By Zenden Tan
(Tour guide explaining to a participant the different trees at the Botanic Gardens.)
On 4 July 2015, Botanic Gardens was listed as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Heritage Site. Six years on, do youths still care about Singapore’s heritage?
The Botanic Gardens remains one of the few places where one can still find wild Pandan leaves and humongous rainforest trees. When announced that it was added as a UNESCO Heritage Site, Mr Lawrence Wong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, states that the site is “something quite remarkable that all of us, as Singaporeans, can be proud of.”
However, the Botanic Gardens has lost its allure among youths since then, choosing to visit Gardens by The Bay instead. Sylvia Lim, 19, student, felt that the deciding factor was air-conditioning. “I don’t like sweating”, she said.
Ann Giri, 70, a guide at the inaugural Rainforest Tour, said Botanic Gardens was her “old childhood place”. She added that if youths choose not to visit Singapore’s sole UNESCO heritage site, “there is no way we can ensure [future generations] will care about Singapore’s heritage.”
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