Dr Francis Ng uses biochar which enable his roof garden to collect more carbon from the air than a natural forest.

Dr Francis Ng is a Malaysian botanist with years of experience under his green thumb, with research areas covering tropical plants, forests, landscapes and gardens. He has worked in countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. As a consultant botanist for Bandar Utama City Corporation, he was instrumental in the design and development of the ‘Rainforest in the Mall’ and the rooftop flower garden known as the ‘Secret Garden of 1Utama’.

Dr Francis was the Deputy Director General at the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) from 1986 until 1990. After that, he was based in Rome, Italy, as the Chief of the Forest Research, Education and Training Branch of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations for four years, and then as Director of the Research Support Division at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in Indonesia, before returning to Malaysia as a consultant.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx