In large organisations, employees may not often have opportunities to socialise outside their immediate teams. ST Kinetics is an interesting exception. Twice a month, the staff across various departments work side-by-side to maintain the community gardens on the company's grounds.

Considering that ST Kinetics manufactures weaponry and specialty vehicles, gardening sounds pleasantly sedate in comparison. ST Kinetics has five gardening clubs, and each club is allocated a plot of land for gardening. Like other community gardens throughout Singapore, ST Kinetics' gardens grew out of remnants of unused green spaces. The clubs are closely-knit groups of volunteers, comprising staff from various business units and positions.

On a recent Saturday morning, 60 ST Kinetics staff got together to fashion a pong pong garden at their community garden at Jalan Boon Lay. The President of ST Kinetics himself, Mr Sew Chee Jhuen, took an active hand in preparing the soil in the planting pit. Meanwhile, the more experienced volunteers guided newer members who were less familiar with gardening. By dint of massive hoeing and planting, the garden took shape in less than two hours.

"Several projects have been initiated at other factory sites of ST Kinetics to foster a strong esprit de corps," said Mr Yeap Khek Teong, Vice President (Quality, Safety and Security Controls), who leads the greening efforts of ST Kinetics. "We realised there were more people than initially expected who were interested in gardening."

The gardening clubs' successes include the Garden in Bloom, located in the heart of the ST Kinetics grounds at Jalan Boon Lay. The former square-shaped plot was turned into an iconic meeting point within the company's grounds, where staff meet up before or after work, and at lunchtime. "A lot of activities are now taking place at the various gardens in ST Kinetics," remarked Mr Willie Sng, who leads the Koi Garden project at the Benoi grounds. "Our sense of belonging has grown stronger from the day we first broke and graded earth bearing our sweat!"

Most of the garden projects are now about a year old. The staff who have been with these gardens since Day 1 have had the pleasure of seeing their efforts pay off. "It is the joy of seeing the fruit of our labour that kept us going," said Mr Foong Kwok Leong, leader of the Kimerland garden at Chin Bee.

Besides gaining the satisfaction of seeing their gardens flourish, the gardeners have also enjoyed the friendships they have made through tending the gardens together. In the words of Mr Sew: "Through gardening, they find meaning in being an ST Kinetics family member."

By Maxel Ng