06/04/2026
Throwback to our event on 5 March at Plant Therapy Studio 🌿
As part of Ideas Festival 2026, we hosted the session “From Ecosystem Services to Cultural Wellbeing: Ground-Up Pathways for Resilience.” Together with Park Hye Young from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts – University of the Arts Singapore (NAFA-UAS), we explored Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES), which is the non-material benefits we derive from nature, such as identity, heritage, and wellbeing.
Through the lens of therapeutic horticulture, we reflected on how nature-based, ground-up practices can nurture mental health, social cohesion, and community resilience.
Resilience isn’t just infrastructural: it’s cultural and ecological. It flourishes when people, place, and practice are interwoven.
Participants also got hands-on with Hapa Zome, a traditional technique of imprinting plant pigments onto fabric. Beyond creating beautiful tote bags, the process of hammering and transferring pigments supported fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination, and meaningful social interaction.
Photo Credit: Luna and Erica
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