Nov 17, 2007
Letter to The Straits Times
By Miss Lai Yoke Kwai
AMID the call for a clean and green Singapore, we are felling big, beautiful and healthy trees to build a family park so that we can play basketball, skate, jog, etc, among man-made nature.
The proposed park is located along Braddell Road, next to the junction of Braddell Road and Bishan Road.
After some residents objected strongly to destroying the greenery, the project was scaled down and the town council promised to plant 10 trees for every one that is felled. However, this is little consolation because the trees felled were more than 20 years old (they were already fully grown when we moved in in 1988) and it takes more than 10 years for the new saplings to grow to considerable size.
Though I do not know the names of the birds that are living in the area or come resting at different times of the year, I have spotted at least nine types among the trees, and squirrels running on the branches.
It is ironic to destroy beautiful, fully-grown trees to build a park. I am quite sure the new plants will be lined in straight rows and stand X metres apart. Singaporeans just can't leave trees and plants standing haphazardly.
A number of the old trees were cut down last Saturday. Is there something someone can do to stop further destruction?
