid Harith (Y3, Project and Facilities Management), the current and 60th President of the NUS Muslim Society (NUSMS).  

According to Islamic teachings, alcohol, pork, and other swine products are not fit for consumption and consequently fall outside the confines of halal food. This is quite well known amongst Muslims and non-Muslims alike. What a lot of people may not be familiar with, however, is that other meats are also considered impermissible unless the animals have been slaughtered in the Islamic manner.  

So, while you may suggest that your Muslim friend eat from the chicken rice stall, they may decline if the stall is not halal-certified and hence there is no guarantee that the chicken has been slaughtered as per Islamic guidelines.  

In Singapore, Muslims have access to a wide variety of halal-certified and Muslim-owned eatery options ranging from fine dining restaurants to hawker stalls. While halal-certified means that they have obtained a halal certification from MUIS, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, Muslim-owned restaurants also prepare halal food, but are not certified. Most Muslims in Singapore (including me) are happy to eat at Muslim-owned establishments while some prefer to exercise more caution.

The Western stall at The Deck is an example of a Muslim-owned establishment. They are very popular and run out of food easily so be quick to secure your spot in the lunch queue early! 

Muslims Of NUS 

Here at NUS, we host a significant Muslim population. Some reside on campus while others commute daily. Some are undergraduates while others are postgraduate students. Some are lecturers, professors, and fellows. Many are local students while some are exchange and international students. It really is a vibrant Muslim community consisting of people from all walks of life.  

The Muslim community in NUS is diverse (Picture taken at an event held by the NUS Muslim Society).

The University Food Culture 

A lot of students, even the daily commuters, spend a good chunk of their time in school during the weekday. Their time on campus is split between attending lessons, getting a few hours of work in, catching up with friends, participating in events, and engaging in a range of co-curricular activities (CCAs). Naturally, food comes to play an important role in the story – whether it is grabbing a quick snack in between back-to-back lectures or getting supper together with friends after classes. Ask any NUS student, and they will tell you how food is a big part of the NUS student experience and culture.  

Muslim students are, of course, no different. Some of my fondest memories in university are of chatting away with my friends at Al-Amaan for hours about everything under the sun. At this point, the uncle there recognises me and will ask, “Yellam okay, ma?” which in Tamil means “Is everything [the food] alright?”.  

Halal Options On NUS Campus 

As of now, all canteens in NUS (with the exception of The Terrace located in COM 3) cater to the needs of the Muslim community with various halal and Muslim-owned stalls. Here is a list of the different halal options available on campus compiled by the NUS Muslim Society. These stalls often serve their food on green trays or use green plates and cutlery to demarcate halal food. 

Halal stalls often make use of green cutlery and/or trays (ft. my yum plate of nasi padang).

As a full-time international student in NUS, I personally find the halal options on campus to be easily accessible. Most of my classes are split between the Faculty of Science (FoS) and the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences (FASS), both of which have canteens nearby (Frontier, The Deck, and Techno Edge) that are popular among Muslim students and staff for the number of halal options they offer. The choices include Western, Nasi Padang and Chef’s Wok – to name a few of the stalls that I regularly patronise.  

Halal Food @ Prince George’s Park Residences 

However, as a resident of Prince George’s Park Residences (PGPR), accessing halal food has proved to be a little trickier. During my two years of stay in PGPR, it has only had one halal Muslim-owned stall available in the canteen. During the COVID period, while lectures and tutorials were mostly online, I had enough and more time at hand to cook in my floor’s kitchen. The one halal stall sufficed. But since life returned to normalcy, I find myself spending a lot of time on campus, returning to my room only in the evening. Without being able to cook as much, I definitely feel the growing need for the PGPR canteen to open more halal stalls. As I write this, the only halal stall we have is closed due to, from what I understand, a lack of manpower.

I try to cook as much as possible to keep expenses low and eat healthier. 

But life goes on. Since PGPR is located near to the Kent Ridge MRT station, a quick stop there before heading to class in the morning or returning to my room in the evening does the job. The Kent Ridge MRT station is a halal food galore. RedSpot if you want to eat at an all-halal traditional canteen, Stuff’d or Ordinary Burgers for wraps and burgers, Subway for healthier options, Burger King for fast food, and many more. While prices are not subsidised (unlike NUS canteens which sell at lower prices), the portions are filling and the diversity of the food portfolio caters to everyone.

A new Indian Muslim stall is opening soon adjacent to Fairprice inside the Kent Ridge MRT station. 

