Singaporean of the Year finalist: He built Woodlands Botanical Garden to help others seek comfort

SINGAPORE – In the thick of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Mr Ganesh Kumar

planted a pink hibiscus plant

to help him overcome the grief of losing his mother.

What began as a small gesture of healing later transformed into a thriving garden in Woodlands that is now one of the largest community gardens here.

The 41-year-old, who was suffering from depression, hopes that others can also find solace and joy in the garden he so painstakingly built.

“Being in their shoes, I understand just how difficult it is, and I thought, why not create a space like a sanctuary for everyone,” he said.

“One question I got the most often was, ‘What are you going to plant next?’ That idea that people put in my head helped me forget the sadness I was going through… It gave me a sense of purpose.

“They shared with me how happy they were that there was some colour now (in the garden) instead of just green, and then I realised, why not share these same colours, which brought me happiness all these years, with other people.”

Located on the northern slope of Woodlands Town Park East, Woodlands Botanical Garden (WBG) used to be a barren nine-storey-high hill covered with grass and lalang, with few signs of fauna.

It was initially just a 50 sq m garden managed by Mr Ganesh, his father and his helper at the time.

Today, with the help of some volunteers, the garden spans 4,000 sq m and is home to over 350 plant species and 300 animal species, including multiple vulnerable species in Singapore, he said.

Some of the plants housed there include the Pink Mussaenda, Yellow Candle Bush, Yellow-Red Tecoma, Red Single Camellia and Yellow Pagoda. Various species of butterflies also flit from flower to flower. The garden has even attracted a Fiery Coraltail damselfly, which is rare here.

WBG is one of the largest community gardens under the National Parks Board’s gardening programme, Community In Bloom.

Mr Ganesh is a finalist for The Straits Times Singaporean of the Year award, which is given to a Singaporean or group of citizens who have made a significant contribution to society.

This can be through achievements that put Singapore on the world stage, or by going beyond the call of duty to selflessly improve the lives of others in the community, among other ways.

Now in its 11th year, the award is organised by The Straits Times and presented by UBS Singapore.

Since he was young, gardening has been a family activity Mr Ganesh did regularly with his parents and grandparents, who used it to instil in him the value of being responsible and caring for things.

He said gardening has helped shape him as a person and inculcated values such as humility in him.

When he started adding more plants to the garden, many people began to strike up conversations with him, and friendships bloomed.

“I realised that so many people had stories to share… (They) were coming out, and I was happy because I wanted them to come out more,” he said.

Mr Ganesh hopes the garden can be a safe space where everyone feels at ease and can build friendships.

Beyond just a garden, WBG has also transformed into a community space that hosts some 20 major events yearly, such as cultural concerts, biodiversity talks and pet walks.

Besides using the space for volunteers to give biodiversity talks at the garden alongside experts in the field, Mr Ganesh, a former music teacher, also offers it to budding artists to host events.

WBG has also teamed up with Human-Animal Bond In Ministry (HIM) – a social enterprise that uses animal-assisted intervention to help prisoners and former offenders, among others – to provide former offenders with a small allowance for working in the garden under an activity on the Desistor Network, a Singapore Prison Service initiative.

Building the garden is not without challenges. To focus on WBG, Mr Ganesh, who is single, quit as a graduate research officer and took a pay cut to teach chemistry at a tuition centre.

Besides giving up his PhD candidacy in material science engineering at Nanyang Technological University to focus on building the garden, he also sold his dream car, a Jaguar XJ, to fund the installation of a pond at the garden.

Another challenge he faces is the seeds and flowers from the garden being stolen, and some plants and trellises being destroyed. Even so, he has no intention to fence up the garden as this would defeat the purpose of it bringing joy to people.

“I have made many sacrifices, but I have no regrets. I will do them all over again if I have a second chance,” Mr Ganesh said.

“My hope for WBG is for it to be just an example for other parks… I just wanted to set up a space as an example for other spaces as well.”