Have you ever dreamt of greening up your workplace, by bringing together people from different departments to create a community garden? Perhaps you have a lifeless plot of land around your building which can be transformed into a favourite spot for staff to meet up before and after work. Or maybe you secretly wish for a club where you could exchange gardening ideas with like-minded colleagues.

All these and more were created by Mr Yeap Khek Teong, Vice President (Quality, Safety and Security Controls) of ST Kinetics. Mr Yeap is passionate about gardening, and he truly believes that gardening can bring people together.

After his inspiring creation of the first Community In Bloom (CIB) garden, colleagues from various departments clamoured to learn how to create gardens in their own branches. Soon, a gardening club blossomed, and in less than two years, ST Kinetics had more than 100 community gardeners. The astounding gardens which sprang up garnered top awards during the biennial Community in Bloom Awards in 2010.

During the Singapore Garden Festival 2010, Mr Yeap led a team of gardeners from various organisations in the inaugural Gardeners' Cup garden display competition. Under his leadership, the team received the "Most Interactive Garden" Award, recognising their garden for promoting the highest level of interaction between visitor and display.

Mr Yeap has also combined his passion for greenery with his background in engineering, to successfully create his own vertical greenery system. Such systems are popular in building developments, but tend to be too expensive for hobby gardeners. Mr Yeap's design is made from easily available materials, and even comes with an irrigation system. He hopes to share his experience and tips in creating vertical greenery with the gardening community.

In his spare time, Mr Yeap also gives free talks at schools, libraries and community centres about gardening. If you listen to him, you will be won over by his warmth and enthusiasm, and will leave feeling enriched and inspired. For his enthusiasm for sharing his love of gardening with all, Mr Yeap has earned the title of CIB Ambassador. Kudos to Mr Yeap!

By Maxel Ng

CIB Ambassador Mr Yeap Khek Teong shows off a vertical greening system which he is installing at one of the ST Kinetics buildings.