A tour of the highest rooftop garden in the world will be one of the highlights for a delegation from Charles Darwin University at the International Skyrise Greenery Conference in Singapore next week.
CDU Horticulture lecturer, Scott McDonald said Singapore has become a world leader in the development of innovative technology to create green space within the constraints of an urban setting.
“Singapore has a philosophy of ‘creating a city inside a garden’, implementing legislation that 40 per cent of all urban development is designated as green space,” he said.
“Since this legislation the country has developed some amazing innovative technology including a 60-storey high rooftop garden and vertical green walls growing up the sides of high rise buildings.”
Mr McDonald will visit Singapore along with the CDU Horticulture Aquaculture Team and representatives from the Nursery and Garden Industry of the Northern Territory.
After last years tour of Singapore with industry partners the Landscape Industry Alliance for Integrated Sustainable Environments was formed as an advisory body to government and businesses in the NT.
“We hope to learn how the latest innovative technology can be adapted to help green the Territory in the future,” he said.
“Darwin has similar climate and plants to Singapore and this is a great opportunity to gain new knowledge and ideas to drive CDU and the Territory’s horticultural development.
“We will also visit some nurseries and research facilities to learn how to market our native plants and talk with industry partners about potential collaborative research projects and students exchange.”
CDU ground staff member and horticulture student, Lisa Hicks will leave her three children for the first time ever to travel to Singapore for the week long trip.
“Both the city of Darwin and the CDU campuses are growing and this will give us some fresh ideas to discover new avenues we can explore for future planning,” she said.
Lisa who changed her career path from child care worker to horticulture two and a half years ago said the career change gave her an opportunity to finally pursue her life-long love.
“Horticulture as a career has opened my eyes to all kinds of new things. I have never seen anything like these amazing Skyrise gardens and am excited to see how they are maintained. I think this will be a life changing experience.”