Friends Syed Awais (Y1, PhD in Biological Sciences) and Nasir Ahmed (Y2, PhD in Mechanical Engineering) prefer cooking in their PGPR kitchens to eating out in NUS canteens. For these two international students from Pakistan and Nepal, cooking has become a hobby. “We feel like something is missing if we don’t cook often,” chuckled Syed. They cook everything from instant noodles to elaborate chicken kormas. I’ve had a chance to taste their cooking, and I am sold!

Halal Food @ Residential Colleges & Halls 

I also wanted to hear from students who stay in Halls and Residential Colleges (RCs). These two types of hostel accommodation in NUS come with a compulsory meal plan which includes breakfast and dinner.  

 For Muhammad Hazmi (Y2, Nursing), a resident at Tembusu College, food in RC is just right. The dining hall features a Malay and Indian stall, both of which are halal. On days when he is running late for class, Hazmi likes to dabao food from the dining hall to eat later, a smart way to save money since the meal plan is compulsory.

Some of Hazmi’s meals

When Maryam Binte Aziz (Y2, Economics) was looking into residential options in NUS, she emailed the management office at Ridge View Residential College (RVRC) to ensure that halal food was available in the dining hall. Just like Tembusu, RVRC too has Malay and Indian food stalls which serve halal food. For her, the food can sometimes get a little repetitive and she hopes for more halal picks. Ayesha Chua (Y2, Psychology), another RVRC resident, shares Maryam’s sentiments. She also mentioned that the halal menu could be more diverse, particularly considering the cost of the meal plan which is the same regardless of the more limited options for Muslim students.

Ayesha (very kindly) invited me down for a meal at the RVRC dining hall and here’s what I had from the Indian stall! 

Hall meals differ slightly in that there are no stalls but instead, one halal course is offered for each meal (breakfast and lunch). “The halal food is quite good,” remarked Harith Raiyan (Y1, Mechanical Engineering), a resident of Temasek Hall. Harith, too, had enquired with seniors regarding food options before coming to Hall and came to the conclusion that Temasek Hall had the best halal food (his words, don’t come for us 😉). The variety is better than what he was expecting and he finds the meal plan to be reasonably priced.  

Halal Food @ UTown 

UTown, a student residence different from Halls and RCs, offers no meal plan. UTown is renowned amongst NUS students as a vibrant centre for student life. This is also why Tasneem Godhrawala (Y3, Psychology), a fellow international student, opted to reside in UTown. She surfed the internet, read blogs, and watched videos to find out more about halal food on campus and in Singapore and was relieved to find that locating halal food would not be a struggle.  

During our conversation, however, she brought up one concern regarding halal food on campus. “If you want to eat healthy, it is hard to find a halal place that is affordable and easily accessible,” Tasneem shared. Subway in UTown, for example, although halal-certified and healthy, is a pricier option and cannot be eaten daily. Salad outlets near campus, too, typically lack a halal-certificate and this poses a challenge for Tasneem who actively partakes in sports and likes to stay fit. 

When eating at the Subway in Kent Ridge MRT or UTown, don’t forget to ask for the 5% student discount! 

UTown halal stalls and restaurants, broadly speaking, tend to be on the higher end of pricing. However, Muslim UTowners can look forward to some promising news! The western and pasta stalls in FineFoods are currently in the process of obtaining their halal certificates. In the meantime, Muslim students and staff can dine there, as they’ve already begun using the cutlery and plates designated for halal cuisine. 

 (Psst… here’s a tip for all you biryani lovers out there. Bismillah Biryani in UTown offers a student deal where you can get a biryani plus a drink for S$6.5. Do check it out!) 

The Western Cuisine and PastaGo stalls in UTown FineFoods are slated to become halal-certified soon. 

Some Halal Food Concerns 

What are some of the challenges when it comes to halal food on the NUS campus? Numerous students I spoke to highlighted the necessity for greater diversity in the food selections available to Muslims. “I sometimes grow tired of the [halal] options,” expressed Nur Diana (Y4, Political Science). She also pointed out that while Muslims are confined to eating from halal stalls, non-Muslims can opt to eat from halal stalls, making a convincing case for introducing more halal alternatives.  

Another Muslim student, Nur Nadiah (Y4, Psychology) observed that food is differently priced across the canteens. For instance, Frontier located in FoS has more affordable halal options than The Deck located in FASS. The distance can be an added obstacle for students wishing to save money. Sayyid, the President of NUSMS, also recognised the importance of offering halal choices that are more budget-friendly, noting that the typical student budget is often S$5 or less per meal. 

