Doi Chaang Coffee


The recently opened Doi Chaang Cafe in City Square, Johor Bahru arguably serves the greenest cup of coffee in Johor Bahru. While most of the new artisanal coffee joints in town brew single origin beans from the far flung continents of Africa and Central America, Doi Chaang's source is their own farms in neighbouring Thailand which reflects a much lower carbon footprint.

Hutan Bandar

Set around a large pond, Hutan Bandar on Jalan Tasek Utara is an accessible city green space that is close to Johor Bahru city center with a nearby open air food court. This green space is well thought out with ample space and interesting sections like the Orchid Garden but is sadly under utilised and could be maintained better. Still well worth a trip though due to its location, accessibility and mature greenery.

More photos here.

My Liberica

Photo credit: MyLiberica
Johor is a coffee growing region and My Liberica is a great example of merging a local heritage industry with modern coffee culture. Their vertical enterprise includes their own plantations producing the coffee it roasts and serves in its cafes in Taman Molek and Taman Mount Austin. Check out their video below:


MY LIBERICA
Posted by My Liberica Coffee on Wednesday, 10 September 2014

Taman Pelangi Night Market

Tuesday Nights, Jalan Pinggai (between Jalan Kuning and Jalan Sri Pelangi)


On the right hand side, as you enter from the Jalan Kuning side. Free range eggs. Vendor has a small table selling only eggs, comes early and leaves early- by 6.30pm.


On RHS if you enter from Sri Pelangi entrance, just after the hawker food market. Vendor sells only Malaysian produce- usually mangoes and these local lemons from Ipoh. Did you know that citrus fruit is native to South East Asia?


John is my favorite vegetable vendor at the market — he grows vegetables using low residue pesticide method ie he stops applying any kind of pesticide a few weeks before veg is brought to market. He also focusses on lowland native herbs and vegetables that don’t require much protection (like kankong, cukor manis, thai basil). His stall is somewhere in the middle opposite Desaru fruit Farm.

Jambu Ayer from Desaru organic fruit farm. Their stall is somewhere in the middle opposite John. I’ve been to the farm and seen how they use barrier methods to protect the fruit against insects — by wrapping each individual fruit on the tree with plastic bags which they recycle. Any fallen fruit on the ground is composted with straw, chicken manure from a local farm and enzymes which is then used to fertilize the soil around the trees.

Aw Pottery


Aw Pottery in Machap, Simpang Rengam, is a Johor treasure. Founded in 1940, this pottery studio is a great resource for ceramic containers for home and garden. Their store also includes other handicrafts for the home. Of late, they have also included pottery classes as part of their offering. Check out their website fore more information.

Tanjong Kupang Sea Grass Meadow

There were no Seahorses today. On a field trip to the Sea Grass meadow in the Pulai river estuary today organized by Save Our Seahorses — our job was to help them count seahorses to monitor their situation.

GREEN LIFESTYLE


Understanding how to live sustainably in a world that encourages us to work long hours to earn more to spend more on consumer goods is not easy. Spending more time with our children outdoors or to make sustainable choices for the home or what we eat requires us to question and even rebel against the corporate led consumer culture that has become the norm. Johor green wants to make sustainable lifestyle aspirational through our events and workshops and by gathering and disseminating information about resources and ideas on how to make those changes in the key areas of home, garden, what we eat and how we spend our leisure time.


Green Home & Garden

An important area where we can make sustainable choices that are not only responsible but also reduce exposure to toxic materials is in the home. We can vote with our wallets to reward companies and local artisans who are championing sustainable methods and local, renewable materials. Our gardens can provide shade to help reduce our energy bills and fruit, vegetables and herbs to feed us. In an increasingly urbanized environment, a home and garden that keeps us connected with nature and does the important job of  providing balance.


Our Landscape - Outdoor Class and Nature Walk


Students of CCEM Johor Bahru are pictured above participating in an outdoor class and nature walk hosted by Johor Green. Using material from our Green Heritage initiative, we got these youngsters to get up close with plants from 'Our Landscape" and to learn more about the roles they play in our ecosystem and to understand their significance from different viewpoints like art, science and culture.

