Urban Farming in our schools

FOOD for Thought Since the early years of Singapore’s history, Singapore has been heavily dependent on food imports to meet our needs. Did you know that schools were growing food crops during the Japanese Occupation (1942-1945)? As a result of the war, there was a shortage of food and hardly any food import. The Japanese implemented the “Grow More Food” campaign, as a means of encouraging self-sufficiency in food supply. Every piece of available land was used for the growing of food crops and everyone was involved. Schools turned available land including football fields into vegetable plots and “Farming” became part of the school curriculum. After the war, many schools continued to encourage teachers and students to engage in food cultivation as part of Science learning as well as for learning values like resilience and cooperation. In 1976, when the “Use Your Hands” campaign was introduced in schools to promote respect for manual work, schools with vegetable plots integrated their farming activities into their school programmes. Today, Singapore continues to depend on other countries for its food supply. It is interesting to note that without a top-down order or “campaign”, entrepreneurs and individuals have explored and used innovative hitech farming and simple urban farming techniques to promote food crop self-sufficiency. Local farms, organisations, schools and individuals are increasingly taking up “urban farming”. Within our densely urbanized landscape, besides commercial farms on roof-tops of buildings and other unused spaces, there are community “farms” in heartlands and schools. There is a growing interest in the cultivation of vegetables, fruits and herbs in and around workplaces, schools and homes. In this booklet, we have compiled examples of how some of our schools are engaging themselves in growing their own edible gardens. Besides the lesson of self-sufficiency, schools use the farming experiences to teach National Education, life skills and values.

The MOE Heritage Centre would like to thank all the schools who have contributed to the stories in this booklet. Cover graphic adapted from freepik.com

Content Boon Lay Garden Primary School 2

Balestier Hill Secondary School

20

Cedar Primary School

4

Bendemeer Secondary School

22

Maha Bodhi School

6

Commonwealth Secondary School 24

Nanyang Primary School

8

Junyuan Secondary School

26

South View Primary School

10

Mayflower Secondary School

28

St Anthony’s Primary School

12

Spectra Secondary School

30

Tampines Primary School

13 Urban Farming @ MOEHC

33

Tampines North Primary School 14 Telok Kurau Primary School

15

West Spring Primary School

16

West View Primary School

18

Yishun Primary School

19

Primary Schools

Boon Lay Garden Primary School

The vertical garden serves as an organised outdoor classroom. Pupils learn how innovative technology is helping Singapore to overcome national issues such as land constraint. They also engage in Science learning by understanding how the use of innovative technology can help to reduce thermal temperature and ensure food sustainability. Moreover, they learn how technology can be used to enable the growth of plants on walls and how the water used to water the plants can be reused and recycled for the aquatic plants in the planter boxes. Pupils are provided with authentic multi-sensory learning opportunities as they get to see close-ups of the ornamental plants, herbs and spices such as laksa leaves, mint leaves, basil leaves and chilli padi; the structure that holds the plants vertically upright; the automated irrigation system; and also smelling the aroma of the herbs/spices.

The school’s Art, Culture and Environment Club (ACE club) members have adopted the vertical garden. They prune and harvest the herbs and spices weekly. They plan to expand the cultivation of the herbs and spices so that future yields can be sold to raise funds for the school’s needy pupils. As part of the school’s journey to raise awareness of environment sustainability, the school is partnering the Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC) to engage the pupils in an educational outreach programme. Pupils will gain a deeper understanding of the green building concepts and be familiar with the key principles of green building design.

3

Cedar Primary School The school has been carrying out urban farming for many years now. It has experimented with many crops such as rice and pumpkin and fruit trees like chiku, jackfruit and avocado. Most of the harvest is shared with the school staff as part of staff welfare or donated to the neighbouring St John’s Home for the Elderly. In the “Cedar Cares!” project, our Primary 3 pupils planted some vegetables and Japanese pumpkins. They harvested all of these organically grown leafy vegetables and sent them to the St John’s Home for the Elderly. In just about three weeks, they managed to harvest three bags full of leafy vegetables. Through the Primary 3 Community Gardening Project, the school aims to instil in young Cedarians the awareness of the need to contribute to the community and a sense of affiliation or belonging to the community and nation. They learn about the need for action to take care of our environment and to do meaningful work for our community.

