Record number of participating gardens in Community in Bloom Awards 2018

The nationwide gardening movement is growing steadily, as evidenced by the Community in Bloom (CIB) Awards 2018 announced by the National Parks Board (NParks), which saw 541 community gardens taking part – the highest number of participating gardens in its history. This represents an increase of 105 gardens or 24% over the last Awards in 2016. The biggest increase came from the organisation category, with 37 more gardens taking part. The biennial CIB Awards recognises excellence in gardening efforts by community groups in public and private housing estates, educational institutions and organisations.

Increased participation in CIB Awards over the years

Out of the 541 participating gardens, 243 were from the Public Housing category, 40 from Private Estates, 148 from Schools and 110 from Organisations. This represents an increase in all four categories from the previous two CIB Awards. This significant increase in the level of community participation is due to the positive response from Singaporeans towards community gardening in recent years, and also because more gardeners are keen to enter the competition to see where their gardens stand across the nation.

Award Categories

Every community garden which participated in the CIB Awards was presented an achievement band of Platinum, Gold, Silver or Bronze, depending on their community involvement, garden quality and environmentally or biodiversity-friendly practices. The CIB Awards 2018 saw 291 gardens achieving the Platinum and Gold bandings, an increase from 2016’s 178. Besides the achievement bands, excellence awards like “Best Community Garden” and “Best New Community Garden” are given in recognition of the exemplary achievements showcased by community gardens. This year, gardens that have showcased exemplary community outreach, edible gardening standards or environmentally friendly initiatives have been recognised under the new “Special mentions” category.

Among the participating gardens, five were awarded the prestigious Diamond Award. This prestigious award, which is the highest recognition in the Awards, is presented to community gardens which had achieved three Platinum bandings in the CIB Awards. The Diamond Award was created in 2014 to recognise community gardens that have consistently been outstanding in their garden quality, community involvement, environmentally-friendly practices and biodiversity.

This year also sees the introduction of the People’s Choice contest. From 22 June to 15 July, members of the public are encouraged to visit the seven shortlisted gardens and get to know the gardeners. They can vote for their favourite community garden at www.nparks.gov.sg/cib_awards. Participants stand to win tickets to the Singapore Garden Festival (SGF), which will take place from 21 July to 3 August at Gardens by the Bay.

Mr Ng Cheow Kheng, NParks’ Group Director of Horticulture and Community Gardening, said, “With each edition of the Awards, we are seeing a higher standard of expertise and creativity in submissions. Today, we are encouraged to see that community gardening has gone beyond a shared hobby, with many gardens at the heart of close-knit communities. NParks will continue to support this growing movement, and we hope that more people will come forward to partner us in making Singapore our City in a Garden.”

The judging panel for CIB Awards 2018 consisted of seven representatives from government agencies, professional bodies and interest groups. The awards and the achievement bandings will be presented to all gardening groups during SGF.

Highlights for CIB Awards 2018

Some highlights of this year’s Awards are appended.

      Public Housing

1. Ang Mo Kio Hougang Zone 1 RC:
   A Platinum-banded garden that has achieved the Diamond Award for achieving its third Platinum band. This is a garden with a large variety of plant species and showcase corners, ranging from edibles and orchids to cacti. This garden is well-known in its neighbourhood for organising gardening workshops. It also regularly hosts visitors from schools and other community gardeners who come to learn from them.
   
   
2. Jurong Spring Zone D
   The winner of the Best New Community Garden Award for Public Housing, this garden set up in 2017 grows more than 30 species of edibles and pollinator-attracting ornamentals. A quaint and colourful garden that is popular with residents, preschools and nearby community gardeners.

                       

   Private Housing

3. Eng Kong-Cheng Soon Community Garden
   This Gold-banded garden is a popular edible garden bursting with innovation. Not only does it host a solar-powered hybrid hydroponics/aquaponics system for growing edibles, it also has vermicomposting, a home-made rainwater harvesting system and upcycled raised planters for easier gardening. At 2,250m², it is the largest community garden in a private estate and currently boasts 50 types of edibles, 14 species of orchids and 85 types of ornamentals.
   
   
4. Moulmein-Goldhill Community Garden
   An award-winning Platinum-banded garden at the centre of community activities for the Goldhill neighbourhood. Residents and visitors from beyond the neighbourhood frequent the fenceless garden to relax in the tranquil atmosphere of its ornamental section, or check out new plants in the edible plots. Moulmein-Goldhill Community Garden has grown a number of interesting or uncommon edibles including rice, sissoo spinach, durian and abiu fruit.
   
   

   Educational Institutions

5. PCF Sparkletots Preschool @ Queenstown Blk 46 (CC)
   This preschool is the winner of the Best New Community Garden for the Schools category. It has creatively upcycled pots, tires, and even an old children’s plastic wading pool into garden plots for edible plants. The garden is designed to encourage the children to explore and learn about plants, which each child assigned a plant to foster. Different sections of the garden include a herb circle, a Mediterranean herb corner, a butterfly corner and a vegetable plot. The garden also grows at least 25 different species of edibles.
   
   
6. Spectra Secondary School
   Perched on the roof of Spectra Secondary school, this garden was featured at the Skyrise Greenery Conference 2017. The winner of the Best Community Garden for the Schools category, this highly productive garden is primarily cared for by students, with each class adopting a plot as part of their moral education curriculum. The students grow crops for sale at a farmer’s market at the end of every semester, and learn along the way about resilience, responsibility and problem solving. The students are supported by a diverse group of teachers, nearby residents and members of public who meet every weekend to help maintain the garden.

    

   Organisations

7. Our Tampines Hub, Eco-Community Garden
   An award-winning edible rooftop garden, Our Tampines Hub is the winner of the Best New Community Garden Award for the Organisations category. The garden also won the Skyrise Greenery Award 2017 Special Award for Educational Institutions. With over 30 edible species of plants, Our Tampines Hub regularly engages the community with garden-to-table workshops and monthly harvest giveaways. The produce is grown using compost generated by a biodigester located in the basement. The compost is made from leftover food generated by the integrated food court within the hub, and is also freely given to the community or visitors to the garden.
   
   
8. ActiveSG Woodlands Sports Complex
   Located next to the swimming pool in Woodlands Sports Complex is a Gold-banded edible garden filled with leafy vegetables, herbs and fruit trees. Cared for by nearby residents and pool staff, this garden is well known for its loofahs and leafy vegetables. The gardeners have built an aquaponics system that also serves as a resting area that overlooks the pool, and has piqued the interest of many pool-goers.
   
   
9. Al-Mawaddah Mosque

Also known as the “mosque in a garden”, Al-Mawaddah Mosque has six unique gardens scattered around the compound, and is the winner of the Best Community Garden for the Organisations category. Over 30 edible and 30 ornamental plant species are found here, with the various gardens also serving as popular spots for wedding photography. Al-Mawaddah Mosque encourages other mosques to start their own gardens, and readily shares gardening tips with them.

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