I'm writing this in a cafe (not interesting), rushing before I have to go meet a man on his balcony in 1.5 hours (more interesting) while in the second week of the month-long Building-Integrated Agriculture study abroad program in Singapore (very interesting).
Clarification is needed: the study abroad group and I happened to meet one of the employees, an architect turned landscaper, while visiting the Arden Food Forest site on the 51st floor of the CapitaSpring skyscraper. Lucky for my project group, Arden is the case study our professor Mark Fretz assigned us. The landscaper invited the cohort to visit his balcony garden to discuss growing food in the city under the extreme Singaporean climate. The country imports roughly 90-95% of its food with the goal of drastically increasing local production by 2035 for food security (the supply chain issues that arose from COVID were a reality check, as it was for the rest of the world, too). The city is also the country (it's that small), so finding a way to grow food crops (also needs land) needed to be addressed. Growing locally, organically, while not wasting precious water in a place that imports 50% of its water primarily from Malaysia, makes it a bigger problem. So one solution being put into practice is instead of using land horizontally, they went vertical, which means buildings overflow with greenery on the facades and many roofs are reused for rooftop farming.
Ever heard of hydroponics? Me neither, at least before this program. I'm the only Track 1 Master's student going on my second year here, working with other students on a federally funded program with mostly bachelor students in their 4th or 5th years (2+ years more experience than I've had). No pressure. Anyway, hydroponics is growing plants in water and a hodgepodge of nutrients. No soil involved. Meaning, you can grow crops upwards instead of across the ground like you're probably used to seeing. It's an awesome strategy to see in person --- and I'm having a great time!
More blog posts to come against my will. Just kidding, this series is for the Ducks Ambassador scholarship, and I'm genuinely thankful for the opportunity to share my experience. Apply for it when you go abroad :).
Oh, and follow me on my Instagram architecture page: @arch.by.instinct
Sophia Crawford, Diverse Ducks Ambassador
Building Integrated Agriculture in Singapore