Ramadan on Campus 

While food is important in our day-to-day lives, for Muslims, food plays an even more important role during the Islamic month of Ramadan. During this holy period, Muslims across the world abstain from drinking and eating from sunrise to sunset. It’s a month that is spent in worship during the day and at night. It is also a time that brings together the Muslim community. The evening iftar, which marks the breaking of the fast at sunset, is often a communal meal, becoming a means for strengthening community ties.  

The past two Ramadans fell during the NUS semester. So of course, I had to ask resident NUS Muslims what their experiences were.  

Hazmi, Ayesha and Maryam, residents of RCs, shared that their dining halls would start operation early to provide them with suhoor, the pre-dawn meal consumed by Muslims before beginning their fast. Additionally, in Tembusu, residents were provided with frozen ready-to-eat meals that they could take away the night before and just heat up in their floor’s pantry in the morning. Since iftar time coincided with dinner time, residents would eat from the dining hall as per usual to break their fasts. 

Meanwhile, over at PGPR, Ramadan was welcomed excitedly. A group of Muslim students, hailing from various countries, came together and broke their fast together on many days.  “It felt like family, you know. I felt super blessed to be able to host people and introduce different cultural foods to others,” said Aisha Noreen (Y1, PhD in Medicine), an international student from Pakistan. She added, “I never imagined meeting such a warm Muslim community in PGPR. Most of us didn’t know each other before Ramadan.” 

A delicious serving of Bangladeshi food from an iftar hosted by my friends Maliha and Saadman in PGPR. 

As a resident of PGPR, I was there too. Whether sitting on the floor (because there were too many of us to fit on the table) or in the lounges of PGPR while breaking our fast, conversations flew around. Some warm and friendly, and some heated and passionate. Definitely a Ramadan to remember.

Here’s me helping out Aisha as she prepares to host some guests for iftar.

Syed and Nasir, international PhD students, would also drop by mosques nearby like Tentera Diraja, Hussain Sulaiman, and Darussalam to break their fasts as mosques in Singapore offer iftar meals to everyone. Breaking their fast at mosques and then joining congregational prayers at the mosque itself is convenient for most Muslim students, after a long day of classes and fasting.

An iftar meal at the Hussain Sulaiman Mosque near NUS Business School.

A great initiative taken during Ramadan to accommodate for Muslims students’ needs is the pre-ordering of food available at Chef’s Wok in the Frontier canteen. While the stall usually closes by the time of iftar, students are able to pre-order food for iftar and self-collect it from the stall by 6:30 pm. Do keep an eye out for this when the next Ramadan comes around and you need a quick, filling, not-too-heavy-on-the-wallet fix for iftar! 

A Mini Halal Food Guide 

I have covered much ground on halal food and related experiences in this article. I hope I haven’t lost you. Almost there, I promise.  

While interviewing the many Muslims who were featured in this article, I asked them to recommend one dish from the eateries on campus. Here’s a mini halal food guide for you and your friends to work through over the semester:

1. Mala Beef Fried Rice (Hong Kong Cafe – Techno Edge) 
2. Spring Rolls (Pham Quyen Vietnamese Cuisine – Clementi Supper Stretch) 
3. Nasi Goreng Kampong (Al-Amaan – Clementi Supper Stretch) 
4. Prawn Hokkien Mee (Chef’s Wok – Frontier) 
5. Black Pepper Chicken Hor Fun (Chef’s Wok – Frontier) 
6. Fish n Chips (Western – The Deck) 
7. Nasi Padang (Muslim – Techno Edge) 
8. Biryani (Bismillah Biryani – UTown) 
9. Ayam Penyet (Uncle Penyet – Frontier Aircon) 
10. Fried Chicken Garlic Rice with Mentaiko Sauce (Western Cuisine – FineFoods) 

Known colloquially amongst NUS students as “supper stretch”, this row of restaurants along Clementi Road is a popular supper spot that is open well past midnight and has multiple halal options to choose from.  

Closing Thoughts… 

As evident across this article, the Muslim experience is heterogenous owing to the diversity within the community itself. The case of halal food is no different. If you are reading this, I hope this article has given you a broader perspective on the halal food scene in NUS, and through that, offered a glimpse into the everyday experiences of Muslims around you on campus. As a leading university in the world and Asia, I anticipate a future for NUS that is both inclusive and understanding. And I hope you will join along! 

(Psst… while you are here, here’s a reminder to order food through the NUSmart Dining App. Canteen queues can be ginormous during peak hours and ordering through the app is a smart way to skip the queues.) 

From weeding to watering, there is a job for everyone at community gardens. These green patches set in urban environments, sometimes small and sometimes big, are bringing resident communities across the world local produce, emotional wellbeing and a revitalised connection to nature.  

