Workshops & Tours for Adults

Calling all nature and plant lovers! Surely there is nothing as therapeutic or more pleasurable as a session of leisurely gardening! To answer to this growing taste for 'green' leisure and hobby craft, the Educational Outreach at the Singapore Botanic Gardens offers a large variety of tours and educational workshops. These programmes are designed to promote nature awareness and to bring out the ‘green thumb’ in people. Our greatest wish is that even the least botanically-inclined will aspire to better works of horticulture after attending!

WORKSHOPS (For Individuals & Organised Groups)

^NEWNature Photography @ Botanic Gardens
For novices to digital photography – start with capturing nature at the Botanic Gardens! See the sights the Gardens has to offer, appreciate plants at the same time. A collaboration with the Nature Photographic Society, Singapore, this 6 half-day course will expose participants to a wide variety of skills and passion.

Each session will consist of 1 to 1.5 hours of indoor instruction, followed by outdoor photography around the Gardens. Ideally, participants should bring an SLR, or DSLR and suitable lens, tripod and flash with them for the course. Some prior experience with photography is recommended for getting the most out of this course; however, we believe all ages and experience levels will find this course enjoyable.
Duration: 6 half-day sessions
Fee: $180.00 per person
View course description

Home Gardening: the Fundamentals & Another Perspective
Not sure what kind of plants is suitable for your home? How often should a plant be watered? Use of fertilizers, re-potting, pruning and other general care of plants will be covered in this comprehensive basic course. The alternative hydroculture (soil-free) approach will also be introduced in the 2nd part of this workshop.
Duration : 8 hours
Fee : $100.00 per person (materials included)

Pest & Disease Control
Maintaining healthy plants calls for using the right plant pest and disease control measures. This course covers the uses of equipment, rates of application and safety measures. Participants are invited to bring in infected plants for diagnosis and advice.
Duration : 4 hours
Fee : $40.00 per person (materials NOT included)

Plant Propagation
New life from the old or the very young! Come and join us in investigating the various techniques used to successfully propagate healthy and vigorous plants.
Duration : 6 hours
Fee : $80.00 per person (materials included)

The Art of Planting: Container Gardens & Terrariums
Use your creativity and adopt the art of growing and putting plants together in any containers other than pots, even in an enclosed bottle (terrarium)! In this workshop, you will learn about plant arrangement in containers and discover how plants can self- sustain in a terrarium. Design your own attractive plant art piece for your home or as a gift for family & friends.
Duration : 6 hours
Fee : $80.00 per person (materials included)

Orchid Growing : the Basics
Ever aspire to cultivate prize-winning orchids? This workshop will familiarise you with how to grow healthy orchids and make them bloom! Participants will get to bring home some selected orchid plants.
Duration : 6 hours
Fee : $80.00 per person (materials included)

Orchid Growing : the Next Stage
For those who have grasped the fundamentals of orchid growing! You will now be introduced to orchid breeding. Planting practise for wild species and a study of orchids at the Orchidarium, within the National Orchid Garden, will also be conducted.
Duration : 6 hours
Fee : $80.00 per person (materials included)

Basic Bonsai
Come appreciate the concept of 'miniature nature' through the fundamentals of bonsai! This course covers pruning, wiring and potting techniques required to create your own miniature plant.
Duration : 6 hours
Fee : $80.00 per person (materials included)

Herbs & Spices
Get re-introduced to herbs and spices commonly used in Asian cooking! Emphasis will be on their historical significance, uses as herbal remedies and methods of propagation.
Duration : 6 hours
Fee : $80.00 per person (materials included)

Growing African Violets
Saintpaulia species make attractive indoor plants with their bright display of dainty flowers on rosettes of well-formed leaves.Familiarising yourself with giving them the proper soil mix, light and care will ensure months of colourful healthy blooms!
Duration : 3 hours
Fee : $50.00 per person (materials included)

NATURE TOURS (For Organised Groups)

Singapore Botanic Gardens - Our Heritage
For close to 150 years, Singapore Botanic Gardens has been the birth place of South East Asia's rubber and orchid industries. A walk through the newly re-opened and re-developed Tanglin / Heritage Core of the Gardens will evoke memories of bygone days where ladies stroll through the Gardens with the parasols and long skirts. Highlights of the tour include the Bandstand, sculptures in the Gardens, the Heritage Trees, the new Main Gate, the Saraca Stream Walk and the new Public Reference Centre. Participants will be given the opportunity to access reference materials and advice on plant care in this new facility of the Gardens!
Duration : 1.5 hours
Fee : $15.00 per person

