A Walk through History: A Guide to the Singapore Botanic Gardens
Singapore: NParks, 2015
ISBN: 9789810962777

A Walk Through History: A Guide to the Singapore Botanic Gardens is a succinct guide to Singapore's first UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is easily portable for visitors interested in exploring the heritage and modern features of the Gardens. Also included is a pull-out map marked with recommended routes to help visitors plan their visit.

The guide is separated into three parts, the first being an introduction to the 156-year history of the Gardens. The second part takes a closer look at the people, plants and buildings that are significant to its rich heritage. The third part focuses on the modern features of the Gardens, such as the world-famous National Orchid Garden, and also highlights some of the wildlife that can be spotted around the grounds

Images of Singapore Botanic Gardens
Alvin Loh
Singapore: Marshall Cavendish International, 2015
ISBN: 9789814677196

With more than 150 years of history, the 74-hectare Singapore Botanic Gardens holds a unique and significant place in the history of Singapore and the region. It was responsible in its early days for the introduction, experimentation and promotion of crop plants, including the rubber tree; it also spearheaded orchid breeding and started a world-renowned orchid hybridisation programme. Today, it not only continues to play a vital role in the horticultural and botanical fields, the Singapore Botanic Gardens has become a fixture of the cultural landscape and the national identity.

Images of Singapore Botanic Gardens takes the reader on an enchanting photographic tour of the gardens' varied landscapes. Highlights include the National Orchid Garden, home of the world's foremost collection of orchids; Jacob Ballas Children's Garden, the first children's garden in Asia; a lush Rainforest trail boasting rare tropical species; picture-perfect water features such as Swan Lake, Eco Lake and Symphony Lake; and some of the best-preserved specimens of colonial architecture in Singapore.

With the decision on its UNESCO World Heritage status due to be announced in 2015 Q3, interest in the Singapore Botanic Gardens will be at an all-time high. This compact volume, packed with over 250 photographs, vividly captures the spirit of Singapore Botanic Gardens in all its glory.

Rainforest in a City
Chua Ee Kiam
Singapore: National Parks Board, 2015
ISBN: 9789810917128

Rainforest in a City is yet another collaboration between National Parks Board (NParks) and Dr Chua Ee Kiam. The book highlights the natural heritage found in the nature reserves of Bukit Timah and the Central Catchment. While urban growth may be inevitable with an increase in population numbers, it is vital nonetheless to balance development with the conservation of our native biodiversity. It is a role all of us have to play to ensure the long-term survival of our precious rainforests in our city.

This book includes more than 400 images taken within Singapore's rainforests over the three-year span of the project. Readers will be taken into the deep recesses of these forests, to observe their inhabitants at various stages of their life cycles -- both in the day and in the night. Through the book, readers will be inducted into the world of these little-known Singaporeans that are thriving in our midst. Included in this book, too, are exclusive interviews with researchers and scientists who have made significant contributions to our conservation vision.

Gardens of Perpetual Summer: The Singapore Botanic Gardens
Bonnie Tinsley
Singapore: National Parks Board, 2014
ISBN: 9789810700263

Gardens of Perpetual Summer celebrates the Singapore Botanic Gardens: the legacy of accumulated achievements of one hundred and fifty years, and the amazing evolution into modern context of one of the world's most valued cultural treasures. For many generations now the Gardens has provided a reservoir of beauty, knowledge and pleasure from which Singaporeans, foreign residents and visitors have drawn great benefit and inspiration.Today the Gardens enjoys many distinctions. Among them is a five-hectare garden containing the world's most extensive and comprehensive exposition of orchid culture, one of Asia's largest collections of rare palms, the first Cool House in the tropics to recreate the climatic conditions of equatorial forests, an irreplaceable library and herbarium collection, and a six-hectare tract of primeval forest in the heart of one of the world's busiest port cities. Located since 1859 at its present matchless site in the city's Tanglin district, the Gardens' land mass has grown from its original 19 hectare site to reach 63.7 hectares at Bukit Timah Road.

