With NLB, Learning About Sustainability Is A Walk In The Park

Access NLB’s sustainability-themed e-resources through ”Nodes at Parks” in various parks across Singapore

 

The National Library Board (NLB) launched its “Nodes at Parks”, a series of interactive installations that will be roving to parks and gardens across Singapore over the next few months. Through these Nodes, everyone can access NLB’s e-resources on sustainability, learn more ways to lead a sustainable lifestyle, and contribute to the Singapore Green Plan 2030. “Nodes at Parks” is a collaborative project spearheaded by NLB together with community partners, green entrepreneurs and schools.  The initiative is supported by the SG Eco Fund. Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and the Environment Baey Yam Keng graced the launch event at Gardens by the Bay.

“Nodes at Parks” is part of NLB’s ongoing efforts to extend the library experience beyond its physical facilities, and to make learning and discovery accessible anytime in everyday spaces. “Nodes at Parks” will start at Gardens by the Bay, and rove to Jurong Lake Gardens, East Coast Park, and Pasir Ris Park, in the coming months. This is part of NLB’s LAB25 (Libraries and Archives Blueprint 2025) goal of building a vibrant and dynamic Learning Marketplace through community partnerships. Visitors are encouraged to sign up for a myLibrary username and download the NLB Mobile App, to start accessing e-resources curated for “Nodes at Parks”, as well as other NLB resources anytime, anywhere.

“Nodes at Parks” will feature two installations – the Sustainability Showcase and the Sustainable Benches.

 

Sustainability Showcase

Through the Sustainability Showcase, NLB will bring a supermarket-like learning experience to parks and gardens around Singapore. Visitors can check out pop-ups resembling supermarket shelves that are filled with products, such as exercise mats made from shoe waste, and cultivated meats. These products were contributed by community partners and green entrepreneurs, such as The Plastic Project, ChopValue SG, Confetti Snacks, Insectta and students from Nanyang Polytechnic. The Sustainability Showcase aims to inspire visitors to embrace sustainability as a part of everyday life and actively co-create sustainable ideas for the future. 

Visitors will also find QR codes to access a list of NLB-curated e-resources that will offer different perspectives to eight sustainability-themed “Big Questions”. These “Big Questions” focus on sustainable food production, food waste, single-use plastics and upcycling, as well as the support of local produce. The content will also be made available on NLB’s Read To Be Sure and LearnX platforms.

Everyone can head to the Showcase to donate or exchange pre-loved books at a book exchange corner. This is part of NLB’s efforts to cultivate the habit of donating and recycling books. Visitors are also invited to contribute a memorable personal experience about the environment at the memory booth. The collected memories will serve as inspiration for an e-book on Singapore’s changing environmental landscape, which will be published by NLB in February 2023.

 

Sustainable Benches

Besides the Sustainability Showcase, “Parks at Nodes” also features 16 Sustainable Benches. These benches are sustainably-produced with recycled wood from a West Indian Locust (Hymenaea courbaril) tree from Cornwall Road and a Senegal Mahogany (Khaya senegalensis) tree from Pasir Ris Park. 14 benches were adopted and painted by students from seven Secondary Schools, based on their creative interpretations of NLB’s sustainability-themed e-resources. These vibrant benches will make their way back to the campuses of the participating schools after their deployment at the parks and gardens.

Through the QR codes featured on each bench, visitors will be able to access NLB’s e-resources on different topics pertaining to sustainability and the environment, along with a series of fun and educational videos produced by Republic Polytechnic students.

NLB’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Ng Cher Pong, said: “Through ‘Nodes at Parks’, we seek to spur interest in learning about sustainable living and cultivate a stronger sense of environmental awareness. As part of our LAB25 vision of building a vibrant Learning Marketplace, we are increasing the accessibility of our resources, to make them available anywhere and anytime, so that more people can be equipped with the know-how to make sustainable choices, and embrace sustainability as a way of life.”

 

Bringing Nodes to everyday spaces

The “Nodes at Parks” installations will be roving to four different parks and gardens in Singapore, from October 2022 to February 2023. 

Gardens by the Bay: 14 October to 22 November 2022
Jurong Lake Gardens: 25 November to 18 December 2022
East Coast Park: 21 December 2022 to 24 January 2023
Pasir Ris Park: 27 January to 26 February 2023

Refer to Annex A for more information about the “Nodes at Parks” installations.

 

About the National Library Board

The National Library Board (NLB) nurtures Readers for Life, Learning Communities and a Knowledgeable Nation by promoting reading, learning and history through its network of 28 libraries, the National Library and the National Archives of Singapore. NLB also forges strategic partnerships that encourage awareness, appreciation and greater discovery of Singapore's history through its rich collections in Singapore and the region.

