SINGAPORE - Tampines residents will have their own mini "Gardens by the Bay" in their backyard next year.
An existing 132 sq m butterfly garden in Tampines Changkat will be doubled in size and housed within a netted dome.
Visitors to the butterfly garden, which has more than 100 butterflies flitting about during dry weather, can view the creatures up close at a gathering deck.
Like the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest at Gardens by the Bay, the enclosure will have educational panels on butterflies and waterfall features.
And outside the new 267 sq m garden, next to Block 124, Tampines Street 11, will be a community plaza for residents to gather or do activities such as yoga and qigong.
Said Tampines GRC MP Irene Ng, who pushed for the garden in 2011: "It is the only butterfly garden within a housing estate in Singapore and is meant to inculcate among residents a love for nature and its conservation, and to provide a beautiful and soothing retreat within an estate."
Besides the upgrading of the garden, Ms Ng also told residents about other plans to improve the area.
For example, a new 1-km cycling track along Tampines Street 11 is expected to be completed by September this year for residents to cycle to Tampines Round Market, neighbourhood shops and the butterfly garden.