Evolution Garden: Time Travel Through the Plant Kingdom
Ian Turner & Ilsa Sharp
Singapore: National Parks Board, 2014
ISBN: 9789810512682

The Evolution Garden, located at one end of the northern sector, or Discovery Core, of the Botanic Gardens, is a unique concept in garden design. Visitors are taken upon an exciting educational journey that is visually and mentally stimulating.The message that our fragile planet has changed, and is still changing, is boldly illustrated in this Evolution Garden. Its message is that plants are not only beautiful but also crucial to the survival of all life: they make the planet liveable for creatures large and small, and continue to provide for human and environmental sustenance.

This beautiful book goes beyond complementing the displays and guiding visitors through the Evolution Garden. It contains enough information to serve as a stand-alone reference on the exciting journey that our planet has taken, from its primeval misty beginnings to the extraordinary flowering paradise that the blue planet has become.

Nature Contained: Environmental Histories of Singapore
Timothy P. Barnard (ed.)
Singapore: NUS Press, 2014
ISBN: 9789971697907

How has Singapore's environment - and location in a zone of extraordinary biodiversity - influenced the economic, political, social and intellectual history of the island since the early 19th century? What are the antecedents to Singapore's image of itself as a City in a Garden? Grounding the story of Singapore within an understanding of its environment opens the way to an account of the past that is more than a story of trade, immigration and nation building.

Each of the chapters in this volume - focusing on topics ranging from tigers and plantations to trade in exotic animals and the greening of the city, and written by botanists, historians, anthropologists, and naturalists - examines how humans have interacted with and understood the natural environment on a small island in Southeast Asia over the past 200 years, and conversely how this environment has influenced humans.

Between the chapters are traveler's accounts and primary documents that provide eyewitness descriptions of the events examined in the text. In this regard, Nature Contained: Environmental Histories of Singapore provides new insights into the Singaporean past, and reflects much of the diversity, and dynamism, of environmental history globally.

Garden City Singapore: The Legacy of Lee Kuan Yew
Aileen Lau Tan (ed.)
Singapore: Suntree, 2014
ISBN: 9789810787189

This book examines the first-hand experience of those involved in shaping the horticultural development of Singapore, from the 1970s to the 1990s. They are Mr Wong Yew Kwan, Dr Chua Sian Eng, Professor Lee Sing Kong, Mr Choo Thiam Siew and Mrs Pamelia Lee, whose work enabled them to make far-reaching contributions on greening policies and activities in Singapore.

The driving force and main personage behind this decades-long process of transformational greening of Singapore has been Lee Kuan Yew, who took the lead in his capacity as then Prime Minister, to steer and beautify Singapore, to serve his people and also investors and tourists. Determined and dedicated, the authors saw to the setting up of a variety of services tasked at different levels and specialties to green and beautify the island. They often had to interpret, innovate and contemplate the needs of the far future, starting as they had to, with all the limitations of a newly independent and developing Singapore. It took expert knowledge, scientific training, imagination, and the resolve to execute the vision for a truly gardened city. They worked closely with Singapore's oft-dubbed master gardener, Lee Kuan Yew.

This was an exercise that shaped the Republic's physical and horticultural attributes so exemplary and admired around the world today. Once the environment improved from the 1960s, tourism, business deve opment and investments followed in natural succession. Today, the visual evidence of Lee Kuan Yew's legacy is clear to see and enjoy, leaving no corner of Singapore untended to, dovetailing from one need to another, for pleasure or recreation and to promote tourism and business. The book celebrates the efforts of the authors and Lee Kuan Yew's early vision of a Garden City.

My Father in His Suitcase: In Search of E.J.H. Corner, the Relentless Botanist
John K. Corner
Singapore: Landmark Books, 2013
ISBN: 9789814189477

John (Kay) Corner left home in 1960, aged 19. He would never see his father, E. J. H. Corner, again.

Edred John Henry Corner was one of the most colourful and productive biologists and mycologists of the 20th century. His career began in 1929 as Assistant Director of the Straits Settlements Singapore Botanic Gardens, where he trained monkeys to collect specimens from the treetops of the rainforest, and published Wayside Trees of Malaya, a classic field guide interspersed with his delightful and idiosyncratic observations on plant life. He was key in the creation of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, a 163- hectare plot that contains more tree species than the whole of North America.

When war came, he considered it his responsibility to safeguard the scientific and cultural collections of Singapore during the Japanese Occupation, but was branded by some as a collaborator.

