New sustainability gallery opens at Gardens by the Bay
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SINGAPORE – A stone’s throw from Gardens by the Bay MRT station lies a quaint rain garden filled with flood-tolerant vegetation and fluttering butterflies.
This garden, the size of a basketball court, is a key feature of Gardens by the Bay’s new Sustainability Gallery launched by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Nov 13.
The 1,200 sq m gallery showcases all the attraction’s green efforts – from reducing the Supertrees’ energy and water use, to limiting waste and sustaining biodiversity.
Chief executive Felix Loh said: “Besides visiting our iconic attractions, visitors can also experience Gardens by the Bay through a sustainability lens, and learn how they can play a role in the green future.”
President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Kikkoman Corporation honorary CEO and chairman of board of directors Yuzaburo Mogi at the launch of the Sustainability Gallery.
ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO
Besides reading about various sustainability efforts on digital screens, visitors can make personal climate pledges.
Kikkoman Singapore contributed $500,000 to build the solar-powered gallery. Since 2010, the Japanese soya sauce brand has donated $1.5 million to the Gardens, which went to the enhancement of Kingfisher Lake and the creation of Kingfisher Wetlands, home to 200 plants and trees, including carbon dioxide-absorbing mangroves.
The new 420 sq m rain garden depicts how nature is tapped to manage flooding in an urban environment.
During rainfall, stormwater is filtered by the flood-tolerant vegetation and porous soil, removing impurities and excess nutrients before it flows to Marina Reservoir.
A swing crafted from locally salvaged Khaya senegalensis trees in Singapore by local carpentry studio Roger&Sons at the Sustainability Gallery at Gardens by the Bay on Nov 13.
ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO
More than 60 plants, including the weeping tea-tree – which resembles a mini weeping willow – and firebush, were selected for the rain garden due to their ability to withstand fluctuating water levels.
Energy-efficient technologies have allowed Gardens by the Bay to reduce its energy consumption by around 30 per cent. Now, close to 40 per cent of the Gardens’ energy needs are met by greener sources like solar power and biomass.
The Supertrees light up with energy from solar panels
