Swamp farm for Green Leaf winner

Grant Pereira will plant a spice garden to teach kids where the wonderful fragrance of nasi lemak comes from

By SHARMILPAL KAUR

CHILDREN who like spicy food should have a chance to see how spices are grown instead of thinking that they come out of plastic bags, says a staunch conservationist.

Mr Grant Pereira, 51, who won a Green Leaf award last week for his efforts in protecting the environment, can now give Singapore children this chance.

He will start a spice garden from a sizeable, 1,486-sq-m plot of mangrove swampland in Sungei Tampines.

The land has been entrusted to him by the National Parks Board -- to help educate schoolchildren on the importance of spices.

""Many kids like lontong and nasi lemak, but they think that the spices come out of plastic,'' he said.

He and other green volunteers will plant spices such as clove or cardamom.

""But then the aunties will come and pick the spices,'' he added with a laugh.

""So maybe I will grow some pandan leaves and let them pluck those instead!''

There will also be a butterfly garden and a reflexology spot on the plot of land.

Mr Pereira, a writer and businessman and member of the Singapore Environment Council, believes children should be encouraged to take an interest in the natural environment. But this is not happening often enough, he said.

He feels that the old practices of using natural plant materials for keeping or wrapping food should be re-introduced.

Pointing to a native plant, he said: ""When I was young, we used to eat rojak from this. The hawker would just roll up the rojak in it. No such thing as using plastic.''

He also laments the way many teachers take their students to a beach or river for a clean-up exercise to chalk up school extra-curricular points. He also pointed out that children lose interest in nature walks if their attention is not captured.

And this is his advice to teachers and parents: ""If you are referring to grass, just call it grass, or use the local term, like Serangoon grass. And tell the story behind it, rather than give kids the scientific name.''

Mr Pereira, who heads Riverkeeper, a voluntary group that helps to keep river banks clean to encourage the growth of mangrove species, wants to set up an environment centre at Fort Canning Park -- for green exhibitions and events.

He also wants to start Green Vision 21, to give conservation groups in Singapore a chance to meet and discuss ways of making Singapore more green.