Post-war, after heading the ambitious UNESCO Hylean Amazon Project, he returned to Cambridge University and was appointed Professor of Tropical Botany in 1965. There he propounded his theory that the Durian represented an ancestral type of angiosperm tree. He was elected a Fellow of The Royal Society, where he promoted the conservation of tropical forests and led expeditions to the British Solomon Islands and Mount Kinabalu. For the latter, he proposed Kinabalu Park which led to its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

After 46 years, John Corner faces his estranged father in a suitcase marked: ‘For Kay, wherever he might be.’ The letters, pictures and other memorabilia that spill out led him to search for the father he hardly knew, resulting in an engaging and frank biography of an eminent scientist who put science above all, including his family.

Durians are Not the Only Fruit: Notes From the Tropics
Wong Yoon Wah
Singapore: Epigram Books, 2013
ISBN: 9789810766702

In this mix of memoir, lyric essay and nature writing, Wong Yoon Wah takes the unusual approach of turning his gaze away from the people of Nanyang, and examining instead what surrounds us: the fruits we grow, the food we eat, the trees and animals that thrive in our midst. Along the way, he throws us fascinating cultural insights: how thunder tea rice, which contains neither thunder nor tea, acquired its name; how early settlers used the raintree to tell the time; how the behaviour of ants can tell us when a monsoon is about to arrive. Throughout, Wong explores the myths and seduction of Singapore and Malaysia's tropical rainforest landscape and the rubber plantations of his childhood, getting at the very essence of humans' profound attachment to place.

A Naturalist's Guide to the Birds of Singapore
Yong Ding Li, Lim Kim Chuah & Lee Tiah Khee
Oxford: John Beaufoy, 2013
ISBN: 9781906780890

This easy-to-use identification guide to the 280 bird species most commonly seen in Singapore is perfect for resident and visitor alike. High quality photographs from Singapore's top nature photographers are accompanied by detailed species descriptions which include nomenclature, size, distribution, habits and habitat. The user-friendly introduction covers geography and climate, vegetation, opportunities for naturalists and the main sites for viewing the listed species. Also included is an all-important checklist of all of the birds of Singapore encompassing, for each species, its common and scientific name, IUCN status.

Down the Seletar River: Discovering a Hidden Treasure of Singapore
Eugene Wijeysingha
Singapore: Seletar Hills Estate Residents' Association, 2013
ISBN: 9789710579204

The Seletar Hills Estate Residents' Association, in commemoration of its 45th anniversary, has published a book entitled Down the Seletar River: Discovering a Hidden Treasure of Singapore. Seletar, as defined in this book, covers more specifically the area south of Yishun, encompassing Seletar Hills, Jalan Kayu, the Seletar Airbase and the Yio Chu Kang / Lorong Buangkok area.

This heritage book on Seletar documents its history from as early as the 1800s when the Seletar River was populated by indigenous river nomads called the Orang Seletar. It traces its development from the late 1800s when early Chinese migrants came up the River to farm the land and engaged first in vegetable farming and animal husbandry, later with cash crops such as pepper and gambier, to be followed by the cultivation of rubber. With the boom in the rubber industry in the early 1900s, large scale rubber cultivation transformed the area into a landscape of rubber plantations.

The book also touches on the development of the British Military Airbase at Seletar, the first of its kind in the Far East, which impacted the island state and gave rise to much needed housing development. The development of the airbase and residential housing estates to provide for the great shortage in housing, transformed Seletar, which had traditionally been agricultural, into a modern suburban landscape. The development of the new Seletar Aerospace Park, which will be a major hub for the aerospace industry, is another step towards modernization.

In exploring the region’s history, the book also reveals little nuggets of historical significance – Jalan Kayu, a food haven attracting visitors from all corners of the island, Kampong Buangkok, the last of the traditional kampongs on the mainland, Bukit Sembawang’s only rubber processing factory, and Seletar West Farmway, with its mix of mushroom and ornamental tropical fish farms.

Seletar has a rich history and charm of its own, and it is for this reason that the book has been compiled. Despite its physical transformation from a rural community to a modern suburb, it has still managed to retain its greenery and tranquility; it is a welcome retreat from the noise and bustle of city living, and is a much sought-after area to live in.

Down the Seletar River captures the nostalgic memories of many people who have been forthcoming in sharing their personal stories and recollections and expressing their sentiments of this little corner of Singapore they call “home”.

