My Edible Garden

Questions and Answers

1. How can others live a greener life in our small space?

1 decrease carbon footprint - by taking more public transport instead of private transport (taxi & car etc)

2 live in “eco-smart towns” which embed smarter & greener technology to these sustainable HDB flats

3 encourage more sustainable lifestyle practices such as using a bucket instead of a hose, use the water used to wash rice to water plants

1 Switch all of your light bulbs to compact florescent bulbs.

2 Plug your electrical appliances into power strips and turn the strips off when not in use.

3 Recycle everything you can.

4 Install low flow fixtures.

5 Say no to plastic and paper. Bring your own bags to the store

6 Take alternative transportation.

7 Live with less, reduce unnecessary items.

8 Start a vegetable garden.

9 Talk about sustainable living in your everyday conversation.

2. What should I prepare before going to Edible Food Garden? Why? (eg. mindset, tools)

I think we should have a positive mindset as our motive will be to help out and spread kindness. In addition, we should be mentally prepared beforehand that we will be dealing with soil and mud, under the hot sun etc.

I think we should know abit more about gardening so that it will decrease the burden of the gardeners to teach us how to do it. We should also be motivated to do this as our theme is kindness and we must help people to the best of our ability:).

I think we should have an open mindset, we should be we should be willing to lend a helping hand to the garden, for example, not being disgusted by the soil, insects, we are not used to getting so near to, and complete the task given at hand. We should do the best we can and not do anything reluctantly. :))

I think we should have a positive mindset which enables us to adapt to any situations/challenges as this will allow us to face our problems and solve it easily and effectively. As for tools, we should try getting basic gardening tools such as spade and shovel, and bring a pair of gloves each for hygienic purposes. This will ensure that we work more enthusiastically and contribute more instead of thinking about other factors.

3. What are the needs of the organization?

-Manpower to prune, plant and water the plants in the gardens/farms as well as provide outreach and education to Singaporeans.

-Maintenance of farming

-To better promote the organization and encourage Singaporeans to plant their own fruits, vegetables and more for their daily necessities

4. What are the needs of the society?

-Make use of space for different purposes -Provide a conducive environment for work and play -An active community -Provide the public with more opportunities to contribute

-To be happy in life

-To have a good education system which shapes students as an all rounded person

-Better quality of life and standard of living

-Re-connect urbanites to nature, conserve the natural resources and build a sense of community in Singapore.

-aspire towards a better quality of life, with more opportunities and space to pursue different interests, appreciate sports, culture and the arts, and preserve our environment and heritage. These aspirations are taken into account in our economic and social policies, as well as in our infrastructure plans.

-Having a good quality of life with more opportunities to grow interests and pursue aspirations

- learn to appreciate nature and understand the idea of planting food for themselves.

5. How can we help raise awareness of this organization to the society? What is needed in the process?

Publicity for the Organization: to inform more people of the Edible Garden City so that they can get more volunteers to help in the organization. We can possibly put up posters and spread awareness of this organization by using different types of social media such as instagram etc.

Promote Self-Planting at Home: introduce students from Cedar Girls Secondary School to the organization’s “Grow your Own Food” movement through posters and demonstrations in the canteen during the common lunch period.

Our Proposal:

Class 2Z is proposing to collaborate with Edible Gardens City to tap on the organization’s “Grow your Own Food” movement. In a land and water scarce country such as Singapore, we are heavily dependent on the import of food from around the world. This organization believes that Singapore has a lot of under-utilized spaces such as rooftop and sidewalks where food can be grown. Through this, they hope to re-connect urbanites to nature, conserve the natural resources and build a sense of community in Singapore. The proposed CSI project involves 2Z students learning from the farmers of Edible Gardens City on ways to show kindness to the environment and reduce our country’s ecological footprint. We hope to accomplish these objectives through assisting in: Foodscaping: designing edible gardens in restaurants/hotels/farms which meet the food needs of the user. Food Production: maintenance of a tropical food garden that Edible Gardens City currently oversees. Promote Self-Planting at Home: introduce students from Cedar Girls Secondary School to the organization’s “Grow your Own Food” movement through posters and demonstrations in the canteen during the common lunch period. Publicity for the Organization: to inform more people of the Edible Garden City so that they can get more volunteers to help in the organization. The organizations has not confirmed the exact garden we will be helping with but it will most likely be either their Open Farm Community restaurant/farm in Orchard or Food for Thought restaurant/farm at the National Museum.

Some observed challenges faced by Edible Gardens City are the lack of manpower to prune, plant and water the plants in the gardens/farms as well as provide outreach and education to Singaporeans. This provides an opportunity for 2Z to fill in their needs by providing the much-needed hands to maintain their farm. The organization has only 7 full-time farmers and with the additional 30 hands we will be providing, we can get through the maintenance of the farms at a more efficient pace. Furthermore, through the maintenance of farming, we will gain insight on the proper ways of maintaining a garden as well as solutions to common errors made by urban dwellers in Singapore. Errors noted by edible Gardens City are for example over-watering of plants, which leads to high levels of water wastage, and poor planning/design of gardens, which does not maximise the use of complementary plants. Through working with Edible Gardens City on a design of a garden, we can learn some tips on proper, small-scale farming, which we can later implement in out homes/in school (if possible). It may not be a big project, but we believe that if each individual plays their part and shows kindness to the environment, the damage and footprint left behind will definitely lessen and it will create a positive impact in preserving the environment for our future generations.

Class 2Z will carry out the project as a class of 30 students. The day will be divided into 2 sessions in the following order: Session 1: Education and design of edible gardens Session 2: Maintenance of a garden The class will be divided into 2 groups and will be engaged in each session. The groups will split and swap duties at mid-point. For resources and materials, we will be buying individual gloves and scissors, which can be bought cheaply from Little India. This will be used when we maintain our garden.