Singapore, 29 November 2016 — NParks has announced a new community involvement programme where members of the public can contribute towards the research, outreach and education purposes of the Singapore Botanic Gardens. With the inscription of the Gardens as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, there has been growing interest from individuals and corporations wanting to contribute to the Gardens. Titled “Give to the Gardens”, this programme aims to harness the public’s support for the UNESCO WHS site and was announced at Trees of the World, a month-long Christmas Light-up event. To seed the donation programme, about 40 long-time supporters and partners of the Gardens have pledged close to $70,000.

Together with various organisations, community and school groups, these supporters and partners were invited to celebrate the programme launch by decorating trees prior to today’s event. These 200 decorated trees, to be displayed along the paths stretching from Nassim Gate Visitor Centre to the Heritage Core at Tanglin Gate, have transformed our UNESCO Heritage Site into an attractive night-time destination and magical wonderland. 

Host of the event, Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs and National Development Mr Desmond Lee, also launched the Singapore Garden Photographer of the Year 2017 photo competition. First launched in 2014 in celebration of Singapore’s 50^th birthday, the second of this year-long national photo competition will see participants submit photographs of what they think best represents the three themes – “Gardens and Landscapes”, “People and Nature” and “Our BiodiverCITY”.

Also at the event, the Monetary Authority of Singapore issued the SBG UNESCO World Heritage Site commemorative coin which celebrates the inscription of the Gardens into the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

“Give to the Gardens” programme

The “Give to the Gardens” programme is a tiered donation and benefits programme that provides an avenue for the public to contribute to the Gardens, allowing everyone to play a part in conserving our natural heritage. 

Donations can be made through the Garden City Fund (GCF) website (www.gardencityfund.org/givetothegardens). Donors who contribute $5,000 or more will also be issued a membership card that allows them to enjoy enhanced benefits, listed in the table below.

Trees of the World

“Trees of the World” was first organised in 2009, to commemorate the Gardens’ historic 150^th anniversary. Conceptualised as a community event, it enables individuals, organisations and community groups to come together and dress up trees provided by the Gardens with Christmas lights. This year, “Trees of the World 2016” involve representatives from embassies, schools, community groups, NGOs and corporate partners.

Singapore Garden Photographer of the Year (SGPY)

SGPY aims to create a greater appreciation and awareness of our natural heritage through the lens of the community. Participants will compete for cash and camera prizes worth about $30,000. First prize winners of each theme will win a Nikon D7200 +18-105 Lens Kit (worth $1,699) and $2,000 cash. A special prize will also be awarded to the photograph that best exemplifies what it means to be living in a City in a Garden. The winner will receive $1,000 cash and a guided walk for two to the Sisters’ Islands Marine Park. Winning entries that depict the activities at Fort Canning Park (under the People and Nature theme) and our underwater biodiversity (under the Our BiodiverCity theme) will also receive a bonus prize. The competition’s presenting sponsor is City Developments Limited (CDL), supported by Nikon and the Photographic Society of Singapore (PSS).

The photo competition will feature an open category and Instagram category. Members of the public are encouraged to participate in all three themes and submit them in both categories. For the open category, a maximum of 10 photographs per theme is allowed for each participant. All entries must be sent to www.nparks.gov.sg/sgpy. For the Instagram category, there is no limit on the number of entries that can be submitted. However, participants should include the hashtag #sgpy_<theme> in their picture descriptions.

The closing date for each theme of the competition is as follows:                                       

As part of the launch of the photo competition, SMS Desmond Lee also visited the CDL Green Gallery “The Urban Jungle” photo exhibition. This three-month long exhibition is a display of selected winning entries from previous editions of SGPY and other photo competitions organised by NParks, personal pieces from the late Mr Kwek Leng Joo, a nature enthusiast and dedicated philanthropist as well as images of the Gardens through the ages.