5

Maha Bodhi School “Let’s Grow Together!” is the school’s Values in Action (VIA) project for Primary 4 pupils. This project is integrated with the Science department’s programme on the cultivation of vegetables through hydroponics. It exposes the pupils to an alternative method of growing plants without soil. The school has set up a Hydroponics Greenhouse, which makes use of solar panels to generate electricity to power the circulation of the nutrient solution. The project engages the pupils in authentic experiences and constructive reflections on their thoughts, decisions and actions. During Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) lessons, pupils are taught the importance of a proper diet, particularly one consisting of vegetables for the elderly. They are then empowered to express through their actions how they can do their part in caring for the elderly and providing them with the vegetables required in their diet. The school has adopted three nursing homes, namely, Jamiyah Home for the Aged, Bright Hill Evergreen Home and St Theresa’s Home. Some of the harvested vegetables are contributed to these homes.

Each class is allocated two cultivation beds, each measuring 4.5 m by 1.2 m. Pupils grow vegetables for the elderly in one bed and for themselves in the other. The pupils have to take into consideration the needs of the elderly when deciding on the type of vegetables to grow for them. They often choose to grow chye sim and Chinese spinach (bayam) for the elderly as they understand that kangkong and Chinese cabbage may be too ‘cooling’ for them. In the learning of Science, pupils observe the growth and development of the plants in the hydroponics system and also note the effects of different amounts of nutrients on the plants. In addition, they learn that the systems do not need pesticides and thus the process is eco-friendly. They also learn about solar panels and how they can be harnessed to power the hydroponics system. The pupils are involved hands-on from the transplanting of seedlings onto the culture boards right up to the harvesting of the crops. They find this learning experience enjoyable and enriching. The school wants to motivate pupils to eat more vegetables and have a healthy diet by getting them to take home their own harvested crops. Through this programme, the school also hopes to create the awareness in pupils that plants can be grown anywhere. The programme also imbues the pupils with National Education values, specifically that they must learn to be self-reliant and find possibilities to grow food in land-scarce Singapore. 7

Nanyang Primary School Nanyang Primary School has had a hydroponics farm since 2004. It was first managed by some teachers and some prefects who were roped into the Green Committee. In 2008, the farm was moved from the old campus to the Level 6 rooftop garden in the main building of the new campus. The Green Club was set up and members were recruited. These were pupils who generally loved nature and would not mind getting their hands dirty. Since then, many transplanting and harvesting sessions have been going on year after year. There are at least five harvests a year with at least 60 packets of vegetables in every harvest. Vegetables grown include chye sim, round head spinach/bayam, kangkong and butterhead lettuce. Some vegetables take three weeks while some take one month to grow to maturity.

Pupils are first taught the skills of transplanting, harvesting, packaging, marketing and sales by teachers. They learn practical skills through experience and then handhold the juniors before they graduate. Before the day of harvest, emails are sent out to teachers for placing orders of the vegetables. Pupils harvest the vegetables and they pack them nicely in plastic bags, send orders to teachers’ tables, and sell the remaining packets of vegetables to the office staff and teachers and sometimes to parents. If butterhead lettuce is harvested, the club will do an annual salad sale. Orders are taken from teachers who like salads. The Green Club members will then prepare the salads which include the harvested butterhead lettuce and place them on the teachers’ tables. After every harvest, some pupils will stay behind at the farm to wash the farm and prepare for the next transplant. Pupils take turns to learn the ropes. 8

In 2011, the school decided to set up another farm near the hydroponics farm: The Green House. This farm is a totally different concept from the hydroponics farm. Organic soil and fertilizer farming are used in the Green House which is enclosed and has a timed watering system. The teachers and pupils started off with growing special-grade honeydews. Since then, they have tried growing vegetables like ladies’ fingers, corn, cherry tomato, eggplant and radish. Pupils are involved in sprouting the seeds while the teachers are in charge of pollination. Teachers take turns to pollinate the plants once the flowers appear. Harvesting is done by either teachers or pupils. Unlike the hydroponics vegetables, these vegetables are not mass-produced. Hence only some are sold while the rest are consumed by Green Club teachers and pupils. Besides the hydroponic farm and the Green House, some soil pots were also placed near the Green House in the same rooftop garden three years ago. These soil pots are used for growing vegetables and sometimes sunflowers. They are grown in the open and pollinated by natural pollinators.

