More than a green space: How a Bukit Batok garden is bringing neighbours together

Detailed summary

At a 300 sq m community garden in Bukit Batok Central, residents are learning about plants, picking up gardening skills and forging friendships.

At a 300 sq m community garden in Bukit Batok Central, residents are learning about plants, picking up gardening skills and forging friendships.

SINGAPORE: For 50-year-old Jon Tay, the people who gather at a community garden in Bukit Batok matter just as much as the plants they grow.

Mr Tay is the lead gardener at Bukit Batok Central Educational Garden, a 300 sq m green space between Blocks 621 and 622 Bukit Batok Central.

Once an empty grass patch with three trees, the site is now tended by up to 20 regular volunteers, mostly residents of the area.

Mr Tay, an aromatherapist who is also trained in psychology, helped start the ground-up initiative with a small group of residents.

The garden was submitted to the National Parks Board’s Community in Bloom programme in 2022, with planting beginning in 2023. The initiative supports community gardening across Singapore.

A Bukit Batok resident himself, Mr Tay wanted to turn the space into somewhere his neighbours could enjoy greenery, learn about plants and connect with one another.

The garden cultivates a variety of herbs and fruit trees, including spearmint, Thai basil, jambu and chiku.

"We do not want just to be a garden that plants vegetables and then harvests and gives away. Of course, we still do that. We want to also showcase all different varieties," Mr Tay told CNA.

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