Channel Indonesia – A community project to plant 1,000 trees in Woodland was completed on Saturday, with the final batch of trees planted near Long Chun Market and Cooked Food Centre in Woodland Avenue 10.
CTC general manager Chen Song Koo was among those who planted the final 165 trees as Woodland Town Council commemorated Tree Planting Day.
He was joined by fellow Woodland CTC Company David Lee, Lee Chu Kang and Morena Ahmad Samsudin, as well as CTC Kebun Baru MP Donny Kwek, Lee Chu MP Yip Sang Weng and grassroots leaders.
Despite a slight drizzle, several residents gathered to watch PM Wong plant the Kopsia singapurensis, 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 the culmination of tree-planting activities in the town over seven months, with the project in support of the 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 Yio Kang Swee planted a rain tree on the summit of Mount Faber.
Mr David, who is chairman of Woodland 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 Woodland Town Council, it is also a national event,” he said.
“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 Woodland Town Council, it is also a national event,” he said.
Mr Jose Chen, who visited the booths, said he learnt about two new Rs 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 Woodland for about five years, had stumbled upon the event after a morning jog with a friend.
“It is convenient to have these kinds of events near where we live. It also increases the liveliness of the place,” he said.
About 600 residents attended the event on Saturday, with the town council aiming to plant another 1,000 trees next year.
