Nasi Ulam Forest Garden as a Living Lab

Honor Award

Student Community Service Award

Singapore
Wen Ting Toh; Wan Ching Tee, Student International ASLA; Yi Wei Goh, Student International ASLA; Zenn Lim, Student International ASLA; Cleon Lai Yi Hui, Student International ASLA;
Faculty Advisors: Yun Hye Hwang;
National University of Singapore

Rewriting the History of Manicured Lawns

The project aims to evoke the character of past local landscapes by fitting manicured lawns with ecological and agricultural functions.

Image Credit: Eugen von Reansonnet (Left), Van Trang Jen Dang (Middle), Yun Hye Hwang (Right)
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Site and Context

The campus green space receives seeds of spontaneous natives from two key secondary forest patches, which grow alongside planted kampung perennials.

Image Credit: LAC Student Maintenance Team
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Envisioning a Communal Green Space with Ecological and Sociocultural Functions

The garden serves as a living lab for ecological education, preserving native species and fostering social interactions through planting activities.

Image Credit: Terrence Tan
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Project Timeline

Starting with plants obtained from a closing farm, the garden accretes with vegetation through spontaneous growth, selective maintenance and planting.

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Communications for Garnering Volunteer Participation

A combination of print and digital media provides effective communications in inviting volunteers for student-led planting activities.

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Section of the Site Featuring Key Plant Species

As shown in the section, 24 edible spontaneous or planted flora species can be found within the garden, serving different ecological purposes.

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Tracking Biodiversity over Time

As the garden matures over time, biodiversity hosted within it increases, with a total of 21 birds, 28 butterflies and 9 other fauna observed in 2025.

Image Credit: Ervine Lin (Right)
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1st Planting Day: Learning Planting and Composting Processes from a Local Farmer

Volunteers transplanted valuable edible plants rescued from a farm subjected to closure, and learnt about composting from the local farmer.

Image Credit: Ervine Lin and Terrence Tan
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2nd Planting Day: Engaging the Community in Gardening and Traditional Food Culture

After a morning of planting and composting activities, participants learnt to prepare Nasi Ulam from ingredients harvested from the garden.

Image Credit: Terrence Tan
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3rd and 4th Planting Days: Learning Plant Identification

Participants were guided by a botanist to identify and tag native flora species, while continuing to grow the garden by propagating plants on-site.

Image Credit: Terrence Tan
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5th Planting Day: Transplanting Native Tree Saplings to a Campus Nursery

Native tree saplings were dug out from the garden and transplanted to a campus nursery to be cultivated for internal tree-planting activities.

Image Credit: Sumaiya Azad
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6th Planting Day: Learning Plant Propagation Techniques and Providing ‘Cues to Care’

Participants learnt about a range of plant propagation techniques, and added flowering species to the edge of the garden as ‘cues to care’.

Image Credit: Sumaiya Azad and Zenn Lim
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7th Planting Day: Recycling Leaf Litter and A Bountiful Harvest

Leaf litter preserved under rain trees was recycled as compost material, and plants were harvested from the garden to create a Nasi Ulam Feast.

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Monitoring Biophysical and Ecological Functions of the Garden

University collaborators from various fields guide students on measurements and surveys to assess biophysical and ecological functions of the garden.

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A Multi-stakeholder Approach Towards Community Engagement

A network of stakeholders empowers the student collective with knowledge and resources to lead activities that foster engagement with the garden.

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The Garden as a Platform for Outreach

The garden is used as a model to advocate for the potential of rewilding green spaces, through engaging with nature societies and other institutions.

Image Credit: Yun Hye Hwang, Sumaiya Azad and Srivarshini Radhakrishnan
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Project Credits

Hwang Yun Hye
Associate Professor, NUS CDE, Directing and Supervising

Mahadi Bin Sugiri
Special Associate, NUS UCI Management

Ang Chee Wee
Associate Director, NUS UCI Management

Terrence Tan Chun Liang
Senior Lecturer and Programme Director, NUS, Photographer

Lin Shengwei Ervine
Senior Lecturer and Deputy Head, NUS, Photographer

Sumaiya Azad
NUS Student, LAC, Photographer

Boo Chih Min
Camphora EIA Consultancy, Flora Surveyor

Cheong Weei Gan
Nature Society of Singapore, Fauna Surveyor

Alika Ho Wei Lun
Edible Gardener, Seek Folks, Consultation of Farming Techniques and Skills

Project Statement

This student-led project presents a rewilded landscape that blends nature conservation with community farming, reconnecting city dwellers to the "Kampung Spirit" of community connectedness. Through organising activities that tap on the university community and collaborators, manicured lawns are turned into a living lab with integrated food-growing functions, boosting biodiversity, preserving sociocultural values and enhancing educational opportunities. This garden fosters environmental stewardship and demonstrates rewilding's potential to redefine urban green spaces, providing a model for institutions to learn about the importance of combining natural processes with thoughtful human intervention to achieve a sustainable campus greenery.

