Very early on, residents were already involved in tree planting events, but over the past six decades, the community’s involvement has widened and deepened. They have taken on broader responsibilities to spearhead greening and conservation efforts, so as to co-create the high-quality living environment we now enjoy. This has resulted in the verdant greenery we see around us today and a sense of pride and national identity as one of the greenest cities in the world.
In 2023, we commemorated 60 years of greening in Singapore. In 1963, founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew planted a Mempat sapling in Farrer Circus, kickstarting our nationwide greening campaign.
Very early on, residents were already involved in tree planting events, but over the past six decades, the community’s involvement has widened and deepened. They have taken on broader responsibilities to spearhead greening and conservation efforts, so as to co-create the high-quality living environment we now enjoy. This has resulted in the verdant greenery we see around us today and a sense of pride and national identity as one of the greenest cities in the world.
The importance and power of the community in transforming Singapore into a City in Nature, a key pillar of the Singapore Green Plan 2030, cannot be understated. Since 2020, over 683,000 trees have been planted with the help of over 100,000 members of the public, schools, agencies, and corporate entities, placing us well on track to plant one million more trees by 2030. This past year, we established the Nature Kakis Network to encourage greater participation in City in Nature initiatives by the wider community, developed by passionate volunteers at the local grassroots level. We have set up 18 chapters across the island, with over 140 appointed Nature Kakis reaching out to over 8,000 residents. The support of our 67,000 volunteers has also enabled us to carry out many more educational programmes, gardening events and habitat enhancements.
As we celebrate progress made on our shared greening journey, challenges posed by climate change will continue to keep us busy. NParks has pledged to forge a liveable future for Singapore by adopting sustainability practices, shaping sustainable and green infrastructure, as well as nurturing residents’ interactions and relationships with nature.
This commitment to sustainability is ongoing; our core work in greening our environment means we have been enhancing Singapore’s climate resilience all this time. For instance, sustainability was a core tenet in the development of Jurong Lake Gardens. In addition to its zero-waste buildings, the Gardens has many features like swales and bioretention basins that cleanse water runoff. At the newly opened Japanese Garden, a smart water management system utilises natural vegetation and soil microbes to clean and restore the water within the Garden, which can then be recirculated for irrigation.
As energy demands increase with continued development of green spaces and growing operational needs, NParks will enhance our sustainability efforts. To this end, beginning this fiscal year, we are publishing disclosures on our sustainability performance and seizing more opportunities to embed sustainability into the entire spectrum of our work.
Many of us have felt the restorative effects of being in and around nature. This is why NParks is working to ensure every resident can access greenery easily. In 2023, we moved closer to that goal with the opening of three new Therapeutic Garden bacross the island. The multi-generational KPMG Wellness Garden at East Coast Park and Woodlands Healing Garden within Woodlands Health Campus feature spaces for active play and tranquil nature-based interactions for users of all ages and abilities. Designed with sustainability and accessibility in mind, these gardens enable residents to harness our parks and green spaces to improve their physical and mental health.
Another significant achievement in this last year was the launch of the Cat Management Framework by the Animal & Veterinary Service, a cluster of the National Parks Board. Public flat owners can now keep up to two cats and enjoy improved traceability of their feline companions with an expanded licensing and microchipping scheme. Public health and animal welfare will also be better safeguarded with the science-based Trap-Neuter-Rehome/Release-Manage programme that has been extended to community cats. These measures were developed after extensive public consultation and surveys, and more efforts will go towards promoting responsible behaviour among the community to safeguard the animals in our neighbourhoods.
On the horticultural front, researchers, professional growers and enthusiasts from the region gathered for the 14th edition of the Asia Pacific Orchid Conference, which was held in Singapore for the first time in August 2023. Similarly, the 8th Global Botanic Gardens Congress was successfully hosted in Singapore in August 2024, the first time the event was held in Southeast Asia. As the only global congress dedicated to botanic gardens, it was a good opportunity for this community to share knowledge and best practices in conservation, research, education and outreach, as well as plant collection curation. The Congress was held in conjunction with the 9th Singapore Garden Festival, which has returned in full force since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Looking ahead, science and technology continue to inform and improve all aspects of our work. Leveraging on innovation, we are embracing digitalisation. We piloted a new model for landscape management at the Bishan-Ang Mo Kio district that will improve operational precision and efficiency, along with the effectiveness of tree risk management. We also initiated the Biosurveillance Research Programme that builds on existing national efforts and interagency collaboration to enable early detection and warning of emerging disease threats.
We are immensely grateful for the support of our colleagues and the community at large, without whom our efforts would not have been possible. As we deepen our interactions with the natural environment, we will work closely together to transform Singapore into a cherished City in Nature.
Mr Loh Khum Yean
Chairman, National Parks Board