Mr Joshua Liang (Protecting our environment, one tree at a time)

Meet Joshua Liang

Joshua Liang, a Youth Steward for Nature helping to spearhead the OneMillionTrees movement

“My experience as an urban greenery enthusiast with AfA has been a roller coaster ride, with many challenges as well as opportunities. Joining the programme is a decision that I would not regret.”

Sowing the Seeds of Passion

What started as a gardening hobby for the polytechnic student, has now bloomed into a passion for safeguarding our greenery. Joshua’s journey began years ago while on a plant shopping trip with his aunt. Fast forward to today, a single plant has flourished into a full-blown collection of over 70 species of corridor plants, featuring a wide variety of edibles, ferns, ornamental, aroids, shrubs and small trees.

As he grew, so did his love for the environment – he wanted to do and learn more. This desire to cultivate his passion spurred him to sign up for the NParks e-newsletter, which provided him with bountiful landscape design and horticulture knowledge, together with green opportunities that let him rub shoulders with experts in the field, and other like-minded individuals that would help him grow his passion.

Cultivating Knowledge

Minister for National Development Desmond Lee and Joshua, planting trees with OneMillionTrees volunteers.

“You do not have to be a youth to be involved. Learning, to me, should be a lifelong process so that everyone is knowledgeable in their own field and able to contribute by sharing with others.” - Joshua Liang

NParks’ Youth Stewards for Nature is one of the Singapore Together’s AfA (Alliance for Action) partnerships where youths study and develop solutions relating to urban greenery, wildlife management, nature conservation and climate resilience.

By joining NParks’ YSN programme, Joshua was empowered by the partnership and able to gain a wealth of gardening and urban greenery knowledge through its many initiatives. Here’s an example; during his stint with the NatureWay 2022 initiative, he learned how the colours of trees and ground covers would attract pollinators such as butterflies.

He also highlights a standout experience, the ongoing OneMillionTrees movement!

This initiative allowed him to turn his passion into actionable change, beautifying and improving our green environment even more. By facilitating tree-planting events organised by NParks, Joshua and his team were able to spread the word to the public and impart a sense of responsibility among them by showing how anyone can contribute to our environment — starting with a tree!

(To date, over 398,000 trees have been planted thanks to the OneMillionTrees movement, and the count continues to grow steadily every day.)

How to Get Involved

Joshua suggesting new initiatives for NParks

For Joshua, the path to cultivating a sense of responsibility for our environment can begin in our very homes! How? Through simple acts such as being more mindful of what one throws away or recycles, repurposing old items, or even sprouting spring onions at home! He hopes that in time, these acts can help nurture Singaporeans’ understanding and care for our greenery and the environment. After that, people can take their newfound love for nature even further by signing up for various other opportunities hosted by NParks, such as tree planting across the island!

Ready to spread the green? Join Joshua in planting one million more trees across the island at www.nparks.gov.sg/activities, or discover more ways you can do your part at www.sg.

#SingaporeTogether

Partnerships are at the heart of the Singapore Together movement. Through the Singapore Together Alliances for Action and other partnerships, Singaporeans and the government can work together to co-create solutions on issues, and Singaporeans can play an active role in shaping our future together.

All responses mentioned above were edited and condensed for clarity.

Published on 23 September 2022.