Community project to plant 1,000 trees in Ang Mo Kio concludes as residents learn about sustainability

SINGAPORE – A community project to plant 1,000 trees in Ang Mo Kio was completed on Saturday, with the final batch of trees planted near Cheng San Market and Cooked Food Centre in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was among those who planted the final 16 trees as the Ang Mo Kio Town Council commemorated Tree Planting Day.

He was joined by fellow Ang Mo Kio GRC MPs Darryl David, Gan Thiam Poh and Nadia Ahmad Samdin, as well as Kebun Baru MP Henry Kwek, Yio Chu Kang MP Yip Hon Weng and grassroot leaders.

Despite a slight drizzle, several residents gathered to watch PM Lee plant the Kopsia singapurensis plant, which has red and white flowers. Also planted on Saturday was the Syzygium zeylanicum, which can grow up to 18m and has white flowers.

Saturday’s event was a culmination of tree planting activities in the town over seven months, with the project in support of the national OneMillionTrees movement to plant one million trees across Singapore over 10 years. The first official Tree Planting Day was launched on Nov 7, 1971, when then Acting Prime Minister Goh Keng Swee planted a rain tree on the summit of Mount Faber.

Mr David, who is chairman of Ang Mo Kio Town Council, said the activity was a tribute to Singapore’s roots and heritage and that it was heartening to see many residents attend the event, as such community events in the last two years had to be scaled down due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The biggest advantage about tree planting post-Covid-19 is that we can involve the community because tree planting is not just a huge flagship event for Ang Mo Kio Town Council, it is also a national event,” he said. “It shows the commitment that we have; even as we expand and develop from the urban perspective, we remember to think about things like the environment and, now all the more, the concept of sustainability as well.”

After the trees were planted, PM Lee viewed a nearby wall painting of the inside of an MRT carriage, with actual old train seats fixed to the wall.

The intention of the project was to brighten up the neighbourhood and recycle the old seats, said Mr Casey Chen, 51, one of the artists involved in the painting.

To engage residents on the issue of sustainability, seven booths were set up next to the Cheng San market by various groups, such as the National Parks Board and Jing Shan Primary School.

Pupils from the school in Ang Mo Kio shared with residents their various sustainability projects, including one on food waste recycling.

Mr George Lee, who visited the booths, said he learnt about two new ‘R’s of being environmentally friendly – refuse and repurpose – apart from the old adage of reduce, reuse and recycle.

The 58-year-old sales engineer, who has been living in Ang Mo Kio for about five years, had stumbled upon the event after a morning jog with a friend.

Mr Lee said: “It is convenient to have these kinds of events near to where we live. It also increases the liveliness of the place.”

About 600 residents attended the event on Saturday, with the town council aiming to plant another 1,000 trees next year.