While the origins of community gardening can be traced back to the 18th and 19th centuries in Europe, urban gardening is relatively new to Singapore. The 1967 “Garden City” movement and the more recent “Community In Bloom” initiative (2005) by the National Parks Board (NParks) have played an important role in encouraging Singaporeans to get their gardening shovels and watering cans out. More recently, Singaporean youth have become increasingly involved in greening efforts as they become pioneering voices in sustainability and climate change related issues.  

Our resident community here at NUS, too, has been getting its hands dirty at the numerous community garden spaces on campus. While some gardens are well established and some are brand new, both come with their own sets of hurdles and rewarding learning experiences. 

Setting up a new community garden can indeed be challenging. “There are a lot of ups and downs,” shared Mr. Yuzuru Hamasaki, a Japanese Language lecturer at NUS and a resident fellow at Prince George’s Park Residences (PGPR). When he joined PGPR the previous year, Mr. Hamasaki took charge of setting up a community garden there. After setting up a Green Committee consisting of resident students, Mr. Hamasaki and his team began brainstorming design ideas for the gardening space they were allotted. 

Community gardens, as the name suggests, are community-oriented and should deeply involve the community to be successful and sustainable in the long run. Understanding this, the team then sent out a survey to PGPR residents asking them what sort of plants they would like to see in the upcoming garden. Once the garden’s design and plants were confirmed, the team got busy with placing orders and assembling items.  

The new PGPR community garden at Block 10, Level 1 balcony

But the work didn’t end there. Currently, the committee is busy experimenting with their plants and gardening techniques. The garden (now named The Green Corner @ PGP by PGPR residents after a garden naming contest) includes a hydroponics and aeroponics section alongside traditional soil gardening. The Green Committee has been learning what works and what doesn’t work in the Singaporean tropical climate through lots of trial and error. “We’ve killed quite a few plants,” chuckled Mr. Hamasaki during our interview.   

But the excitement of seeing plants that you have cared for grow successfully is unparalleled. It’s all worth it when you can see that “the plant has made it!” remarked Ayushi Marwah (Y3, Economics), an international student residing in PGPR and a member of the Green Committee. Jai Lal Lulla (Y4, Computer Science) and Atin Sakkeer Hussain (Y4, Computer Science), international students also part of the committee, described their time working at the PGPR garden as relaxing and fulfilling.  

These students have been incorporating knowledge gained from watching family members grow herbs and edibles back home, into the new garden at PGPR. For Mr. Hamasaki, Ayushi, Atin, Jai and the other committee members, the community garden has been a safe space to grow and learn from each other. Communication in community gardens is a two-way street and collaboration is key.  

PGPR residents can look forward to joining the interest group “Green Team” once the new academic year starts. The garden, located at the Block 10 balcony, is now open to residents, so feel free to drop by when you need a break after a long day! 

 See here for a short clip of the Green Committee carrying out an indoor aeroponics trial. 

Other community gardens have been around for a while. Residents at Raffles Hall (RH), for example, have been gardening on two plots for some years now. Over the years, the RH Green Committee has cultivated a wide variety of plants from sugarcane (yes, sugarcane!) to chillis to bananas. “Our seniors once used pandan from our garden to cook the broth for tang yuan dumplings,” shared Ng Chuan Xin (Y2, Computer Science), head of gardening at Raffles Hall.  

A major factor in determining a plant’s success seems to be the oh-so-hotly-discussed Singaporean climate – sometimes hot and humid, and at other times rainy. Some plants such as lavender, unfortunately did not survive the humidity, while others, such as the butterfly pea flower, are thriving in the RH gardens.  

Student involvement and enthusiasm have been crucial in ensuring the garden’s continuity. During the academic year, Green Committee members take weekly shifts maintaining the plots. There are unofficial members who are simply interested in gardening joining the regular gardeners, too. Some dedicated students even come down during the semester breaks to do some upkeep work.

Big smiles after a rewarding day at the RH community garden

When asked why she thinks community garden spaces are important on university campuses, Goh Ler Xuan (Y2, Computer Science), the current head of RH Green Committee observed, “Community gardening is a great chance to bond with each other and get to know the nature [around].” 

Check out more photos of the RH community garden on their website here. 

We also reached out to Ridge View Residential College (RVRC), to hear about their community garden spread over three plots. RVRC, the only residential college located outside UTown and within the Kent Ridge campus, calls itself the “College in Nature” and places a large emphasis on sustainability. As such, their community gardening initiative, headed by the RV Green Rangers interest group, was initiated some years ago with a focus on food sustainability and farming edibles.  

