March 23-31, 2025
I recently spent an enriching week in Singapore, connecting with colleagues, sharing knowledge about soil health and biological farming, and experiencing the vibrant culture of this remarkable city-state. Here’s a glimpse into my journey:
Sunday, March 23: Arrival
I arrived at Changi Airport and was met by my wonderful Godson’s family. What a great airport compared with Tullamarine in Melbourne! We need to do something to make our airport into an international airport of quality.
Of course, we dropped my cases and went straight to the street food nearby – a perfect introduction to Singapore’s famous culinary scene!
Monday, March 24: Government and University Meetings
This was a wonderful day facilitated by Bjorn Low, my colleague from Australia and Singapore. We had an interesting trip trying to find the correct building that housed the Singapore Food Agency (part of the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment) where we met with staff involved in farming plots in Singapore:
- Hazel Chew, Manager Crop Protection, SFA
- Grace Yang, Assistant Director, Industry Development & Community Partnership, SFA
- Bee Ling Poh, Director, Urban Food Solution Division, Agri Technology & Food Innovation Department, SFA
They are interested in reducing synthetic chemical input. Because of the high rainfall and humidity, mildews are a problem. We discussed 10% milk as a powdery mildew management tool but also as a food for beneficial microbes.
In the afternoon, Bjorn and I moved on to the National University of Singapore (NUS) to visit Professor Ong’s PhD and postdoc students at the National University of Singapore Environmental Research Institute (NERI). We discussed their projects around soil proteomics, soil microbial DNA, and soil health generally. We toured some amazing laboratories with the very latest technology, hosted by research fellow Andrew Elohim Laioo. I was able to add some different perspectives for the researchers to consider, making it an enlightening experience for me and useful for them too.
Tuesday, March 25: Community Gardens and Composting
Bjorn collected me early in the morning, and we met another group of amazing young naturalists at Boon Lay Nature Garden in Jorong Central Park. Cuifen Pui, who calls herself a compost artisan and food sustainability educator, was our lovely contact. She has an amazing ability to engage with groups to teach them how to compost with kitchen waste and plant residues and to develop forage gardens.
Garden plots are available to local people with small metal lock-ups for their tools. The diverse planting of forage plants and plants that attract pollinators and butterflies was impressive.
A beautiful wetland has been established where we saw a migratory bird that comes from Siberia via China to Singapore, Broome, and finally the RAMSAR site in Westernport Bay in Victoria, Australia. We also spotted two brown monitors and a rare green monitor in the wetland. It was magical!
While at the gardens, I saw an autonomous lawn mower doing its job – this would be a cost saver in Australia on bowling greens and golf greens.
We met Ee Peng Ang, founder of Soil Social, for lunch at a community kitchen where local people can get food for free or for a small contribution. The kitchen owners use this area to teach prospective food stall operators how to cook, present food, and run a business. It’s a wonderful community enterprise, and the food was delicious.
Wednesday, March 26: Cultural Day
Day of rest spent eating and visiting art galleries with our God family, Suriani and Heiko. Also bought silk for a frock for the September gala dinner and announcement of the national AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award.
Thursday and Friday, March 27-28: Conference
I spent these days at the conference but was unfortunately mostly in bed unwell with a severe asthma attack. I was able to make my presentation on “Mineralisation of urban waste through composting in agriculture in a circular economy” before I became too unwell. A copy of this presentation is available on the Agpath website.
Friday night, our god family and I had an early dinner then went to a concert in the “durian” (the Singapore Concert Theatre) and enjoyed the performance of a German pianist playing with the full orchestra. It was a truly magical performance.
Saturday, March 29: Resilient Food Future Seminar
Still not feeling my best but ready for an interesting day at the “Resilient Food Future” seminar put on by the Climate Action group within the Singapore Government. Here I met Carrie Tan, Head of Partnerships, PAP (People’s Action Party), and Dr. Poh Koon Koh (Ministry of Manpower, Singapore Government). Professor Ong was also speaking.
After an amazing lunch served on banana leaf, Chengwei Chen gave a demonstration of composting based on the principles of Dr. Elaine Ingham. Chengwei is a permaculture practitioner involved in reducing food waste in Singapore through composting and lives in both Australia and Singapore. She has attended my weekend workshops here at Agpath in Victoria.
It seems all I did was eat while in Singapore – the street food is so good!
Sunday, March 30: Final Day and Departure
I checked out of my hotel and took a taxi to Su and Heiko’s home where we met up with Ee Peng, Cuifen, and Chengwei again for a two-hour Zoom Food Citizen and Soil Social session on soil health.
At 4pm, I took a taxi back to the airport. I slept all the way home and arrived at Melbourne Tullamarine at 5:20am Monday morning.
A wonderfully successful trip to Singapore that helped forge new connections and share knowledge about sustainable farming practices and soil health across international boundaries.
Dr. Mary Cole is the founder of Agpath, a biological farming research and education centre based in Garfield, Victoria, and the 2025 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award winner for Victoria.