MY TREE HOUSE LIBRARY (2013-2022)
Initiated by CDL in conjunction with National Library Board (NLB) in 2013, My Tree House is the world’s first green library and serves as a resource centre to encourage environmental literacy and love for nature amongst children.
Completely steered by green principles, every detail of My Tree House, from the holistic conceptual design to the materials used in construction are not only sustainable, but proactively reinforce the green concept. With all these unique environmental elements, My Tree House was awarded the BCA Green Mark Platinum Award, the highest tier for green buildings in Singapore.
About a third of the 84,000 books in the library cover environmental-related topics such as animals, plants, nature, recycling and climate change, and it has remained a highly popular section at the Central Public Library located within the National Library Building.
Loans and Visitorship Over the Years
| ** | Until the Central Public Library closed for renovation on 12 June 2022. |
SPOTLIGHT
GRATITUDE CART
Before the closing of My Tree House library, a Gratitude Cart was set up in June 2022 for children to pen down their thoughts and happy memories from their time in the library.
WE LOVE OUR PLANET STORYTELLING CONTEST 2022
Themed “City in Nature”, this year’s edition of the My Tree House’s “We Love Our Planet” Storytelling Contest edition continues to encourage family bonding through storytelling and home video production, while aiming to unearth young eco champions and their families to develop their love of nature and to take action to protect our planet.
Organised by CDL and NLB and in celebration of World Environment Day 2022, the “We Love Our Planet” Storytelling Contest aims to continue My Tree House’s education programmes while it’s closed for renovation, this time using both physical and digital platforms, while featuring the young eco champions amongst us.
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LIVE STORYTELLING
After two years of suspended live storytelling due to COVID-19, families flocked to My Tree House between 4-12 June 2022. The laughter and rapt murmurs of children were heard again as volunteer storytellers returned to regale them with tales old and new!
STORYTELLING @ CENTRAL PUBLIC LIBRARY 2022
In celebration of World Environment Day on 5 June 2022, CDL and NLB presented Storytelling @ Central Public Library with NLB librarian, Ms Lisa Zulkifli.
At the eco storytelling workshop, participants learned the benefits of storytelling and got tips on being an engaging storyteller. Winners from We Love Our Planet Storytelling Contest 2021 also shared on their experiences on the competition.
BIRD COLOURING SOCIAL CLUB
Organized between 28 May – 5 June 2022 by the National Arts Council’s and undertaken by Kronoscapes, a multidisciplinary art collective, The Bird Colouring Social Club takes its cue from the days when the community would gather to hear songbirds sing. Birds in cages would be hoisted up for their admirers to listen to their lilting melodies.
Within My Tree House's unique canopy, patron-designed birds soared across the walls in the months of May and June.
WE LOVE OUR PLANET STORYTELLING CONTEST 2021
In celebration of World Environment Day 2021, the We Love Our Planet Storytelling Contest, jointly organised by CDL and NLB came back for its second edition.
CDL was elated to receive some 150 impressive entries from young children from 3 to 12 years old and planted 150 fruit trees for each participant in India to help small and marginalised farmers increase their families’ nutrition and income, while fighting pollution, conserving water and preventing soil erosion.
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STORYTELLING @ MY TREE HOUSE 2021
In celebration of World Environment Day on 5 June 2021, CDL’s Virtual SSA and National Library Board (NLB) presented Storytelling @ My Tree House with NLB librarian, Shimah Azli, who has almost 10 years of storytelling experience. At this virtual eco storytelling workshop, attendees learned the benefits of storytelling and got tips on being an engaging storyteller. Winners from We Love Our Planet Storytelling Contest 2020 also shared on their experiences on the competition.
WE LOVE OUR PLANET STORYTELLING CONTEST 2020
In the lead up to World Environment Day 2020 on 5 June, CDL and the National Library Board (NLB) jointly organised My Tree House’s Eco Storytelling Contest for children from 3 to 12 years of age. We received almost 200 submissions!
We hope the world will hear our children’s love for our planet and their actions to protect Mother Earth through a special video titled “We Love our Planet – Voices of our Children”.
