'Tourists' seen plucking plants at Gardens by the Bay were actually volunteers, not foraging visitors
Alicia Chua
TNP
Oct 23, 2025
What appeared to be a group of "tourists" pulling out plants along a walkway at Gardens by the Bay (GBTB) sparked a wave of online criticism, but it turns out they were volunteers carrying out gardening work.
A Reddit post uploaded on Oct 21 showed a group of people gathered along a walkway, appearing to pluck leaves from bushes. It was captioned: "This is not stereotyping, but pattern recognition."
The post, which garnered about 250 upvotes and 36 comments before it was taken down, drew sharp criticism from netizens who accused the group's "ignorance".
Claims they were looking for herbs
The Redditor claimed he overheard the group saying they were "looking for herbs to put inside their soup" to enhance its flavour.
He also said that when some bystanders questioned their actions, the group responded defensively and told them not to interfere.
"I saw them yanking a bunch of plants and leaves, smelled them, then tossed them back into the bush," said the post.
They were actually volunteers
However, a group has since identified themselves as Gardens by the Bay outdoor gardening volunteers, not tourists.
"We help to maintain the GBTB outdoor gardens twice a month. You may want to check with GBTB on the different volunteer services by volunteers," a volunteer told The New Paper.
In response to TNP's queries, a GBTB spokesperson confirmed that the individuals in the photo were volunteers from its Citizen Horticulturists programme. "They perform basic weeding works around the Gardens, including at the location seen in the photo."
TNP understands the programme started in October 2023 and the volunteers were trained by GBTB's horticulturists to help maintain the landscape of its outdoor gardens.
Editor's note: This story has been updated following clarification from the group of individuals mentioned earlier.
