Thursday, June 18, 2009

Eight more trees were planted: Town Council

F-minus rating to Hong Kah Town Council for chopping down these trees
Hong Kah Town Council says that eight more trees were planted to at the Yew Tee Close area, and is taking a long term view with regards to the environment, despite cutting down several trees.

This is in response to the trees that were cut down by the Town Council which were pointed out by STOMPers Lovernature and Ang Kong Kia in their contributions to STOMP.

In an email response to STOMP today (June 18), a town council spokesman wrote:

"We refer to the posts by STOMPers Lovernature and Ang Kong Kia regarding the felling of palm trees at the hardcourt next to Yew Tee Point by the Town Council.

"There were initially 10 palm trees at the site.

"During a routine check, we found that, except for three big trees in front of the MRT station, the other seven trees were not growing well.

"In a bid to save the trees, we transplanted three of the seven trees to another location. However, the transplanted trees were unable to survive.

"Taking a long-term view of the future use of the hardcourt and condition of the existing four trees, we then decided it would be more prudent to remove the four trees that were not growing well.

"This decision was communicated to the Yew Tee CCC. The three big trees will remain as they are growing healthily.

"The Town Council is committed to providing a clean and green environment for residents. At the traffic island at Yew Tee Close, which is next to the hardcourt, eight trees were planted to provide more greenery to the area.

"Our Tree Planting Day every November is also testament to the Town Council’s green efforts.

"The Town Council is also in partnership with the South West Community Development Council on the 1,000,000 Native Plants @ South West, having pledged 106 trees last year.

"We will continue to work with the CDC to increase the number of community gardens in the Town as part of our efforts to promote a greener and more sustainable environment, and allow residents to enjoy and appreciate nature.

"We welcome residents who have further queries on this matter to call us at 6764 3295."

Earlier articles:
F-minus rating to Hong Kah Town Council for chopping down these trees
Weather so hot, yet why healthy trees at Yew Tee Point cut down?

Related posts: F-minus rating to Hong Kah Town Council for chopping down these trees (13th June 2009)
Weather so hot, yet why healthy trees at Yew Tee Point cut down? (11th June 2009)

Here's a link that tells you all about the 1,000,000 Native Plants @ South West initiative. I wonder if there are similar programmes for my little corner of Singapore.