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{an aerial view of the transformed Bishan Park © Atelier Dreiseitl}

According to treehugger.com, plants in the park, chosen for their natural cleansing properties, maintain water quality in the river and ponds without the use of chemicals. Soil bioengineering techniques that combine plant material with traditional engineering help retain soil on the river’s banks, which are designed to be able to overflow safely in times of heavy rainfall. The river can handle 40 percent more water than the old canal, but a monitoring and warning system is still in place to tell visitors when they should stay away from its edge.

According to a study by the University of Sheffield  that gained much notice last year, the presence of urban rivers have the effect of cooling cities. With this new river feature in Bishan Park, surrounded by lush green spaces, the river can potentially bring down the afternoon temperature at its peak which would encourage air circulation and wind flow within the Bishan neighbourhoods. This then would reduce the use of air conditioners within the HDB flats, greatly reducing the overall carbon footprint of the Bishan residential area.

God knows we need the additional air circulation and wind here in hot and humid Singapore! especially at this time of the year when we’re approaching our hottest months >< The lowering of temperature would be a great help in reducing concerns about heatstroke and dehydration, and have health benefits overall. :)

If interested, you can check out the gradual transformation of Bishan Park from 2009 thru to 2012 with this vid by a local resident :) pretty awesome! VIDEO HERE