Towards An Active and Gracious Community!

CG SG50 Carnival calls for more environmental volunteers for a sustainable Singapore

Singapore, 31 October 2015 - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong launched the Clean and Green SG50 (CG SG50) Carnival at the North East District today. Held this weekend at the open field next to the Punggol MRT station, several Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and community groups showcased their environmental programmes in the annual Carnival, and called on visitors to participate as volunteers.

2  Through the exhibits at the CG SG50 Carnival, visitors reflected on Singapore’s transformational journey over the past five decades from a developing nation with poor environmental standards and polluted rivers to one that is amongst the cleanest and most liveable in Asia. Singapore’s environmental achievements, such as the development of clean and beautiful waterways, and proper sanitation in all homes, were made possible through the visionary leadership of our founding Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, as well as the collective efforts of the people, private and public sectors. However, the next lap of our journey to build an even cleaner, greener and more sustainable Singapore for future generations will require stronger social norms in helping Singaporeans embrace environmentally friendly habits.

3  Continuing with last year’s theme of “Cherishing Our Home, Safeguarding Our Future”, this year’s campaign encourages all Singaporeans to get personally involved in environmental causes and activities. With the participation of the various NGOs and community groups at the Carnival this year, visitors can easily sign up as volunteers and help others to embrace environmentally friendly living as a way of life. As we envision the future Singapore that we want, it is only with a sustained and collective effort towards community stewardship of the environment that we can build a common culture where caring for the environment is second nature to all.

4  Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources said, “Through the diversity of activities this year, many Singaporeans have come together to reflect on Singapore’s clean and green journey over the past 50 years, as well as shared their aspirations for the future Singapore. More heartening is that many have also indicated they would like to contribute to a cleaner and greener environment. We shared the Singapore Environment Story (SES) initiative, and environmental programmes showcased by the various NGOs and community groups, to inspire more to participate actively in environmental activities. Ultimately we must aim for caring for the environment and for each other to become second nature to us – to become our way of life.”

PM Lee’s Tree Planting @ CG SG50 Carnival

5  To launch the CG SG50 Carnival, PM Lee planted the Jelutong (Dyera costulata) tree at Punggol Waterway Park this morning alongside 600 residents who planted 200 additional trees. This is part of the Mass Tree Planting launched on 1 August 2015 that will see more than 5,000 trees planted by the community when it concludes at the end of 2015.

6  Mr Lawrence Wong, Minister of National Development said, “The lush and verdant environment we enjoy today is a result of deliberate, careful planning and the willingness of Singaporeans to get their hands dirty to create this green home. As part of our nation’s Golden Jubilee, more than 20,000 people will be planting more than 5,000 trees in our parks and gardens and along our park connectors and nature ways. I hope that we will continue to sow the seeds for future generations beyond SG50, so that our children and their children will always be proud to call Singapore home.”

Community Initiatives

7  The CG SG50 Carnival showcased a selection of the 5,000 stories collected through the SES initiative which was launched at last year’s the Clean and Green Singapore (CGS) Carnival. These stories included diverse and rich memories of the Singapore’s journey over the past five decades, as well as Singaporean’s aspirations for the future Singapore.

8  The Community Challenges announced at last year’s CGS Carnival have also seen progress. The ‘Bright Spots’ Challenge has helped to increase the number of ‘Bright Spots[1]’ from some 300 in November 2014, to more than 520 today, which is over and above the target of 500 ‘Bright Spots’ set when the initiative was announced last year. The ‘No Waste Days’ Challenge has garnered pledges from more than 15,500 people to practise more than 850,000 ‘No Waste Days’. About 400 online photographs have also been posted by members of the public on social media on their ‘No Waste Days’ efforts.

Role Models to Emulate

CGS Awards

9  PM Lee presented eight national awards at the CGS Award Ceremony to recognise grassroots organisations for their efforts in achieving high standards in the areas of public hygiene and cleanliness, resource conservation and energy efficiency. A total of 121 awards were presented this year. Of those, 93 awards were for cleaners who have demonstrated pride and commitment in their work by keeping our hawker centres, estates and toilets clean.

Community in Bloom Ambassadors

10  Ten new CIB Ambassadors were appointed this year and they received their awards from PM Lee at the CG SG50 Carnival today. The ambassadors are selected based on their contributions in the following areas: spreading the gardening culture among the community; in-depth knowledge in gardening and greenery; and their ability to drive the gardening movement[2].

Ground-up Initiatives at North East District

11 The North East District has many environmental initiatives under the North East ACE (Actions by the Community for the Environment) Plan, a five-year sustainability plan which was launched in 2010, to build a clean and green environment. This year, the North East Community Development Council (CDC) has reviewed this plan and placed greater emphasis on achieving a more sustainable North East district. The North East ACE Plan has been renamed the Sustainable North East District Blueprint, and is now a 10-year sustainability masterplan. The new masterplan includes new initiatives to raise the community’s awareness and advocate action on dengue prevention, public cleanliness and hygiene, as well as resource and water conservation, and energy efficiency.

12  Mr Teo Ser Luck, Mayor of North East District, said he is pleased with the collaboration among all the partners. He added, “As we are heading towards conserving energy and a greener Singapore for our future generations, we can only achieve mileage if we do it as a team. That does not mean the individual efforts are not commendable, it means, together with these individual efforts, community and corporate partners, we can certainly make Singapore an environmentally robust country.”