It is hoped that this book will enhance public awareness of the rich and vibrant heritage of this northern part of Singapore called Seletar, and also make interesting reading for future generations for whom it will be a chapter in the continuing tale of local heritage history.

Living in a Garden: The Greening of Singapore
Timothy Auger
Singapore: Editions Didier Millet, 2013
ISBN: 9789814385244

In June 1963, Singapore's prime minister planted a tree to mark the beginning of a sustained campaign to enhance the city state's appearance. No one could have anticipated the transformation that followed. This is the story of that process. Now, 50 years later, highly urbanized Singapore enjoys a green network of nature reserves, large and small parks, tree-lined streets and community gardens that is the envy of other big cities.

Singapore has had to make tough decisions. Land is scarce. There are trade-offs between maintaining the island's rich, natural biodiversity and public demands for housing and infrastructure appropriate to the 21st century. Nevertheless, the National Parks Board, and its partners in the public, private and civic sectors, continue to strive to keep Singapore green.

Lavishly illustrated, the book shows how Singapore aims to be a 'City in a Garden', reminding us that the community must engage with the greening ‘mission;, if this great achievement is to continue.

Wild Singapore
Geoffrey Davison, Ria Tan, & Benjamin Lee
US: John Beaufoy Publishing, 2012
ISBN: 9781906780722

The book starts with a look at Singapore's wild past: its biogeography from before human occupation up to 19th century changes and finishes with a look at the possible future of wildlife in the country. In between, there are full details on the current flora and fauna to be found in and on Singapore's reefs and rocks, mangroves and mud, lowland and swamp forests, and parks and gardens. A unique feature in each chapter is the 'Guided Tour' which takes readers to specific habitats to explore the trees, birds, plants and animals to be found there. Written by three expert authors, Wild Singapore provides an authoritative and entertaining survey of the wide spectrum of wildlife on the land and in the seas of Singapore.

Little Flower: Singapore Wild Flowers Up Close: Through the Lens of Jon Boon
Jon Boon
Singapore: Secondmouse Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810726409

When was the last time you stopped to smell the roses? Whether you are a botany enthusiast or someone who simply appreciates the beauty of our local flora, this book lets you get close and personal with 70 of Singapore blooms. Each flower is photographically captured in its natural environment, mainly in the heartlands.

Keeping the content simple and factual, with details carefully captured, Little Flower: Singapore Wild Flowers Up Close is the only pictorial book on local flowers of its kind and provides a picture-rich reference.

Green House: Sustainable Design at Gardens by the Bay, Singapore
Patrick Bellew, Meredith Davey, & Paul Baker
Novato, CA: ORO Editions, 2012
ISBN: 9781935935568

The book explores the sustainable design principles and innovative engineering behind the development of two of the world's largest conditioned public conservatories or biomes. Nestled within waterfront gardens, the biomes are the centrepiece of a development that will define Singapore as the world's premier tropical garden city: gardens that are on track to become a national and international exemplar of sustainable practice.

Through a combination of photographs, graphics and narratives, the book explores the challenges of building two huge enclosures to recreate, in Singapore's naturally sunny, hot and humid environment, the ideal growing conditions for plants from cool-dry Mediterranean regions and the cool-moist conditions of tropical mountain regions.

While the thrust of the narrative will consider the environmental design and engineering approach of Atelier Ten, three other voices reflect upon the landscape, architectural and structural engineering issues that confronted the core members of the integrated design team. As environmental engineers Atelier Ten developed highly innovative passive and active environmental strategies for controlling conditions within the conservatories, while minimising energy demand to exemplar levels. Outside the Biomes the unique Supertree structures house components of the systems that provide cool and dry air to the biomes and also incorporate photovoltaic panels to generate power. The systems run mainly on tree-thinnings - waste material generated by Singapore's National Parks maintenance programme - which are being diverted from landfill to be used as a source of biomass to generate energy and heat. The landscaping incorporates extensive natural water treatment devices to control, attenuate and cleanse the enormous flows of water from the biome roof areas and the hard landscaping areas during tropical storms. These have been seamlessly integrated into the hard and soft landscaping which comes to life during the frequent deluges that are characteristic of the tropical climate. In addition, Atelier Ten have developed sustainable management matrices to establish agreed principles of design and construction to exceed benchmarks establish by LEED(TM), Singapore's BCA Green Mark scheme and One Planet Living approaches.

