Guests oblige with more than 150 trees for couple
Victoria Vaughan, Straits Times 27 Jul 09;
TWO lawyers had an unusual request for their guests on their wedding day - do not come bearing traditional gifts.
Instead, lawyers Susan de Silva, 50, and Chandra Mohan K. Nair, 60, asked their 200 guests to donate to the Plant-A-Tree scheme.
The scheme is an initiative by the Garden City Fund, a charity supported by the National Parks Board, and the Singapore Environment Council, a charity that champions green causes.
Since their wedding in Sentosa last December, the couple have planted more than 150 trees pledged by their guests. Yesterday, they planted the last 10 in Bukit Batok Nature Park.
Their wedding trees, which cost $15,400 in all, are planted across Singapore in various parks.
'We wanted something that would be a gift for us but also beyond us - for our guests, the community and future generations,' said Ms de Silva. 'Ten years from now, people can sit under the trees we planted to celebrate our wedding.'
Having grown up in Malaysia and climbed many trees back then, she added: 'I can even remember studying in the crook of a tree.'
At her home in Pandan Valley, she has a tree house. Her love for nature led her to campaign to save five trees from a developer's axe in 2001.
The keen environmentalist does pro bono work for the Singapore Environment Council and the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore.
At home, she recycles cans and paper and refrains from turning on the air-conditioner whenever possible.
She admits she was the driving force behind the tree-planting idea for the wedding. 'I think I have influenced my husband, but he is very open to environmental issues and he's a nature lover, so it wasn't difficult.'
Mr Chandra Mohan is a former Nominated Member of Parliament.
Since the Plant-A-Tree programme began in November 2007, nearly 60 organisations and 210 individuals in Singapore have planted young trees across the island to improve the environment.
To find out more about the scheme, visit www.gardencityfund.com.sg
