The morning session has sold out, and an additional workshop is now available! Here are more details on this workshop, which is a collaboration with Plain Vanilla Bakery, and part of Picnic Days –
String Garden: Kokedama Workshop
Wish to introduce greenery to your space, but looking for something space-saving yet stylish? Also known as ‘moss ball’ and ‘string garden’, Kokedama is a variant of bonsai cultivation, where plant roots are wrapped with moss. It can be suspended using string, or left to sit on a piece of pottery, to be admired.
During this hands-on session, participants will learn how to make and care for their own Kokedama, and take home their creation along with a set of plant notes.
Date: 21 August (Sunday)
Time: 2pm – 4pm
Venue: Plain Vanilla, 1D Yong Siak Street
Price: $75 per person
RSVP: Register in store, or by e-mail to workshops@plainvanillabakery.com
A few days ago, I received my Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) from Milkwood after almost 14 straight days of classes. In between, we had one off day to prepare our personal design projects for presentation and submission, but otherwise, it was a 9-5 day every day. And now that it’s over, I’m a bit sad that I won’t be seeing my classmates very often, but we will continue to stay connected via a private Facebook group that Milkwood created for us.
If you’re wondering what permaculture is, my extremely basic definition is – a holistic design system for managing an ecosystem in harmony with nature, you can find other definitions here. Permaculture co-originator Bill Mollison defines it as “… A philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted & thoughtful observation rather than protracted & thoughtless action; of looking at systems in all their functions rather than asking only one yield of them & of allowing systems to demonstrate their own evolutions,” while the other co-originator, David Holmgren has updated the definition to be “Consciously designed landscapes which mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature, while yielding an abundance of food, fibre and energy for provision of local needs.”
This course was a spiritual experience for me, and probably for most who attended, because we interacted with many gentle, lovely, likeminded people along the way, and the course provided a catalyst for creating change in our lives. Even though I was already open to all the concepts we discussed, the process opened me up further to doing even more for others and the community. I felt recharged after the course and on the last day, we left class on a high note, feeling that there were so many possibilities before us.
I am stoked to be partnering Plain Vanilla Bakery on a couple of workshops in August, as part of Picnic Days – a series of events held over Summer. I’ll be leading workshops on making Kokedama, also known as ‘moss ball’ or string garden, and growing edible flowers. There are lots of interesting activities, including film screenings and an exhibition, see below for all listings.
Photo by Leong Kwok Peng (that’s me, furthest from the camera)
Over the weekend, I joined my friend Kwok Peng and a couple others to explore Tagore Forest. This secondary forest is slated for housing development later in the year, but it is a pity to clear it, as it houses two rare freshwater streams, nationally and globally endangered mammals such as the Sunda Pangolin, Banded-Leaf Monkey and Sunda Slow Loris, endangered and vulnerable plants, as well as naturally and globally threatened birds.
I was most keen to view the Elephant Foot’s Fern, considered vulnerable by NParks. I also got to see tree ferns, which I rarely see here. Interestingly, I saw a lot of dumb cane plants – an introduced species, which is invasive and is a bit out of place in our forests, also, there were lots of plants that are commonly displayed as house plants, you will recognise them in the photos below. I hope these photos will interest you in paying the Lentor Forest a visit. Scroll all the way down for instructions on how to get there!
