1 . Being a plastic-free gardener is an important step for having an eco-conscious garden. Here’s how to garden by using alternatives to plastic plant pots.

Lots of pots

    1    . Most are made of plastic, and come in a variety of colours. None of these plastics are readily recyclable. Half a billion plastic pots ended up in landfill or being burned each year.

Plastic-free plant pot alternatives

The great news is that, the choice of alternative plastic-free pots is fantastic.     2    .

Ceramic (陶瓷) pots

Though expensive, when it comes to plant pots, there is not much that compares to the appeal of hand-made ceramic pots. Ceramic pots are made from the firing of clay.     3    . Therefore, if collected steadily over the years, they become the backbone of any working garden, offering a ready pot for a month or two of growing on;a permanent home for repeat-flowering flowers lasting for seasons; or a decorative feature for a greenhouse.

Wool pots

Made from raw washed wool pots, these cute little pots are a very attractive natural alternative to plastic.       4    , but they also make a perfect pot for decorative plants that will sit in a striking position while they are growing larger — a great talking point for plastic-free gardening.

Hemp (麻) pots

Hemp pots are a great alternative to the plastic pots used to grow tomato and potato plants.     5    . They come in a range of sizes, from around five to forty litres (公升). Hemp pots develop from a sustainable source, are fully broken down and can be reused for several seasons.

2 . Where do you expect to see graffiti (涂鸦)? Probably not in a museum. Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, in the south-west of England, was the kind of place you went to see classical statues and stuffed animals in cases until the arrivals of the ‘Banksy Versus the Bristol Museum’ exhibition in 2009. The exhibition hosted more than 100 works by Banksy, one of the world’s most famous graffiti artists.

Banksy is a man of mystery (神秘). He hardly ever gives interviews and likes to be anonymous (匿名的). Nobody knows much about his life or his background but many people believe that his real name is either Robin Cunningham, Robert Banks or Robin Banks and that he was born in 1973 near Bristol.

Banksy’s questioned ‘street art’ includes paintings on live sheep and cows and graffiti on the huge wall put up to divide two areas. Brand Pitt spent over 82 million on a Bansky original. Banksy designed an album cover for the Britpop group Blur in 2003 but he has refused requests to do adverts for Nike. A year after the Bristol exhibition, Banksy made a film called Exit Through the Gift Shop. The film tells the story of a French street artist in America. Exit Through the Gift Shop received many positive reviews. Nobody knows if it was about a real artist or an invented character from Banksy’s imagination.

Bristol isn’t the only place in Britain to welcome graffiti. The DPM Park in Dundee, Scotland has the longest legal graffiti wall (almost 110m long) in the UK. Anyone can paint on the council-owned wall any time they like. Mike Crilley, the graffiti wall project organiser, promotes the positive side of graffiti and runs workshops for local children.

Is everyone doing graffiti? Can we do graffiti where we want these days? Not exactly. It’s illegal to paint on somebody else’s possessions, so make sure you find a legal graffiti wall like the one in Dundee if you want to have a go.

3 . If something’s standing in your way to greatness, these top books on motivation can help you overcome roadblocks so you can realize your dreams. Here’s a look at some of the best books on motivation.

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff ... and It’s All Small Stuff by Richard Carlson

Learn how to turn problems into opportunities and stay calm in stressful situations with this handy guide focused on helping readers find happiness and peace of mind. Discover how to master your thoughts and fully live in the moment to appreciate what you have and get the most out of life.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

Highlighting the habits that distinguish those people who deal particularly well with the world from everyone else, this popular motivation book explains how you can become a better person by adopting the attitude of the highly effective and aligning (使……一致) your life with universal principles.

How to Win Friends &Influence People by Dale Carnegie

A favorite presenting basic rules for how to make a good first impression and effortlessly win people over, this bestselling motivational book offers timeless advice backed by engaging anecdotes (轶事). Carnegie explains the easy techniques to help anyone become more popular and persuasive, and he shares simple guidelines to instantly make yourself more likable.

