"Native Gingers on the Brink: Grow then, save them"
Once upon a time, gingers and their relatives were common in Singapore's forests. Unfortunately, by the year 2010, nearly half of the native species were considered nationally extinct and the rest of the species have fallen mostly into the Critically Endangered and Endangered categories, with just a few populations left. During this talk, we will share NPark's efforts to survey and monitor populations in the remaining forested areas, as well as native ginger re-introduction programmes in our nature reserves and nature parks. We will also share some encouraging stories as well as the challenges we have encountered in the course of our work, be it in the middle of the forest or in the research lab. You will also get to learn which native ginger species are suitable for gardens and how to grow them.
This talk is free.
Jana Leong-Skornickova is a Senior Researcher at the Herbarium, Singapore Botanic Gardens. Her love affair with gingers began in her childhood and she is particularly interested in Zingiberaceae of moonsoonal Asia. She enjoyed being out in the jungle as well as delving deep in archives and herbaria around the world, resolving puzzles connected to old historical ginger names.
Time: 3-4pm
Venue: Leaf Room, HortPark
Website: http://www.nparks.gov.sg/