NLB achieves excellence through innovation, focusing on citizen engagement and co-creation, resource and digital innovation. This creates learning opportunities, greater access to library resources, services, and archival collections, as well as a continual development of innovative library spaces. Established on 1 September 1995 as a statutory board, NLB is under the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI).

For more information, please visit the NLB website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube channels.

For media enquiries, please contact:

Quah Jia Ling Melissa Sharif
Weber Shandwick Weber Shandwick
Tel: 9699 0830 Tel: 9430 1103
Email: quah@webershandwick.com  Email: msharif@webershandwick.com

 

ANNEX A

“NODES AT PARKS” INSTALLATIONS

Visitors can participate in a contest to win $100 worth of shopping e-vouchers (5 lucky winners at each park). Simply scan the QR codes on seven sustainable benches to find 14 hidden letters. Unscramble them and submit the answer in an online contest form.

 1) Sustainability Showcase
 Activity  Details

Supermarket-like Pop-Ups

Taking the shape of a literal supermarket experience, this interactive installation seeks to showcase sustainability as an integral part of everyday life, and to encourage visitors to be conscious of their purchasing choices, and to actively co-create sustainability ideas for the future.

The modular supermarket-like shelves will be filled with sustainable products contributed by eight community partners and green entrepreneurs:

  • The Plastic Project
  • ChopValue Sg
  • Confetti Snacks
  • Shiok Meats
  • Students from Nanyang Polytechnic
  • Insectta
  • Netafarm
  • Creuse

Through QR codes found on the panels, visitors will be able to access a list of NLB-curated e-resources, which provide different perspectives to eight sustainability-themed “Big Questions”. These “Big Questions” topics, devised in collaboration with NLB’s Read To Be SURE programme, focus on sustainable food production, food waste, single-use plastics and upcycling, as well as the support of local produce. The public can also vote for their preferred perspective on the webpage after reading the e-resources. 

NLB’s Read to Be SURE initiative aims to promote information literacy and empower everyone to form their own judgements based on a balanced and credible knowledge content. 

After exploring the Showcase, visitors can also test their knowledge by trying out an online quiz to redeem discount e-coupons from participating partners.

On selected weekends, visitors can participate in the partners’ “Show & Tell” sessions featuring demonstrations and activities on the sustainability journey of their products. 

 

Book Exchange Corner

The Book Exchange Corner aims to give used library books or donated preloved books a new lease of life, and to encourage recycling among the public. 

Visitors can select up to three used library books at their own time, while stocks last. Weekly replenishments of books will be arranged.

To cultivate the sustainable habit of donating and recycling books, visitors will also be encouraged to donate or exchange their preloved books. 

Visitors who prefer digital books can download free sustainability-themed e-resources by downloading the NLB Mobile App and signing up for a myLibrary ID. 

 

Memory Campaign

Visitors are invited to contribute written stories and photographs to a memory campaign. These collected memories will serve as inspiration for an e-book on Singapore’s changing environmental landscape. 

 
 2) Sustainable Benches
 Activity  Details

Sustainable Benches

NLB will be deploying 16 Sustainable Benches, made from repurposed wood provided by the National Parks Board (NParks), across parks and gardens in Singapore. Visitors will be able to directly download NLB’s e-resources on sustainability and the environment and access a series of fun and educational videos produced by Republic Polytechnic students (as part of their Final Year Project), through QR codes featured on each bench. 

14 benches were adopted and painted by students from seven Secondary Schools, based on their creative interpretations of NLB’s sustainability-themed e-resources.

SUSTAINABILITY THEMES OF SEVEN BENCHES
  • Introductory bench with unique hourglass design
  • Bench 1: State of the world
  • Bench 2: Impact of climate change
  • Bench 3: Negative Repercussions
  • Bench 4: Mitigating climate change
  • Bench 5: Community efforts (What has been done by the community?)
  • Bench 6:  Our Earth (How will climate change impact the world we live in?)
  • Bench 7: What will we do? (What will you do to mitigate climate change?)

Students from the following seven secondary schools painted these benches:

  1. Admiralty Secondary School
  2. Chua Chu Kang Secondary School
  3. Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Secondary School
  4. Ngee Ann Secondary School
  5. Spectra Secondary School
  6. Yusof Ishak Secondary School
  7. Zhonghua Secondary School

Seek & Unscramble Contest

Visitors can participate in a contest to win $100 worth of shopping e-vouchers (5 lucky winners at each park). Simply scan the QR codes on seven sustainable benches to find 14 hidden letters. Unscramble them and submit the answer in an online contest form.