Interesting workshop on ‘Introducing Native Orchids to Parks and Streetscape‏

I attended a workshop conducted by NParks’ Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology (CUGE) last week that was entitled ‘Introducing Native Orchids to Parks and Streetscape‏’. It was a very fruitful workshop that was led by Dr Yam Tim Wing and Ms Whang Lay Kheng from the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

A re-introduced tiger orchid (Grammatophyllum speciosum) on a rain tree branch.

In this workshop, Dr Yam briefed us on the ongoing ‘Native Orchid Conservation Programme’, which is an initiative to conserve the germplasm of native orchids of Singapore and to propagate them for reintroduction into appropriate habitats in nature reserves, parks and on roadside trees. The success of this project will see our trees all over Singapore teeming with self-sustaining native orchids that were facing the risk of extinction.

The Native Orchid Display at the National Orchid Garden, Singapore.

This one-day workshop was aimed to enhance its participants’ knowledge and skills on the techniques to plant native orchids on the trees in the parks and streetscape and to recognize and appreciate the conservation efforts to protect the critically endangered native orchid species through a series of short lectures, demonstration and field trips to planting sites such as Holland Road, Tiong Bahru Park and Kent Ridge Park, to observe the conditions and critical success factors to good plantings.

Learning how to mount orchids in a demostration at the National Orchid Garden.

Do look out for this course and sign up for it when it is being offered again in the future! One will surely find it useful and enriching! Participants will get to view the newly set up Native Orchid Display in the National Orchid Garden. One can also get to pick up some general orchid growing skills such as the various ways of mounting orchids on fern bark and onto tree branches and the growth requirements of native orchids.