Private Lives: An Expose of Singapore's Rainforests
Wang Luan Keng
Singapore: Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, 2012
ISBN: 9789810724733

The latest in this brilliantly done series of interesting books about Singapore's nature and biodiversity. It covers maybe the most important habitat of all: the tropical rainforests, which still cover small sections of the island. Packed with new information and new stunning photography of charismatic animals and plants that will surprise you. Great souvenir and gift item as well as important reference for serious students of tropical ecology.

Caterpillars of Singapore's Butterflies
Singapore: National Parks Board, 2012
ISBN: 9789810715571

To the uninitiated, caterpillars are green, worm-like creatures that are the young of butterflies. But once you get up close and personal, you will discover how varied caterpillars can be! From colours to processes, to setae to cephalic horns, each caterpillar has its own unique features. Even in their pupal stage, caterpillars come in different colours, shapes and sizes.

By identifying these unique features through photos and descriptions, this book hopes to help butterfly breeders, nature lovers and students of biology learn to recognise the butterfly species each caterpillar belongs to, as well as the plants they feed on.

The 80 caterpillars featured in this book were chosen for their common occurrence in Singapore. Although some caterpillars are less commonly seen than others, a careful observation of plants in nature reserves, parks and gardens, and even in residential estates will turn up a good selection of caterpillars.

So, before you feast your eyes on butterflies, do take some time and care to observe the varied caterpillars in Singapore.

Perpetual Spring: Singapore's Gardens by the Bay
Koh Buck Song
Singapore: Marshall Cavendish, 2012
ISBN: 9789812618474

Gardens have always been central to Singapore's identity and global positioning. Now, a fresh era has blossomed with Gardens by the Bay. Since the 1960s, this young nation has cultivated its international reputation as a "Garden City", a city-state adorned by gardens as a high priority in urban planning. In the 21st century, a paradigm shift is being carefully nurtured - as Singapore becomes a "City in a Garden", where the whole country is one big garden, and urban development is fully integrated and immersed amidst greenery and floral. The primary icon of this groundbreaking model is Gardens by the Bay. Plants from little corners of the globe and sustainable technology at the cutting-edge are brought together and harnessed. The fruits of these efforts include botanical landmarks such as the Vertical verdure of the Supertrees and two cooled conservatories introducing "perpetual spring" to this equatorial isle. This commemorative volume tells the story of the seeding of Gardens by the Bay, from the germination of the concept to first flowering and harvest with the official opening in 2012.

Trees of the Istana: Treasures in the Domain
Wong Tuan Wah
Singapore: National Parks Board & Suntree Media, 2011
ISBN: 9789810874810

Commissioned by President Nathan, Trees of the Istana features over 70 species of trees out of some 150 species found at the Istana. It provides readers with a glimpse into the greening of the Istana domain since its completion in 1869 and how it has been lovingly nurtured into a stately arboretum that has welcomed foreign dignitaries, statesmen, royalty, and local visitors. The Istana domain is also a flourishing sanctuary for wildlife including birds, butterflies, squirrels, dragonflies and more.

Some of the interesting trees featured in the book include an unusual nutmeg tree which has produced several fruits with 'twin' seeds instead of one seed, the Pride of Burma tree which produces beautiful orchid-like flowers, and Heritage trees that have grown into majestic giants.

Singapore Biodiversity: An Encyclopedia of the Natural Environment and Sustainable Development
Peter K.L. Ng (ed.)
Singapore: Editions Didier Millet, 2011
ISBN: 9789814260084

Amidst Singapore's glistening urban landscape there is an amazing diversity of life - wildlife that continues to thrive and flourish in spite of multiple threats to the island's fragile ecosystem. This groundbreaking encyclopedia represents the first-ever comprehensive guide to nature in Singapore and is written by the city's foremost authorities on the natural environment, who describe in detail more than 40,000 species of flora and fauna that make up the island's biodiversity. The encyclopedia comprises two parts: the first is a fine collection of essays outlining issues relating to biodiversity, ecosystems and sustainability; the second part of the book is a comprehensive A-Z directory of over 1,500 entries, covering virtually every known organism found in Singapore. This unique reference work is not only academically rigorous - based as it is on the latest cutting-edge data and fieldwork - but its richly illustrated presentation is eminently suitable for a wider, non-specialist readership.