Orchid Tour
See the largest collection of orchids in Singapore housed in a beautiful setting! A total of more than 700 species and 3,000 hybrids from tropical regions around the globe are showcased here. You will see the national flower of Singapore, the Vanda Miss Joaquim and hear how it was first discovered. The VIP Garden displays orchid hybrids named after famous personalities such as Nelson Mandela, Princess Diana, Margaret Thatcher and many famous others. Also of interest is the Tan Hoon Siang Misthouse where many rare and award-winning orchids are displayed, and the Coolhouse which encloses a montane tropical forest, a realistic representation of high elevation sites in the tropics.
Duration : 1.5 hours
Fee : $15.00 per person (excludes National Orchid Garden admission fee)
Admission Fee into National Orchid Garden:
Free for children 12 years and below
$1.00 per child above 12 years / senior citizen
$5.00 per adult

Ginger Garden Tour
A world class Ginger Garden in Singapore! Here in the 1-ha Ginger Garden, you will be treated to a wide array of over 250 species of gingers and their relatives. The gingers here are grown for their elegant form and texture, stunning leaves and attractively coloured flowers. To feast your eyes on the Zingiberales collection in the Singapore Botanic Gardens and to know more about the usefulness of gingers as foods, spices, medicines and in 'jamu's, come join us for this tour!
Duration : 1.5 hours
Fee : $15.00 per person

Rainforest Trek
This tour will give you fascinating insights into this last remnant of the same forest that used to cover the whole of Singapore island. Singapore is one of the two cities with a rainforest within the city limits (the other is Rio de Janeiro). The Singapore Botanic Gardens Rainforest shelters more than 300 plant species of which most are endangered, rare or vulnerable. You will hear stories and learn secrets about these giant trees and rare plants in the context of the fragile and unique rainforest ecosystem, comprising both the plants and animals.
Duration : 1.5 hours
Fee : $15.00 per person

EcoGarden Tour
Come explore the EcoGarden and the EcoLake located at the Bukit Timah Core of the Singapore Botanic Gardens! This tour focuses on plants and trees of value to humans. Be introduced to our large collection of plants for economical and industrial purposes such as the bamboo, the coconut and old palms and the screw pines, the 'giant' Pandanus. Also found are the Cyperus papyrus used by ancient Egyptians to make paper, plants for dyes, medicinal plants and tropical herbs and spices used traditionally to heal ailments and lift your spirits!
Duration : 1.5 hours
Fee : $15.00 per person

(A) Educational Workshops for Individuals

Registration & Payment
Registration is on a first come first served basis upon receipt of registration form and payment. Please note that the closing date of registration for each workshop is two working days prior to the commencement of the programme.

To secure a place, payment should be made prior to commencement of workshop. Cash payment shall be made in person to the Education Office, Level 2, Botany Centre, Singapore Botanic Gardens (enter via Main Gate at the junction of Holland Holland Road & Napier Road & Cluny Road). An official receipt can be issued upon request. Please do not send cash by mail.
For cheque payment, please made cheque payable to "National Parks Board". Please print name of participant, name of programme, date and time of programme on the reverse side of the cheque, and mail it to the mailing address given. Please note that payment is not refundable.

Confirmation Letter
A confirmation letter will be sent to you via email, fax or post. If you do not hear from us one week prior to commencement of workshop, please contact us. If we receive your registration after the current workshop is filled, your name will automatically be placed on our waiting list.

For individual registration of scheduled educational workshops, please click here.

(B) Nature Tours / Workshops for Groups

We also welcome registration for educational workshops and nature tours from groups of 15 to 25 persons. To register for groups, please click here.

In the event the number of participants per group is less than the minimum group requirement, please note that the minimum charge for 15 adults will still be levied.

Registration & Payment
Registration is on a first come first served basis upon receipt of registration form. To avoid disappointment, please make bookings with us at least one month in advance.

Payment can be made by cash or cheque on the actual day of the programme. An official receipt can be issued upon request. Cheques should be made payable to "National Parks Board". Please print name of organisation, name of programme, date and time of programme on the reverse side of the cheque.

For organizations, an invoice can be issued and mailed to designated organization after completion of programme. All payments shall be settled promptly. Please note that our credit term is 30 days from the date of issuance of invoice.

Confirmation Letter
A confirmation letter will be sent to you via email, fax or post. If you do not hear from us one week prior to commencement of the programme, please contact us.

Mailing Address:
Education
Singapore Botanic Gardens
National Parks Board
Cluny Road
Singapore 259569
Enquiries: 6471 9961 or 6471 9926
Email: nparks_sbg_edu@nparks.gov.sg

* This webpage was last updated on 12 May 2008 .