In our effort to redevelop urban pockets across Singapore, in late November 2021, we completed construction of a vertical garden for Glyph, an organization dedicated to combating inequality in Asia. The project was funded by the proceeds from a series of workshops conducted at the end of 2020, teaching kids the basics of seeds and plants. A portion of the funds were also redirected to run educational sessions for the kids supported by Glyph - mostly from underprivileged, dysfunctional or single-parent families. Many of them are from rental flats or are under government assistance schemes.
“Glyph champions holistic education for underprivileged families. Since we shifted to our new centre at Beach Road, a vertical garden was something we always wanted to explore - to teach the kids about food, nutrition, sustainability and climate change, along with the unique challenges that Singapore will face in the future. We are thankful to City Sprouts for making urban farming and sustainability programmes at Glyph possible!” said Liu Liwei, Head of Programmes and Marketing.
We launched our #growingforgood community project for Glyph on 4 December 2021 with MP Nadia Ahmad Samdim. Ms. Nadia spoke to 20 primary school children supported by the organization about the importance of caring for our planet and planted the first seedling in a pot to officially inaugurate Glyph’s garden. After the opening ceremony, the participating children engaged in making seedling pots and transplanting young plants in the garden.
The project included a follow-up session two weeks later on 18 December 2021 whereby the participating children kept a plant diary and shared what they observed while tending to their seedling pots at home. The education continued with teaching the children gardening tips and learning how to compost with a bin set up on site by us.
“Through this #growingforgood community project for Glyph, our hope is that we can teach sustainability and food security to the next generation and that they will identify with improved mental and physical wellbeing through gardening activities,” said Chee Zhi Kin, co-founder of City Sprouts.
The vertical garden is located in Glyph’s new centre at Beach Road, where it is accessed by the members of Glyph. Glyph plans to upkeep the vertical garden with the help of their members and integrate it into their range of non-academic classes held on the weekends. The organization envisions the vertical garden as a communal space, where they can collectively enjoy and have some time away from digital devices.
