An Introduction to Greenden
Singapore imports more than 90% of its food from overseas, and the rest are produced locally. With a heavy reliance on imported produce, the country may face food insecurity, should there be trade disruptions or other factors that might harm our food sources. SG 30 by 30 aims to produce 30% of its food by 2030, but with limited land and resources, it will be quite the task to take on. So then, how might we encourage young adults to take up urban farming in order to improve food security and work towards a sustainable future?
There is a growing trend of people gardening, especially during the pandemic. More people are gardening now than ever before. Currently, there are over 40,000 community gardeners with more than 1,500 communal gardens islandwide. Community gardens are also expected to double by 2030.
Introducing Greenden, a community gardening app to connect like-minded individuals in the world of gardening, bringing communities together and encouraging others to do their part in being more sustainable.
A platform for gardeners, new and old, to share their knowledge with the rest and teach youths, mainly those in their 20s, and interested individuals, the ways of urban farming. Users are able to view community gardens in their neighbourhoods, check out forums discussing all things gardening related and join a mentoring programme lead by seasoned gardeners. Learning together as a community helps strengthen bonds while also working towards a shared goal of ensuring food security for all and living more sustainably. This is my solution for a problem identified with food security here in Singapore.
As part of promoting the app, I did these two posters. The first promotes the app itself, encouraging people to download the app using the QR code or by heading to the relevant play stores. The other poster promotes stories of individuals that had done impressive thing related to gardening such as opening their own community garden, start a business by growing plants right at home or creating a unique area for the plant they own. These stories can be read on Greenden's Instagram page, and hopefully inspire others to take up gardening as well. Designs here are mostly graphics of both flowers and leaves, with natural greens and blues accompanying them. I tried to stick to what the app's purpose was, an app for gardeners to come together as a community.
Other than the posters, there is also the social media page and merchandise people can collect through using the Greenden app. For the Instagram page, it contains posts showing what Greenden is about, providing gardening facts and promoting sustainable practices while also showcasing stories of individuals that had done something interesting with gardening.
For the merchandise, they are available for users of the Greenden app, only redeemable after passing the different stages of mastery, by attending enough gardening classes (taught by mentors; completing them earns you points, in which you can use them to 'purchase' other rewards on the app, including the merchandise). The levels of mastery are: Beginner, Novice, Intermediate, Advanced and Expert. Users will be rewarded with pins, a travel mug, t-shirt and a gardening apron upon reaching these levels respectively, starting from the Novice level. These items will be handed out at participating community gardens and are purchasable. App users will receive exclusive designs such as the one shown above.
Greenden App Navigation
How the Greenden app works is shown here. I kept the designs simple and made sure to make use of the colours to bring attention to important areas. The buttons are rounded at the edges to showcase a friendlier look and the usage of the flowers and leaf designs to keep to the gardening theme of the app. This prototype was also done in Figma.