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STORYTIME @ MY TREE HOUSE 2020
On 15 May 2020, My Tree House conducted our first online programme “Storytime @ My Tree House”. Attended by over 300 people, this virtual workshop covered tips on becoming a better storyteller.
Hosted by Lim Sieu Pin, one of NLB’s most experienced librarians and outstanding storytellers, the interactive session included a live storytelling demonstration of Go to Sleep, Gecko!, a classic folktale and an engaging Q&A session.
Yellow Apron Project
Known as the “All-Together Reading Campaign: Read Me a Book”, this was a collaborative effort by ASEAN and Republic of Korea libraries to promote reading aloud.
From January to April 2020, staff and volunteers conducted storytelling while donning cheery yellow aprons in support of this campaign.
Embassy Visits
On 27 and 28 February 2020, My Tree House was graced with the presence of foreign delegates such as the Irish Ambassador, His Excellency Patrick Bourne and Spanish Ambassador, His Excellency Santiago Miralles.
Effective Parenting in a Digital Age
Conducted by final year students from NTU as part of their graduating project on 22 February 2020, this event featured a panel discussion with experts from National University Hospital and Singapore Baby and Child Clinic, as well as screen-free activities such as plant potting.
Sharity Elephants Show
On 11 Jan 2020, the cast of the Sharity Elephant Show brought much cheer and joy to children at My Tree House. Organised by the National Council of Social Service, this event taught children values such as empathy and inclusivity.
Sharing by CDL E-Gen Challenge Winners
On 30 Nov and 8 Dec 2019, E-Gen Challenge Winner 2019, Xin Hui conducted an entertaining storytelling session on the book “Will You Help Save Our Homes?” while CDL E-Gen Challenge Winner 2018, Sam Shu Qin of Our Singapore Reefs, shared about her experiences at the Coral Triangle.
Talks by Robert and Barney Swan
On 12 Oct and 3 Nov 2019, My Tree House was host to world-renowned travellers Robert Swan (in collaboration with WWF) and his son Barney Swan. They both shared about climate change and their expedition to the South Pole using renewable energy.
Both father and son surely inspired future generations of environmentalists!
Biodiversity Carnival
On 1 and 2 June 2019, My Tree House hosted the 2-day carnival which aimed to increase our readers’ awareness of environmental concerns.
With the attendance of over 2,800 people, the carnival featured the annual book launch by the Raffles Eco-Literacy Program.
NParks Festival of Biodiversity
On 25 May 2019, in celebration of Singapore’s natural heritage, NParks and My Tree House staff conducted a tote bag-tracing activity booth and distributed copies of the Earth hero Profile and Activity Booklet.
Dr Jill Biden Visits My Tree House
Dr Jill Biden visited My Tree House in 2013 on a visit to Singapore with current US President Joe Biden.
Accompanied by her daughter, Ashley Biden, Dr Jill Biden read a book to some 60 primary school children from five schools in Singapore. She also viewed a collection of rare books and publications.
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Eco Features
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Tree House Centrepiece A tree house serves as a beautiful centrepiece of the library, and the roots of the tree represented by the colours of the carpet, extend towards the surrounding bookshelves (refurbished from the original library or made from sustainable materials), illustrating growth of knowledge and the cultivation of minds.
Constructed from 5,000 recycled plastic bottles collected from the public, the tree house was built using recycled timber for the “trunk”, and the “foliage” comprise an array of recycled items such as PVC pipes, aluminum cans, plastic bottles, and recycled paper origami. |
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The Weather Cloud My Tree House is also home to “The Weather Cloud”, which pulls from a live feed of Singapore’s environmental conditions, displaying three real-time weather markers – temperature, wind speed and rainfall, changing the colour of the cloud as the weather changes.
The data is collected over a period of 24 hours from real-time weather information sourced from the Marina Barrage Station. |
To view NLB’s page on My Tree House, please click here.
GETTING THERE
Central Public Library
100 Victoria Street, Singapore 188064
Nearest MRT: Bugis, City Hall MRT Station
Buses: 145, 197, 32, 51, 63, 7, 80, 175, 851, 61
Mon – Sun: 10:00 AM – 09:00 PM
Closed at 5pm on eves of Christmas, New Year and Chinese New Year.
Closed on public holidays.
Email: [email protected]
