Here are some of the initiatives that Mr Kuan Yew Lee kickstarted to transform Singapore into a clean and green city. He firmly believed that a tidy city would inculcate its citizens with good social habits and foster a strong sense of pride in their country. With the aim of becoming a First world country, Prime minister Lee recognised the importance of greenery in helping to boost morale and sense of belonging to their country. Furthermore, he hoped that having a city in a garden would boost the attractiveness of our country in the eyes of foreign investors.
Image created by blog author, Isabelle Lim using Canva
Tree planting Campaign
Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew organised the first tree planted campaign which was held on 16 June 1963. The main message of the campaign was for Singaporeans to realise the benefits that trees provide:
- Shade
- Greenery
The government also hoped to raise awareness of the need for trees. The first tree planted by Prime minister Lee was a mempat tree planted at Holland circus (but is no longer there, due to road works conducted in the 1970s). This initiative hoped engage 5000 households to plant trees in their own backyards in attempts to replace trees that had been felled. However, the success of this campaigned was short lived due to the lack of empathy on the public’s part towards trees and the environment. Furthermore, the government was still inexperienced at organizing campaigns.
Prime Minister Lee planting a mempat tree at Holland Circus. Source
Flowers blooming on a mempat tree in Singapore Source
To rectify the problem, the government came up with a more holistic initiative known as the ‘Garden City Program’. Under this program, a variety of parks and green spaces in Singapore would be interlinked by a network of tree-lined roads allow us to merge the urban with the natural.
On 7 November 1971, the first official tree planting day was launched, with acting Prime Minister, Dr Goh Keng Swee planting a rain tree on the top of Mount Faber. The reason for choosing the month of November? It was to minimise the need for watering as November is a rainy season! This campaign proved successful with more than 33 000 trees, shrubs and creepers planted around Singapore in regions such as Queenstown and Kampong Java Park. As Prime Minister Lee Kuan was unable to attend this event due to other commitments, he planted a yellow flame tree at Tanjong Pagar community center on 12 December 1971. Gradually there was a shift towards planting fruit trees, which would not only serve as shade but also as an emergency food source during times of crisis.
Mr Goh Keng Swee planting the first rain tree in Singapore to kickstart annual tree planting day. Source
Environmental Education
Mr Lee was a strong advocate for environmental education. Being a nature lover himself, he wanted to equip the next generation with knowledge of our environment so they could steward it with care and concern. Old habits die hard. In the beginning, citizens did not respect the greenery planted by the government. Some trampled all over the grass and plants, others stole plants which were public property and repurposed them in their own gardens. The people were careless and treated nature flippantly.
Source (top);Source 2 (bottom)
To overcome public indifference, Mr. Lee implemented education programs which rallied children to plant trees collectively in their school gardens. The students were taught how to care for their plants and in return, they watched their garden bloom. Each child then brings back the message of conservation to their parents.
Local Communities
Moving forward, Mr Lee knew that a management system had to be implemented to ensure various ministries worked cooperatively to maintain our green landscape. Thus the Garden City Action Committee was established in 1971. Their main role was to coordinate and facilitate communication between different government agencies who manage our greening activities.
Later on, the Parks and Recreation Department was formed in 1975 and its role was to provide expertise and oversee greening projects. In July 1996, PRD was rename has the National Parks Board which continues to facilitate the enhancement of Singapore’s greenery till this day. The NParks is actively involved in public engagement and enhancement of living quality here in Singapore. Not to mention, NParks currently manages over 300 parks and 4 nature reserves spread across the island. NParks also oversees reforestation projects that seek to restore secondary forests back to its mature state. To ensure our green spaces are made available to the public, NParks seek to improve the connectivity between infrastructure and green spaces and are embarking on upgrading projects to improve accessibility by building new connectors, for instance the park connectors network.
NParks Logo Source