Month: October 2015

Lae, Morobe Province, PNG, 23^rd October, 2015 – that will help to restore the gardens to their former glory and transform the Northern precinct into an incredible botanical experience for visitors; with the beauty and diversity of PNG culture and plant life at its heart.

These designs were made possible by a generous donation from Swire Shipping who have long supported the Program. PNG’s Forest Research Institute in partnership with Friends of the Lae Botanic Gardens are now calling out to all major sponsors to help enable each garden design become a reality.

Working together as a community to bring these designs to life will put the Lae Botanic Gardens back on the map as one of PNG’s top tourist destinations and may well reinstate Lae as the beautiful ‘Garden City’ of PNG.

Engaged by Swire Shipping, award winning Cairns-based Garden City Design Co. were responsible for these garden creations. Already familiar with Lae having worked on the beautiful Lae War Cemetery that neighbours the Gardens, the design concepts incorporated feedback from key stakeholders and showcased much of PNG’s spectacular and diverse flora, adding significant educational, recreational and tourist appeal to the gardens.

The designs include a Heliconia Garden, Ginger Garden, Food, Fibre and Health Garden and Foliage Garden spread throughout the Northern section and connected via pathways with archways and creeping plants that meander around existing picnic areas, mumu pits, the creek, staircase and islands. There is even a fun design for a children’s maze to complement the existing BSP playground area. The designs offer a glimpse of a natural wonderland full of colour, texture and structure that would take the visitor on a journey through PNG’s unique and complex environment.

Key supporters and stakeholders of the Lae Botanic Gardens met today to see the designs revealed, Graeme Davis from Swire Shipping remarked ‘it is a proud moment to see these designs presented today. Swire Shipping is committed to a better future for the gardens so that they again become an important part of the Lae community, and a significant achievement for PNG. These designs give us all an enticing preview of the potential that Swire has always seen in the gardens and we hope other businesses will show their support by helping the Forest Research Institute build them.’

The National Botanic Gardens Advancement Program is inviting businesses to come on board to help create these gardens with naming rights for each garden forming part of each sponsorship package. Dr. Martin Golman, Acting Director of the PNG Forest Research Institute stated ‘we will need help to make these gardens a reality, these designs offer a new level of sophistication for the National Botanic Gardens and we are so excited to get to this stage with the help of Swire Shipping. I urge businesses and organisations to view the plans so you can see for yourself how transformative they could be; it would be a wonderful gift to future generations, our city and visitors to have them built.’

The Lae community will have an opportunity to see the garden design concepts and all the progress that has been made in the gardens when we open the gardens to the public for our upcoming Open Day on Friday 6^th November. All are welcome with free entry between 1pm and 4pm.

 

 

Lae, Morobe Province, PNG, 12^th October, 2015 – Over the first two weekends of October, the Lae Botanic Gardens have been given a mighty makeover thanks to the hard work of more than 320 Laga Industries employees who have spent their past two Saturdays working throughout the gardens in small teams to help prepare the them for opening. Working with PNG’s Forest Research Institute and Friends of the Lae Botanic Gardens team, Gala Ice Cream workers have helped lean the RAAF DC- 3 Plane, existing BBQ facilities, the central creek bed as well as general cleaning up and preparing new public garden beds for each picnic area.

Joining many corporate supporters of the National Botanic Gardens (Lae) Advancement Program, Laga Industries have come on board as a strong supporter just at the right time, as the gardens gear up to host an open day for the public, scheduled for early November. Despite the heavy rain on Saturday 3 October, Laga Industries employees were out in force, working in teams and dedicating their energy to getting the gardens cleaned up and ready for the community to view.

The following Saturday, 10 October, the gardens hosted a steadfast group of approximately 20 volunteers from Laga Industries who spent a sunny afternoon washing down the treasured RAAF DC-3 plane. With expert restoration advice from Unitech’s Vincent Koddy and equipment jointly supplied by Laga Industries and PNG’s Forest Research Institute. The transformation of the RAAF DC-3 was dramatic and she now shines brighter than she has in many years.

Pauline Peleli who volunteered her time to clean the plane remembers visiting the gardens in her teens, ‘I haven’t been able to enter the gardens for decades! I have such fond memories of time spent here when I was younger. It is such a peaceful and beautiful place to spend time and connect with nature, it really means a lot to be here again, I am proud to be able to help get the gardens back in shape for future generations.’

Karen Yendetuo, HR Manager at Laga Industries stated, ‘we were immediately interested in supporting the Gardens Advancement Program when we heard about it and to see our employees get involved with such enthusiasm has been a wonderful team building experience! Gala has a long history of supporting our communities and we know these gardens will provide such an important place for the people of Lae – including our employees and their families – to gather.’

Dr. Martin Golman, Acting Director of the PNG Forest Research Institute stated, ‘Gala Ice Cream’s assistance here in the gardens has achieved some incredible results and is a great example of a local business supporting its local community. We are so lucky to have their support and would like to thank them and the efforts of their hard working employees. We extend our appeal to other organisations and business houses who would like to lend a helping hand so we can all enjoy this magnificent natural environment in the heart of Lae.’

Laga Industries is one of Papua New Guinea’s leading food manufacturers, producing popular brands such as Gala Ice Cream, Highland Meadows Vegetable Oil and Tradewinds. Laga Industies prides itself on developing a strong workforce and supporting communities and organisations throughout PNG that are helping to build a prosperous nation. Learn more: http://www.lagaindustries.com.pg/