Friends of Our Heartlands is a volunteer programme which aims to nurture change-makers within our neighbourhoods. With the programme, residents and community groups get opportunities to channel their skills, knowledge, and resources for the benefit of their community.
The programme has three key arms – cultivate; activate; and facilitate. Volunteers can do their part to cultivate the spirit of neighbourliness and eco-friendly living within the community. They can initiate activities that add liveliness to community spaces and foster neighbourly relations. They can also facilitate community conversations to build consensus on local rejuvenation and development plans.
Friends of Our Heartland also makes it easier for residents to find volunteering opportunities as all existing volunteer programmes offered by HDB will be consolidated and made available through this programme.
Find out more about the Friends of Our Heartlands programme here.
The Friends of the Parks scheme is a ground-led initiative to promote stewardship and responsible use of our Parks. The scheme is modelled after the successful Friends of Ubin Network (FUN) and is in response to suggestions raised during SGFuture conversations held in 2015/2016.
The scheme consists of localised communities representing active stakeholders such as hikers, bikers, exercise groups, tenants, nature photographers, researchers, regular users of the park and volunteers of the parks. Through the formation of the Friends of the Parks community, members will be able to play a more active role in promoting active and responsible uses of our Parks through ground-led programmes and initiatives. These programmes include habitat enhancement activities, guided walks, biodiversity surveys and coastal cleanups etc.
Minister for National Development Desmond Lee is the adviser to the Friends of the Parks scheme.
There are currently twelve Friends of the Parks communities:
- Friends of Ubin Network (FUN)
- Friends of Chestnut Nature Park
- Friends of Clementi-Ulu Pandan Nature Corridor
- Friends of Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
- Friends of Park Connector Network
- Friends of Bukit Timah Forest
- Friends of Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park
- Friends of Marine Park
- Friends of Rail Corridor
- Friends of TreeSG
- Friends of East Coast Park
- Friends of Pasir Panjang Park
In 2019, the Friends of the Parks initiative was extended to involve communities in the design, development, and management of Singapore’s parks and green spaces. Communities will be invited to co-create more than 50 parks across Singapore over five years, by 2025. This will allow for parks to have meaningful facilities that cater to the community’s needs and lifestyle.
If you are keen to find out more or volunteer at the respective parks, please sign up here.