Project Narrative

Nasi Ulam Forest Garden is an alternative green space in a university campus composed of edible and spontaneous plants that flourish together under selective maintenance. It features around 30 edible species that form the ingredients of Nasi Ulam (Malay mixed-salad rice), including fruit trees, vegetables, and herbs, layered with naturally grown tree saplings and wildflowers. Organic compost, edible plants, tree saplings, and vegetable seeds were transferred to the garden from one of the last surviving local permaculture farms running on an expiring land lease. It provides an opportunity for students to learn about multifunctional values of rewilding green spaces and local kampung perennials, while developing storytelling tools to build and sustain academic-community alliances. A student-led organization from the bachelor’s of landscape architecture programme known as the Landscape Architecture Collective (LAC), serves as the conduit that inherits from pioneering local farmers their knowledge on maintaining a forest garden, and disseminates this information to the school community through organising planting activities. This ensures that the sustainable ethos that balances agriculture with the preservation of the wild, continues to be practiced in the current generation. These planting activities have been held twice a semester since 2022, inviting volunteers to partake in a day of planting, where they are engaged in transplanting, weeding, composting and survey activities that contribute to the upkeep of the garden. In addition, herbs are occasionally harvested from the garden and used to make Nasi Ulam, allowing participants to understand the value of ‘farm-to-table’ tied to indigenous food culture. Halting regular grass-cutting in the originally manicured campus lawn allowed for the spontaneous growth of vegetation from seeds brought to site by wind and birds. The selective removal of invasive climbers and fast growing trees helped to maintain the diversity and health of slow-growing native flora. Planting of edible species in clusters of varying heights and forms under the preserved canopy, creates a multi-layered vegetation structure that harbours a range of wildlife. Planting of edible species in clusters of varying heights and forms under the preserved canopy, creates a multi-layered vegetation structure that harbours a range of wildlife. After 4 years, the garden hosts 28 planted edible and over 12 spontaneous flora species, many of which are native to the tropical rainforest.The garden has also become a habitat for 28 butterfly and 21 bird species, including hornbills that play a crucial role in seed dispersal for numerous native flora.This symbolic landscape evokes the character of the country’s early tropical rainforests, plantations and scrublands. At the same time, selective maintenance, following Nassauer’s Cue to Care concept, ensures public acceptance and safety. Paved paths made from recycled concrete, and neat edges provide pleasant walking experiences, balancing tamed and untamed elements, while facilitating ease of access to maintain the garden.The project's ecological aesthetics enhance public appreciation for dynamic vegetation growth. By involving diverse groups in monitoring biodiversity and participating in hands-on activities on a regular basis, the garden serves as a living laboratory offering educational opportunities that foster environmental stewardship and ecological knowledge.

Plant List:

Musa basjoo (Hardy Banana)
Piper sarmentosum (Wild Betel)
Canna indica L. (Edible Canna)
Cedrelinga cateniformis (Wyra Caspi)
Melothria pendula (Creeping Cucumber)
Dillenia suffruticosa (Simpoh Air)
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis (Checkered Hibiscus)
Melastoma malabathricum (Senduduk)
Morinda citrifolia (Indian Mulberry)
Manilkara zapota (Chiku)
Miconia calvescens (Velvet Tree)
Morus alba (Mulberry)
Ipomoea batatas (Sweet Potato)
Zingiber officinale (Ginger)
Gliricidia sepium (Quick Stick)
Stachytarpheta cayennensis (Snake Weed)
Saccharum officinarum (Sugarcane)
Syzygium lineatum (Common Kelat)
Clitoria ternatea (Blue Pea)
Tamarindus indica (Tamarind)
Manihot esculenta (Cassava)
Colocasia esculenta (Taro)
Tetracera potatoria
Nasturtium officinale (Wild Watercress)
Miconia crenata (Koster's Curse)
Senna alata (Candlestick Plant)
Thitonia diversifolia (Mexican sunflower)
Cnidoscolus aconitifolius (Chaya)
Cosmos caudatus (Ulam Raja)
Pandanus amaryllifolius (Pandan)
Cymbopogon citratus (Lemongrass)
Caesalpinnia pulcherrima (Peacock Flower)
Citrus limon (Lemon)
Leea indica (Common Tree-Vine)
Etlingera elatior (Torch Ginger)
Ananas champaca (Pineapple)
Vitex trifolia (Blue Vitex)
Passiflora edulis (Passion Fruit)
Syzygium polyanthum (Indonesian Bay leaf)
Fagraea fragrans (Tembusu)