South View Primary School

The School Garden is a rich teaching resource and learning tool. Elements of National Education are embedded in its conceptualisation. The garden depicts our pioneers’ attitude towards life - unwavering, adventurous and daring to take risks. In order to raise awareness of National Education, posters are put up along strategic locations along the walkway to show how our past is relevant to our present and future. The hanging garden models how Singaporeans flexibly adapt and creatively utilise our limited space and resources. In a world where environmental efforts are vital to our future survival, the school’s vegetable garden is a timely food resource and a good ground to hone and cultivate in pupils the spirit of independence. The materials and care for the garden also help to promote environmental awareness and resource conservation. The teachers teach pupils explicitly and get ideas from them as to how recycled items can be used in the garden. So one can see plastic water containers and discarded plant parts, like the pong pong fruit, being used to grow plants.

11

St Anthony’s Primary School

In St Anthony’s Primary School, the school works with parents to cultivate edible crops in the school garden. Rainwater is used to irrigate the garden and organic farming techniques are adopted. The fruits of labour are shared with the pupils, teachers and parents. The parent volunteers organise outreach sessions to teach staff and pupils more about the edible plants such as maize, sugar cane, tapioca and others that are found in the school garden.

12

Tampines Primary School

Primary 3 pupils in Tampines Primary School are introduced to the concept of hydroponics where vegetables are grown in a closed controlled environment. Pupils learn that as land is scarce in Singapore, there is a need to explore innovative solutions that are not too land or soil dependent. Through the school’s project, pupils learn that vegetables can be grown without soil through the process of dynamic root floating (DRF), a technique used in hydroponics. Pupils carry out hands-on sessions on transplanting of seedlings, monitoring of their growth and progress and harvesting of plants under the guidance of the teachers. The hydroponics lessons are also aligned to the Science curriculum when pupils learn the topic on life cycle of plants. This urban farming activity provides an authentic and a vibrant learning experience for the pupils, making learning meaningful for them.

Tampines North Primary School

Urban farming at Tampines North Primary School takes the form of ‘Mini farming’. The school set up a Green Food Garden in 2012. To develop an appreciation of nature and respect for the environment, Primary Two pupils grow vegetables such as kangkong and ladies’ fingers and care for them through their PAL Outdoor Education module. Farming activity is also incorporated in the planned activities of the school’s ECO Club. Teachers and pupils plant vegetables such as lettuce, chye sim, xiao bai cai, nai bai and long beans, and carry out routine duties such as watering, weeding and adding fertilizers. The school also garners the support of its stakeholders in its urban farming effort. The fruit stallholder contributes fruit peels daily as raw materials to be added to the compost station in the backyard while the Parent Support Group formed a Gardening Interest Group that consists of passionate Parent Volunteers. They tend to the Green Food Garden regularly on Saturdays in activities which include tilling soil in preparation for vegetable cultivation and helping to plant the seedlings. It is often a bonding session for parent and child. At Tampines North Primary School, everyone plays a part in urban farming. Rain or shine, nothing beats the willing hearts and the love for a greener and more sustainable environment. 14

Telok Kurau Primary School Telok Kurau Primary School believes in optimally using its physical resources and learning spaces to benefit teaching and learning. As part of the school’s effort to promote experiential learning, a rooftop organic farm was set up at the area above the hall to facilitate authentic farming and Science learning for pupils. Besides learning about agriculture when planting and harvesting crops in the vegetable farm, pupils will also have the opportunity of contributing to the community through distribution of the harvest to the needy. Since 2014, through collaboration of the Science and CCE departments, the Primary 4 pupils had been engaged in rooftop organic vegetable farming as their Values-In-Action (VIA) project. Before hands-on farming, all pupils would complete a school customised booklet that discusses Singapore’s green history, and they learn about the plant species they would be planting. They would then plant the crops, harvest and pack the vegetables. Some will be donated to THK Bedok Radiance for distribution to the elderly in homes. Some will be sold to staff and all proceeds would go to the school’s fund for financially needy pupils. Besides the pupils, the environment committee teachers, CCE and MT teachers have also contributed to the farm, from co-planning the planting schedule to the physical assistance of farming. Parent volunteers also help with the farming and harvesting process, alongside Green Ambassadors, CCA groups and Primary 6 pupils as part of their post-PSLE activity. With everyone’s help in the weeding process, the farm has been able to produce healthy crops! • Peanuts were packed and distributed to staff • Donations collected were used for the Financial Assistant Scheme (FAS)

Harvesting peanuts!

