Speech by 2M Desmond Lee at the Opening of Two New Therapeutic Gardens

Sep 19, 2017

A very good morning. Welcome to Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, and a very special welcome to Minister Gan Kim Yong who has very kindly agreed to join us today as our very healthy Guest of Honour.  

We are very fortunate in Singapore to have a network of parks and gardens all across our island. These green spaces are wonderful areas for us to relax, for recreation, and to enjoy the peace of mind that only verdant and green places can provide.   

This is not by chance, but due to the deliberate planning, hard work, and conviction that access to greenery strengthens our social fabric. That is why we have national gardens like the Singapore Botanic Gardens, regional parks like Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, and neighbourhood parks and park connectors. Today, eight in ten of our households live within a 10-minute walk from a green space. We hope to increase this to nine in ten households by 2030.

It is not just about the number of parks but the type of parks as well, their typology. Our population is growing older, and parks play a big role in realising our aspirations of being a nation for all ages. Our green spaces are already popular exercise venues for our seniors, but there are ways to make them even better.  For example, gardens can be curated in a way that improves our seniors’ mental well-being and even help with rehabilitative processes for conditions like dementia.  With that in mind, we launched our first therapeutic garden at HortPark last year.

Today, I’m happy to announce the opening of two more therapeutic gardens, one here in Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park and another in Tiong Bahru Park. But we will not stop there. We will develop a network of these gardens right across Singapore.  NParks is already working on a fourth at Choa Chu Kang Park. I’m sure the Minister for Health will go there and bring many residents for healthy exercise and walks, and enjoy the greenery of nature. These gardens are part of the Action Plan for Successful Ageing announced in 2015.  

 NParks is working with experts in the field, including Prof Kua Ee Hoek from the National University Healthcare System (NUHS), to continue improving park designs and programmes. Apart from completing the research on how therapeutic horticulture improves our seniors’ mental health, NParks is now conducting a study on the effectiveness of such activities in preventing or slowing down dementia.

We will also launch a training programme in December this year, and host workshops, to bring local and international experts to share their best practices on therapeutic horticulture.  At the same time, we have developed therapeutic horticulture programmes that will allow our seniors to take part in gardening activities – and I know many of our seniors love to get back to the soil, to grow plants,vegetables and fruit trees. There are also self-guided programmes for family members to do at their own time, and in their own pace. We want our parks to be so much more for our seniors, our seniors’ families, as well as their caregivers.

I would like to thank partners who have helped us come this far. For instance, the Therapeutic Garden here at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park was sponsored by Woh Hup through the Garden City Fund. Thank you very much for your generosity and creating these therapeutic gardens for the benefit of our senior Singaporeans. Other organisations have also expressed interest to build their own gardens or to incorporate therapeutic environments within their projects for the benefit of Singaporeans. To encourage this, NParks has produced a set of design guidelines that will be made available online for those who wish to do so. We are also happy to share this expertise with others. A good example is the upcoming Woodlands Health Campus that Minister Gan Kim Yong unveiled in April this year. 

Let me end by saying that the journey to create a biophilic City in a Garden for Singaporeans of all ages is one that we have taken together.  I look forward to having more partners for our therapeutic gardens and programmes in the future. I also encourage families, friends, loved ones and caregivers – bring your seniors, parents and grandparents to enjoy these spaces. Thank you, enjoy your wonderful morning ahead, enjoy the therapeutic gardens and please bring your families here in the near future.