Smarter Faster Better by Charles Duhigg

Being productive isn’t just about managing your to-do list; it’s also about making the right choices and maintaining the proper mindset. Staying motivated means sticking to your goals even when the world throws a challenge of bother at you. And by adopting a few easy methods to stay on track, nothing will stand between you and your dreams.

4 . All three of my children were subject-matter experts before they even left primary school. My eldest son memorized every statistic on every football trading card he got his hands on. His brother knew hundreds of car makes and models by heart. And I’m sure that my daughter — a huge One Direction fan — remembered more facts about the band than they did! The experience of becoming an expert can bring long-term benefits for learning — and it’s never too late. “Having a specialist subject helps you learn anything,” says our memory expert, Jonathan Hancock, “There are good reasons for all of us to do a spot of specialist learning.”

It schools our observation: a vital first step to remembering. Children are particularly good at seeing slight differences — like my younger son and his cars — then using them to organize information and inspire recall. But focused learning like this can push anyone to start noticing key details — ready to remember them.

It gives us a mental framework (框架), to which we can attach unrelated ideas. Even when his trading-card period was over, my son often linked new numbers with stored-away sports statistics. Your own area of interest might help you by suggesting soundalike words for people’s names, or letting you “map” travel directions.

It gets us learning in a variety of ways, often with the help of all our senses. My daughter’s pop knowledge was a rich mix of music, dances and colourful costumes, with precise facts. Burying yourself in a subject boosts your brain to work at its best.

It restores our confidence to remember. We get to see what a difference it makes to be interested in something, to build up information in layers (层次), and to keep refreshing, testing and showing off what we know. It can give all our learning a boost.

Why not pick a topic that interests you, find some books, take a course, join a club... and enjoy becoming at least an entry-level expert? Even a short spell of specialist study can reawaken learning skills that used to feel like child’s play.

7 . As modern cars continue to add new features, the dashboard can become more and more confusing. A variety of lights, buttons, symbols, and switches aren’t easily decoded without referencing the operating manual (手册): Pressing something as harmless as the air recirculation control can become an exercise in suspense.

Then there’s the “A” button. A relatively new option, its purpose is complex, and you might be worried about activating it. So what does it do?

The A button controls the automatic start-stop system in vehicles. Automatic start-stop functionality was designed for fuel economy and cuts the engine when a car comes to a complete stop. If your vehicle is equipped, you’ll likely notice the engine stopping at red lights or in traffic jams and then revving back up again once you begin to accelerate (加速). Depending on how often you drive, the technology might save you anywhere from 3 percent to 12 percent in fuel costs.

But not everyone is a fan of the feature. When it’s engaged and the engine is off, drivers may have trouble maintaining a comfortable cabin temperature or lose the ability to quickly accelerate when coming onto a highway.

If a vehicle operator wants to disable it, they press the A button. Once the button is engaged, the vehicle’s engine will run uninterrupted. Often, the A button will light up, meaning you’ve elected to disable the function.

The catch? The A button is typically only good for each ride. Every time you start the car, you’ll have to press it to suppress the automatic start-stop function.

Some drivers get into the habit of pushing the A button every time they get in their car; others opt for an aftermarket solution to permanently disable the feature without having to do it during every drive. If you find it disconcerting to have the engine stop every time you're at a light, the A button is the solution.

8 . If you’re starting construction on the home of your dreams, consider the benefits of building with sustainability and energy efficiency in mind. Here are a few tips to follow.

Hire the right construction professionals.

Even if you consider yourself handy or a DIY pro, new construction isn’t a project to go at alone. Do your research on local professionals like architects, contractors and others who are experienced in sustainable construction.     1    . You can also read reviews online to gather options before requesting bids or signing contracts.

Start with a sustainable foundation.

    2    . A longer lasting home can begin with strong building materials like insulated concrete forms, such as those from Nudura, which provide superior energy efficiency, sound-proofing and lower utility costs versus traditional wood-frame construction.

    3    

While installing energy-efficient appliances and high-quality windows and doors are obvious examples of eco-friendly materials, there are other solutions to help you go green in your new home. Consider options like countertops made from recycled glass or reclaimed bricks for fireplaces and accent pieces.