Since last year, they’ve been focusing on three aspects: gardening for food, gardening for wildlife and gardening for physical & emotional wellbeing. Gardening for food involves growing edible food. Gardening for wildlife aims to attract wildlife such as birds and butterflies. Gardening for physical & emotional wellbeing acknowledges the immense health benefits that come with being in touch with nature.  

During our interview with Ms. Patricia Lorenz – an RVRC fellow, nature enthusiast and advisor to the RV Green Rangers – many gardening gems were dropped generously. If you are a new gardener or thinking of taking up gardening, get your notebook ready!  

Challenge: A challenge of gardening edibles in Singapore is the lack of healthy topsoil in Singapore. Topsoil, the upper most layer of soil, contains the most organic material and nutrients, making it important for gardening and farming. While one may be led to believe that a green city that was once dense forest such as Singapore would have an abundance of healthy topsoil, that does not seem to be the case. Tropical forests, interestingly, have thin and poor topsoil. Where do trees then gather nutrients from? The leaf litter. And on cleared land, leaf litter is no longer present and so the topsoil is quickly depleted. How can we grow edibles on such land? 

Solution: This is where raised beds come in. By building raised beds, it’s possible to segregate an area of rich soil and mulch to plant edibles in. While wooden planks can also be used to create the enclosure, in Singapore they decay quickly and red bricks are a smarter option. RVRC hopes to install a raised bed this coming academic year and we can’t wait! 

An example of a raised bed (Source: trulyhandpicked.com)

Challenge: Wildlife gardening can be exciting and new terrain for many. One increasingly popular concept is that of butterfly gardens. However, planting just flowering plants is not enough to attract these beautiful insects. How do you create a successful butterfly garden? 

Solution: Butterfly gardens require both host plants and food plants. Host plants are the plants caterpillars feed on, whereas food plants are what adult butterflies feed on. Many gardeners will fill up their butterfly gardens with flowering plants (food plants), forgetting that to attract butterflies, you need host plants too. Different butterfly species feed exclusively on specific host plants and this is important to take note of too.

A baby Asian toad found while gardening at the RVRC community garden

Challenge: Growing up in HDB apartments, most Singaporeans are unfamiliar with touching dirt and soil. In our society, soil is often portrayed as being unhygienic and dangerous. Think of all the TV ads you saw growing up where children came home with stain marks from playing outside and the detergent washed off 99% of the germs. This mentality poses a barrier to getting students involved with gardening initially. There is also a fear of failure and reluctance that stems from little-know how on gardening.  

Solution: The solution is to educate ourselves. Working with soil results in Earthing: a process by which your bodily charges are neutralised. Being in touch with nature is incredibly healing and an instant mood up-lifter. Many of us today are hugely disconnected from nature, and community gardens are powerful spaces that help to bridge that gap. Since last year, RVRC has been implementing a tree planting session in their Freshmen Orientation Programme, giving all incoming RVRC students a taste of what it’s like to work with soil. 

A lot of community gardens in NUS are geared towards student communities residing on campus. But certainly, our staff deserve some respite too! NUS Medicine recently inaugurated a community garden in the MD11 block for academic, executive and administrative staff to come together.  

Their garden consists of three sections: the Marketplace, Kampong Memories and Wild Forest. The Marketplace holds plants that are commonly seen in the market that most Singaporeans are familiar with, like the laksa leaf. The Kampong Memories section takes us back to the good old days by growing plants that were commonly eaten in the kampong, such as ulam raja. The Wild Forest section is perhaps the most intriguing. It hosts plants that are commonly seen growing outside but many people are not aware of their edibility, like senduduk. 

The Medicine garden is part of a larger initiative to make the campus space greener while also providing a healthy space for the Medicine community to build personal relationships outside of work. Ms. Revathy, a staff member who is overlooking the garden project, hopes that the community garden becomes a place to “thought-share”, sharing ideas across disciplines and personal interests. We hope so too!

The NUS Medicine garden provides a green break after a long day of cognitive fatigue

Phew! We’ve done so much gardening talk. All we see is green. Community gardening is a creative avenue to build social cohesion and lay the foundations for a stronger connection with nature. With the industrialisation of food production, most of us are removed from how our food is produced. And it is costing the planet. A lot. And fast.  

Some things may change if people become closer to nature and experience its magic for themselves. We’ll leave you with what Ms. Lorenz told us, “Growing food is an added advantage. But really, the biggest gain is the connection to the food that we eat and the emotional wellbeing.” And we couldn’t agree more.