Sheralyn Tay, Today Online 4 Jul 08;
THE old banyan tree has sheltered hundreds of students under its green canopy for years.
So when student Dani Guy, 15, learned it was to be felled yesterday to make way for a new building at the Tanglin Trust School, she was “extremely” upset. Today understands that staff found out only on Wednesday that the tree was to be cut down the following day. The students were not informed.
Dani, a student for 12 years at the school, said: “The school has been on the site (at Portsdown Road) for 30 years, and the tree had been there long before then ... it could be 100 years old. It’s been very significant in the school’s history and there are a lot of memories associated with it.”
She spoke yesterday to headmaster and CEO Steven Andrews before class started, showing him old yearbook photos “to make sure he could appreciate the history the tree has”.
By mid-morning, news of the tree’s fate had spread. “Some of us went down to the tree (now surrounded by a fence due to upgrading works) ... we just stood and sat in front of the tree throughout morning break,” said Dani. Their silent protest has brought only a brief reprieve: Plans have been postponed just a week.
“One of the people from management said it was inevitable,” said Dani.
In a statement yesterday evening, the school said necessary expansion meant “tough decisions” had to be made and all alternatives had been examined. “The school is actively seeking expert advice on how to save part of the tree with a view to relocating it on the campus,” it read.
The school, which has promised “compensatory planting”, is also considering ways for students, staff and parents to “mark the rite of passage” of the tree, recognised as “a symbol of Tanglin’s history”.
It is not enough to satisfy Dani: “I don’t think you can plant anything that can make up for this tree. It was what they told us today to make up for it; I think it was in response to our actions. But it does not excuse the fact they did not tell us about the news beforehand.”