Power your home with renewable energy.

If it’s within your budget, you can take your new home to the next level by powering it with renewable energy like solar or wind. Typically installed on the roof, solar panels stop the sun’s rays and convert that energy to power your home.     4    

Prepare for the unexpected.

Project delays, fluctuating costs and more can turn building a new house into an unpredictable process.     5     Be prepared for the unexpected so you aren’t caught off guard. In fact, unanticipated circumstances can sometimes be a good thing, like building materials dropping in price, a new product hitting the market or those flashy eco-friendly appliances going on sale.

9 . At age 10, McCullough got a glimpse of her dream job. It sparkled in the eyes of the Packard Children’s nurses who cared for her brother Matthew, who had brain cancer. As a child, McCullough spent hours at her brother’s bedside. “I looked up to the nurses. I found their unconditional commitment to my brother’s care remarkable,” McCullough says.

As a young girl, McCullough practiced nursing by caring for her brother, a desire born out of her intense love for him. She would rub his back, bring him drinks, and even help adjust his lines. She was a natural. Her parents said that she was very caring and always put people first from a young age.

When Matthew passed away, McCullough became even more committed to becoming a nurse. She took steps through the years to make her dream come true. In high school, she volunteered at cancer centers and hospitals. “My becoming a nurse is 100% in honor of Matt. I felt the need to channel my grief and turn that tragic moment into something positive,” McCullough says.

Over time, McCullough realized that she didn’t just want to be a nurse. She wanted to be a pediatric oncology (儿科肿瘤) nurse at Packard Children’s. McCullough wanted to give back to the hospital that had done so much for her brother.

Despite feeling like school never came easy, McCullough persisted (坚持) and got into a respected nursing school. She feels like she worked 10 times harder than other nursing students at the university. She traded going out and spending time with friends for the library.

In college, each step brought McCullough closer to her dream. She worked as a nursing assistant at Stanford Health Care for adults with cancer. Then, she transferred to Packard Children’s and worked as a nursing assistant in the Pediatric Transplant Center.

Today, She’s a nurse on the same unit that cared for her brother years ago. She is one of those nurses she admired so much as a child. She finds the time, even on very busy days, to truly be there for patients and families to make them feel loved and welcomed.

10 . Here, four farm-to-table restaurants in Singapore to try out. Any fresher and you’ll have to eat off the farm itself.

Open Farm Community

Open Farm Community has been championing local produce since 2015 by partnering with local and regional farms.

Open Farm Community also has a garden plot where they grow some of the produce it uses as well, such as the corn needed to make the OFC Farm Sweet Corn “Ribs”.

Opening Hours: Monday to Fridays 12-3pm, 6-11pm. Saturdays an Sundays 11am-4pm, 6-11pm.

Smith Marine

Fancy having a meal on a modern kelong that has been transformed into a floating seafood restaurant off the coast of Pulau Ubin?

Then, head to Smith Marine where you can enjoy various seafood farmed in the neighbouring fish farm.

To get there, you’ll need to take a speed boat from Changi Point Ferry Terminal.

Opening Hours: 10.30am to 1.30pm, 3pm to 4.30pm

Labyrinth

Labyrinth is one of the few restaurants serving up modern Singaporean cuisine.

Headed by Han Li Guang, the one Michelin-starred establishment champions chef with a menu consisting of 90 percent locally sourced ingredients from producer Edible Garden City.

Opening Hours: Wednesday to Sundays, 12 – 2:30pm, 6:30 – 11pm. Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Kausmo

Headed by internationally known chef Lisa Tang and supported by the Les Amis Group, Kausmo was opened in 2019 with the aim of repurposing unwanted fruits and vegetables that are either not aesthetically pleasing or over-ripened.

Seafood is also sourced from small regional farming communities and secondary cuts of meats are prized here. Kausmo serves a six-course carte blanche menu (全权菜单) at $105++ per pax (顾客，乘客).

Opening Hours: Tuesdays to Saturdays 6:30-10:30pm. Sundays 2-5pm. Closed on Mondays.