This workshop intends to familiarize young people with their local environment and landscape by connecting them directly with those plants on a walking tour while providing extensive information about the background and interesting properties of each plant.

Our Landscape is part of our Green Education initiative.

Embracing the Garden Way of Sustainable Living - New Straits Times




The garden's enduring role as a source of food, medicine, sanctuary and inspiration was celebrated in Johor Green's annual garden party recently. Johor Green, a social enterprise with a concern for green issues, continues to inform, inspire, connect and encourage more people to take a social path to a greener Johor.

GREEN COMMUNITY

We are a platform for community to come together around sustainability and environmental issues. We network and connect with people and to each other to build a larger green community. We encourage and celebrate individuals and organizations doing great work in the field of sustainability and environmental issues. We highlight and collaborate with them to amplify their message.



Green Humans

We encourage and celebrate individuals and organizations doing great work  or simply making an effort to climb up the ladder of sustainable and environmentally responsible behaviour. We highlight and collaborate with them to amplify their message.


Green Art


We stage exhibitions and collaborate with artists on projects that promote sustainability or awareness of environmental issues. We want to emphasise the connection between art and nature in the use of natural materials or inspiration from nature. We also believe that art and creativity is a powerful way to engage people with ideas and emotional responses to our environment.


GREEN CULTURE


We believe that art and creativity is a powerful way to engage people with ideas and emotional responses to our environment and that handmade crafts are sustainable traditions that preserve working with natural materials. That is why we are active within the art and craft community, participating, engaging and collaborating with artists and artisans whilst promoting ideas about sustainability.



Green Talks & Workshops




Outreach to general community, students and targeted sections of the community to disseminate information about environment and sustainability through talks and workshops

Green Guides




We develop & maintain guides and glossaries as a resource for sustainable living.
Click on images below to go to guides:




Green Media

Regular updates on social media through our facebook, Instagram and Twitter account on whats current regarding environment with a special focus on Johor and Malaysia. We plan to increase engagement and participation as we grow.

Click on images to take you to our social media pages:

Instagram














Facebook












Twitter

Green Issues

There are issues that are of particular interest and concern to Johoreans - we keep tabs on those issues by collecting news and information of those particular issues in one place so that you can peruse them at a more detailed level to gain insight and perspective.

Click on image below to go to the Issue Collections:










Art of Nature


At the Garden Party 2014, we held an exhibition of artworks, vintage pieces and Ikebana in collaboration with Ohara Circle. Artworks included works by local sculptor, Dato Lim Kee Jin using local timber, ceramicist Datin Ong Kid Ching whose work is inspired by organic forms and also an installation of landscape art in the garden.

There was also vintage clothes, textiles and decorative arts and crafts including traditional ceramics from Perak and local pottery works, Aw Pottery. These were either made from natural materials or using the natural world as inspiration like floral prints. A collaboration with Ohara circle  provided 6 floral ikebana arrangements from local flora. All to show the enduring bond between art and nature.

More photos here

Garden Party 2014

On Saturday May 24, 2014, Johor Green will be holding its annual Garden Party to celebrate the garden’s enduring role as a source of food, medicine, sanctuary and inspiration.

Programme:
4.00 pm Meet and Greet
5.00 pm Garden Tour
5.30 pm Viewing of Art of Nature Exhibition









7.00 pm Ends

 Local and Artisanal refreshments will be served

This is a private event by invitation only. Invited guest please RSVP on facebook or by email to info at johorgreen.com and directions to venue will be advised.

Green Cafes & Restaurants

With so many cafe and restaurant choices opening in Johor Bahru all the time we are on a mission to find the ones with the greenest credentials which varies from championing locally sourced ingredients to sourcing sustainably from fair trade organic sources to rustic recycled furniture and fan cooled environments..


Johor Green goes to Kyoto


We are thrilled to report that our Green Heritage initiative has made it to the shores of Japan. A team from Iskandar Malaysia brought a full set of our posters to present as a gift to the Mayor of Kyoto on a recent trip there. Apparently the Mayor was quite taken by the artwork of our local flora and landscape.


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