West Spring Primary School

LIFE which stands for “Leading an Invigorating Fruitful Experience” started last year when 209 pupils took turns to plant different types of vegetables in the school’s garden. The plot is now home to sweet potatoes, corn, peanuts and other vegetables. The programme was started with the intention of building in the pupils a sense of belonging to the school, their second home, through owning a plot of land. This direct “real life” experience also lends itself aptly to teaching the pupils about self-sufficiency and that we must find our own way to survive and prosper, and turn what we have into opportunities. LIFE focuses particularly on food and farming, and, through having pupils experience the natural environment, encourages them to take responsibility for its care and protection. LIFE adds value to classroom learning. It supports the development of key life skills such as problem-solving, co-operation and communication and offers the pupils opportunities for creativity, challenge and adventure.

Primary 1 pupils planted new sweet potato crops while the Primary 2 pupils harvested the crops that they planted late last year. Upon harvesting, sweet potatoes were given to the canteen vendor. The sweet potatoes were steamed for the pupils to sample during recess. Pupils learned that such simple food comes from hard work and that they should always put in their best in order to enjoy the fruits of their labour. At the same time, they also understand that they should not waste food or be choosy about food. Sweet potatoes have added historical significance as our forefathers ate them when food was scarce and the sweet potatoes are nutritious and filling. Both the British and Japanese authorities also encouraged the population to grow their own food if they had even the smallest amount of land. LIFE provides the opportunity for the pupils to gain a better understanding of how our forefathers had lived. The pioneering spirit within our

Beyond the commemoration of Total Defence Day, plots of land are set aside for all classes. Classes are rostered daily to plant, grow and harvest edilble crops during recess. Students will then get to enjoy their fruits of labour after they are harvested.

17

West View Primary School Vertical farming is an innovative yet environment-friendly solution to grow plants. A component of urban agriculture, vertical farming is the practice of cultivating plant life within a skyscraper greenhouse or on vertically inclined surfaces. In West View Primary School, vertical farming is initiated by the Science department and maintained by the Green Club members as part of its CCA activities. This vertical farming concept benefits these pupils as they are enthused about investigating, exploring and learning about plants in terms of their parts, functions and characteristics. Besides allowing Green Club members to have hands-on planting sessions, the vertical wall brings Science lessons ‘alive’ into the classroom. In addition, it is also an excellent solution to solve the issue of space constraint in the school as the plants are now grown vertically on the green wall instead of any flat piece of land. At the same time, its aesthetically appealing appearance is certainly an eye-catcher to onlookers.

Yishun Primary School The vegetable garden at Yishun Primary School is rich in vegetable produce and herbs. Pond water is used for watering the vegetables. Solar energy is also used to generate the power needed for the garden.

19

Secondary Schools

Balestier Hill Secondary School Environment Education is a niche programme in Balestier Hill Secondary School. It is part of the overall Applied Learning Programme in Man and the Environment. Inculcating sustainable usage of resources through the 3Rs is the cornerstone. The need to reduce solid waste is an urgent matter in land-scarce Singapore. Instruction on reduction of solid waste through composting is one way. A NParks officer demonstrated the rudiments of composting to the Balestierians. This was followed by a mini composting project to reduce raw food waste from the canteen and the Home Economics kitchen. There were two approaches to composting. A circular composting pit was dug on a slope next to the classroom block. Several young banana trees were planted round the rim of the pit. More vegetable scraps and egg shells from the canteen were added weekly. The second approach was to layer alternate green and dried leaves on a wooden pellet. Keeping the composting heap damp was important for speeding up the process.

The slopes of the hill on which the school was constructed open up the possibility of growing some tropical fruit trees that can survive even with occasional dry spells. Our Environment Leaders and Champions help out with watering the plants especially in the initial stage of planting and during dry spells, as well as weeding and adding bone meal as fertilisers. The self-made compost was also used to help plant growth. Experiential learning through the work carried out in processes such as composting helps students relate theory learnt in classroom to real life application. For example, crushing egg shells creates more surfaces for decomposers to act on to speed up the breaking down process and crushed shells break up the cup-like structure of eggs to reduce chances of rain water ponding to ensure zero incidents of mosquito breeding. The occasional harvesting benefitted the students. The workers who carry out building maintenance in school were also given the opportunity to participate during their break time. These workers created three vegetable plots on terraces. Vegetable farming, being more labour intensive, was done by these workers. Tropical fruits like papaya, pineapple, bananas, jackfruit and moringa i.e. ‘drumsticks‘ used in Indian cuisine were also grown on the slopes. Sweet potato leaves, lemon grass, yam and passion fruit climbers were added. 21

Bendemeer Secondary School The Organic Farming Project allows students to grow greens to beautify the school environment. In addition, vertical farming is incorporated to help students appreciate the possibilities of farming in land-scarce Singapore. Different types of plants, vegetables and herbs are planted. The harvest is used to give back to the school community. To help students appreciate farming better, the theory of compost-making is taught to the students. A local green farm visit was arranged so that students could relate better to how green planting is done in Singapore.

