If you thought that fine jewellery stands only for luxury and excess, think again. Local jewellery designer Choo Yilin uses jewellery design as a vehicle to spread environmental messages. The latest collection from her label,Choo Yilin Artisan Jewellery, is called the Tree Series. Each necklace, bracelet and ring features motifs derived from the forest: leaves, roots, vines and buds. In some pieces, the bronze lustre and rugged texture even imitate the colour and feel of tree bark.

Colourful dragonflies greeted me with a fluttering dance as I stepped into Tampines Eco Green, the newly-opened ecologically-themed park in the east.

Where other people see dead leaves and flowers, Myrth Tan sees art. A Year 2 student in Raffles Girls’ School (Secondary), Myrth uses art as a way to connect people with nature. Based on her experiences of a trip to the Dairy Farm Nature Park, she created seven colourful paintings using dead plant material.

It’s a sunny Sunday, and you have two options: head outdoors for a day out in the park, or retreat to the air-conditioned comfort of a mall? This is a familiar dilemma to many, especially those with young children. Fortunately, City Green combines the best of both worlds.