Video - Golden Gate Park, San Francisco

Park in Profile: Singapore Botanic Gardens

The Gardens at its present site was founded in 1859 by an Agri-Horticultural Society. Planned as a leisure garden and ornamental park, the Society organised flower shows and horticultural fetes. In 1874, the Society handed over management and maintenance of the site to the government. The scientific mission of the Gardens evolved when the colonial government assumed management and deployed Kew-trained botanists and horticulturists to administer the Gardens.

It is fair to say that the history of the Gardens is in many respects the history of its dedicated administrators. The Gardens' first Director, Henry Nicholas Ridley, came to the Gardens in 1888 and worked tirelessly for the next 23 years to usher the Gardens into the twentieth century and its most productive period historically. Ridley's zealous persistence in persuading Malaya's planters to grow rubber trees earned him less than flattering nicknames such as "Mad Ridley" and "Rubber Ridley". During the 1890s and early 1900s, Ridley devised successful propagation methods and also discovered a way to harvest commercial quantities of latex without harming or killing the trees. He advocated the large-scale cultivation of rubber in Malaya. Planters in Malaya largely ignored Ridley until their coffee plantations were devastated by disease and they desperately required a new cash crop.

During this time, demand for rubber soared as the automobile industry boomed. As Ridley had turned the Gardens forest clearings and waste land over to rubber, the Gardens had a ready source of seed supply when the rubber rush came. The Gardens' revenue multiplied greatly as the region became a major market for the rubber trade. The plants at the Botanic Gardens became the basis for Southeast Asia's rubber industry, an industry that generated fortunes.

Read more of park's history: http://www.sbg.org.sg/aboutus/ourhistory.asp

General Information

Address: Singapore Botanic Gardens
               1 Cluny Road
               Singapore 259569

Tel:         (65) 6471 7138 / (65) 6471 7361
Fax:        (65) 6473 7983
E-mail:    NPARKS_SBG_Visitor_Services@NPARKS.GOV.SG 

Link to garden's homepage: http://www.sbg.org.sg/

Video - Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver, BC

Park in Profile: Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver, BC

Vancouver's Horticultural Jewel! Queen Elizabeth Park is the second most visited park in Vancouver and holds within its perimeters some of the most beautiful public gardens anywhere. Its recreational offerings are diverse ranging from sporty to horticultural and include golf, tennis, lawn bowling, disc golf, an extensive outdoor arboretum and the indoor Bloedel Floral Conservatory.

The seasonally changing and beautifully planted Quarry Gardens astound residents and tourists alike as viewed from the park's upper reaches or from the bottom looking up. Expertly positioned, select ornamental trees and shrubs make this Vancouver's horticultural jewel located practically city-center.

Location:     Off 33rd Avenue between Cambie and Main Streets, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Video - NYC High Line Park

Park in Profile: NYC High Line

The High Line is a public park built on an historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan’s West Side. It is owned by the City of New York, and maintained and operated by Friends of the High Line. Founded in 1999 by community residents, Friends of the High Line fought for the High Line’s preservation and transformation at a time when the historic structure was under the threat of demolition. It is now the non-profit conservancy working with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation to make sure the High Line is maintained as an extraordinary public space for all visitors to enjoy. In addition to overseeing maintenance, operations, and public programming for the park, Friends of the High Line works to raise the essential private funds to support more than 90 percent of the park’s annual operating budget, and to advocate for the preservation and transformation of the High Line at the Rail Yards, the third and final section of the historic structure, which runs between West 30th and West 34th Streets.

The High Line is located on Manhattan's West Side. It runs from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District to West 34th Street, between 10th & 11th Avenues. The first section of the High Line opened on June 9, 2009. It runs from Gansevoort Street to West 20th Street. The second section, which runs between West 20th and West 30th Streets, opened June 8, 2011.

For park information, please call the High Line Information Line: (212) 500-6035

Link to website: NYC High Line