Teamwork in preparing the soil

Learning how to plant, with recycled materials too!

Bringing the plants to their new home

Caring for our plants

Our plants grew!

23

Commonwealth Secondary School Recent innovations in the high-technology farming sector (e.g. using UV light to grow crops indoors) and the increasing pressure for countries to be self-sufficient in terms of food as total global population grows, suggest that more can be done to promote the growing of food crops in urban settings. In the effort to extend the learning from Home Economics lessons and to adopt a farm-to-table philosophy in food preparation, the school invested in setting up an Urban Agriculture garden and Sustainable Lifestyle, Advocacy and Management (SLAM) Club. The club started with setting up a small plot from which simple staples (e.g. sweet potatoes) and herbs can be harvested for use in cookery lessons. Urban agriculture allows students to experience food in a more complete manner than just seeing it as a commodity to be picked up from a supermarket shelf. Working on the garden is truly Character Education in Action as students learn about the environment, sustainability, hard work and respect for all professions. Mdm Vineeta SLAM Club Teacher-in-Charge

Urban farming was more challenging than I thought it would be. Working under the blazing sun to create a proper garden from scratch was extremely exhausting. I realised how easily I took food for granted and how tiring it is to manage a small plot of land. In addition to this, we tried to develop innovative ideas to improve the state of farming in Singapore, in order to support the growing population. It was the perfect opportunity to bond with friends and teachers without having any modern day distractions. This journey that I went through is an experience that I will never forget.

Growing our own edible crops was very tiring, time consuming and needed a lot of hard-work and physical strength. From farming I learnt that food does not come easily, a lot of time and work is needed for food crops to grow and flourish. We had to prepare the land by using a changkol to loosen the soil, fertilise the soil and water the plants on a regular basis. We encountered many butterflies, earthworms, centipedes and other organisms that are an unseen but important part of the food ecosystem. From this experience, I learned that the food we eat does not drop from the sky but it is grown with sweat and hard work.

Syarifah Adzhani 4N SLAM Club Vice- President

Jiang Qiurong 4O SLAM Club Member 25

Junyuan Secondary School Herb Garden @ JYSS aims to provide an authentic learning experience for students in the subject disciplines of Science and Food & Nutrition. Besides increasing the greenery areas within the school compound, the Herb Garden instils in students the values of responsibility and resilience by empowering them with ownership of the garden plots. Common Asian herbs such as lime, kaffir lime, lemongrass, chilli, curry and lemon basil are planted. The garden is managed by students who stay back every fortnight to harvest the produce from the garden, as well as trim the plants and maintain the state of the garden. Through caring for the plants, the student gardeners are able to live the values of resilience and responsibility. Students from the Science Inno Club also conducted research on the anti-microbial properties found in these herbs as their Sembcorp Green Wave Challenge 2014 project. Through their research, they found that pandan leaves contain chemicals that can be used as cockroach deterrents.

Besides the Herb Garden, the school promotes the Sky Rise Greening Concept. The average temperature in Singapore has been rising due to urbanization and global warming. The school’s response to this is to strategically plant climbers along the linking walkway as well as outside Science laboratories to shield users from the glaring light and intense heat as they walk past. Plants are also placed at the CCE atrium to provide a cooling environment while students are doing their self-study and consultations.

27

Mayflower Secondary School John Gardner, an educator, once said: All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants. It is in this spirit that teachers from Mayflower Secondary School decided to encourage students to take up the challenge of growing a herb and spice garden in an abandoned science garden plot. From the start, the students showed great enthusiasm even when faced with challenges. They had never tilled the ground before and they did not know how to hold a changkol or how to use it correctly. Fortunately, an elderly uncle who was part of the school cleaning team was at hand to show the young students how to break up the soil and prepare the garden bed to transplant the plants.

This is how you use the changkol!

Get down and dirty to grow your garden!

