Gardening with Wilson

Here are the profiles of the next two Community in Bloom Ambassadors for 2009!

Mdm Helen Chan Jiat Mui

Mdm Helen Chan Jiat Mui, 58 is a  teacher and the chairperson of her school’s Environmental Committee (Telok Kurau Secondary School). She has conducted gardening workshops and show and tell for numerous eastern cluster school teachers and students, as well as to overseas visitors as part of creating awareness and facilitating them in their own gardening efforts. Helen also actively promoted gardening by taking part in several events such as Singapore Garden Festival and Launch of Clean & Green Singapore, and organized roadshows at other schools too. She also used gardening creatively as a mean to motivate students and to transform the school garden into an outdoor classroom, thereby increasing students’ interest in learning.

Helen made full use of her school garden to motivate and guide other schools in their own gardening projects. In addition to sharing ideas with students, she also trained teachers of other school clusters, who in turn taught their own students about gardening. The roadshows and exhibitions conducted in other schools helped explain the connection between gardening and environmental conservation to the young, thereby creating a positive image about gardening to them.

Helen’s quote – ’Plants are vital to our environment. Take care of them as you would a growing child. Love them and they will bring us joy.’

Mdm Kwoh Toh

Mdm Kwoh Toh, 81, is an active member of Jurong Central Zone ‘G’ RC community garden.  She has helped conduct tours and show & tell for members of the public, numerous start-up community gardening groups and foreign visitors at her community garden in Jurong East and spent many hours and days to help promote gardening and share tips and plants with visitors at numerous community and national events such as Singapore Garden Festival, SICEX 2009, to promote gardening and share gardening tips with visitors. Mdm Kwoh als helped set up and sustain several community gardening projects including; Jurong Primary School and Jurong Wellness Center.

Despite being an octogenarian, her tireless effort and positive attitude have inspired many others towards an active lifestyle. Her dedication and commitment to help promote gardening, evident at the roadshows and garden festivals that she took part, have motivated others in their own gardening efforts.

Mdm Kwoh’s quote – ‘The greatest joy of gardening is seeing the fruits of our labour and flower flourish’.