Thread by @Botanygeek

When I was a kid, the Singapore river verged on being an open sewer. And otters were thought extinct on the island.

Here’s what effective green policies can do! #Inspirational #conservation #otters #urbangreening

How do you help critically-endangered pangolins cross the road?

Build a eco-link!

These wildlife bridges (not open to people) connect rainforest reserves in Singapore.

At a cost of $12M each, they are still thought worth it. #urbangreening #gardencity

On the subject of greening motorways...

This is Singapore’s equivalent of the M1.

The transformational power of urban planting is pretty magical. #horticulture #urbangreening

Every building constructed in Singapore since 2008 has to meet stringent green certification standards.

It’s aim is for 80% of all buildings in the country to be green. (Currently it is 30%.)

A long way to go, but what a worthy ambition!

Being in green environments can help relieve stress, pain and even improve hospital recovery times.

So this suburban Singapore hospital has streams and rainforests at its core.

‘Open-air’ design provides natural ventilation and lighting, slashing its carbon footprint.

What does an airport look like in a city obsessed with public horticulture?

This is baggage claim at Singapore airport.

Those ‘living walls’ on the right are just windowboxes on balconies, with climbers so long they act like a living curtain. An ingenious low-tech solution.

Oh, and did I mention the transit hub linking the Singapore airport terminals opening next summer?

A marvel of botanical engineering.

How big is Singapore?

Half the size of London (278 sq miles),

How many nature trails does it plan to build? 400 MILES worth.

These ‘park connectors’ will gradually link up all of its considerable areas of parkland and rainforest to walkers and cyclists.

Singapore’s population has more than doubled since I was a kid (largely the result of immigration).

So it’s building new ‘forest towns’ like this one. There are zero cars, 70% is public housing & it’s all set in a massive planted forest.

Hort Park is a Singapore public park, designed solely to inspire & educate on how to garden at home.

It’s filled with tiny model gardens for ‘take away’ ideas, showcasing designs even for high rise balconies, living walls & living roofs. Runs courses & talks too. All for free!

Hope you guys enjoyed all my Singapore urban greening tweets.

I’ll leave you with this picture of hornbills, that went extinct in the island under colonial rule in the 1870s...

...but thanks to today’s greening projects are now an increasingly common sight on the island. 😘