Once the herbs and spices were planted, they encountered another challenge. During the long Youth Day weekend, the students were worried that the plants would not have enough water as there would not be anyone in the school to water the plants. After a brainstorming session, they came up with this simple solution. They placed several recycled water bottles at a particular angle so that a constant supply of water would drip into the plant bed.

Soon, they were able to gather a small harvest of ladies’ fingers and lime. A small harvest but a rich, meaningful experience! Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant. -Robert Louis Stevenson

29

Spectra Secondary School Then... farmers in the early 60s and 70s worked hard to put food on the table. They eked out a living peddling their farm’s produce with great resilience because they believed that no one owed them a living. Today... Secondary 1 ‘urban farmers’ of Spectra Secondary School uphold the same mantra, No one owes us a living. We work hard to put food on the table as they toil in the school’s Edible Learning Garden during their weekly Garden-Based Service Learning (GBSL) lessons. The 10-week values-driven GBSL curriculum utilises the garden as a teaching tool for students to learn knowledge, skills, values and attitude through hands-on practice oriented experiences in the garden. In the process, students cultivate the school values of RESPECT, RESPONSIBILITY and RESILIENCE.

The GBSL module concludes with the students organizing a Farmers’ Market bazaar to sell their self-grown produce to raise funds for needy students. Other than selling produce such as ladies’ fingers, long beans, eggplants, kangkong, mustard, spinach, chillies and lemongrass, the students prepare different types of teas from the herbs in the garden for sale. This is an exciting event during which the various stakeholders all play a part. The parents and teachers support the students’ efforts by making purchases.

30

Through various gardening experiences, students learn the value of responsibility and working hard to earn what they want in life. They understand empathy for the less fortunate. And more importantly, they learn the meaning of being resilient when the going gets tough. They also learn the importance of respecting those who have worked hard to provide them with food, in particular their parents, as they enjoy the produce they get to take home for their dinner table. It is hoped that such values are caught and be translated into a skill for life in the future.

The Garden The main purpose of the Spectra Edible Learning Garden is to support a values-driven Garden-Based Service Learning (GBSL) curriculum. It is located on the rooftop of a four-storey teaching block. The concept of a rooftop garden in the school started as an idea years before the current school compound was built in 2013. This idea eventually materialized and today the 180 square meters of garden space is enjoyed by the students, teachers, and visitors alike.

The Edible Learning Garden is soil-based and the growing methods are based on organic and natural farming principles. No chemical fertilizers or pesticides are being used in the garden. The plants are safe for everyone to touch and taste. Techniques like mulching and application of compost are applied to maintain soil fertility. The Edible Learning Garden uses an extensive trellis/pergola system to increase growing space. Passion fruit, cucumber, luffa, bitter gourd, and various beans climb and sprawl above the concrete pathways. Other than increasing yield in an otherwise limited space, they help to shade the gardeners working beneath. The Edible Learning Garden is home to over 70 varieties of plants, most of which are edible. They include fruit trees, medicinal plants, culinary herbs, leafy vegetables, root vegetables, climbers and more. The wide variety of edibles enables the concept “from garden to kitchen to dining table” to become a reality. The different plants attract a wide range of birds and insects. One will hear birds chirping and bees buzzing. Some of the insects spotted include ladybirds, grasshoppers, butterflies, moths, honeybees, carpenter bees, caterpillars, beetles, and ants. Composting, rainwater harvesting, auto-irrigation, upcycling, seedsaving and nursery are methods used to increase the sustainability of the garden. In the pipeline are more greening activities. Through a whole school approach, plastic drink bottles from the canteen would be collected, and re-modelled to be installed as vertical farming structures or garden furniture. It is hoped that this process of collective effort would help to deepen Spectrans’ commitment towards resource conservation – cementing the spirit of the school’s motto ‘TOGETHER WE CAN’.

32

Urban Farming @ MOE Heritage Centre

MOE Heritage Centre has started our very own urban farming project this year as part of our new outdoor trail which takes visitors from the past to the present. Past: In our vegetable garden (top) you can see a live artefact of a vegetable garden with examples of fruits and vegetables grown during the Japanese Occupation.

Present: We have a terraced garden (top left), a step garden (top right) and herb garden (bottom left) to showcase how space can be optimized to grow edible greens and herbs. All are welcome to visit our galleries and gardens! For visiting information: moeheritagecentre.sg | 6838 1614

Compiled by MOE Heritage Centre (2015) for internal circulation only