Outstanding individuals recognised with prestigious environmental services awards.

JOINT NEWS RELEASE BETWEEN NEA, NPARKS AND SE CDC

Singapore, 4 November 2023 – The national aspiration for a clean and green Singapore was celebrated and reaffirmed today at Clean & Green Singapore (CGS) Day 2023, organised by the National Environment Agency. Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies Heng Swee Keat was the Guest-of-Honour. The event this year was hosted by the South East District, which also held its annual East Coast Green Festival.

2          CGS Day featured a traditional tree-planting ceremony with DPM Heng, followed by the presentation of the Environmental Services Star Awards and Community in Bloom Ambassador Awards. Over 20 schools, government agencies and community partners also set up booths to share more about their environmental and sustainability initiatives, such as Project Wolbachia, The Wormery Movement, and the Green Action for Communities Showcase. For details of more activities under the CGS campaign, please refer to Annex A.

27 Environmental Services Stars Recognised for Outstanding Contributions

3          The event highlight saw DPM Heng presenting 27 frontline, supervisory, and operations support staff with the Environmental Services (ES) Star Award 2023. The award recognises outstanding ES staff who have demonstrated service excellence, taken the initiative to upskill, and contributed to innovation, productivity, and environmental sustainability. One of the awardees this year is Ms Poon Chui Lee, who has blazed the trail as a fumigation expert in a male-dominated industry and fosters camaraderie in her team despite language barriers and differences in educational backgrounds. Another awardee is Mr Mohamad Marican Bin Mohd Ali Akbar, who reduced Lost Time Injuries cases by 28 per cent and Health, Safety, Environment and Quality incident cases by 8 per cent from 2021 to 2022. Please refer to Annex B for the profiles of more awardees who are available for interviews. 

Green Action for Communities

4          Five Green Action for Communities (GAC) projects representing the various districts will be showcased at CGS Day 2023. GAC projects are community action and ground-up initiatives in environmental sustainability, such as transforming an unsheltered walkway into a lush and inviting green corridor, incentivising recycling, cultivating a vertical school garden, and rescuing ugly fruits and vegetables. More details of the GAC projects are available in Annex C.

Commemorating 60 Years of Greening Singapore with the Community

5          On 16 June 1963, founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew planted a Mempat tree at Farrer Circus, kickstarting Singapore’s first nationwide greening campaign. To commemorate 60 years of greening Singapore, National Parks Board (NParks) provided tree-planting opportunities island-wide for the community throughout 2023. Between January to September 2023, close to 100,000 trees were planted together with more than 10,000 members of the community across 200 events.

6          For CGS this year, 60 trees of six native tree species were planted at Greenspace+ in support of the OneMillionTrees movement and to commemorate 60 years of greening. DPM Heng planted a Small-Leaved Nutmeg (Knema corticosa) tree at Greenspace+, together with the Mayor of South East District Mohd Fahmi Aliman. Since the launch of the OneMillionTrees movement, over 600,000 trees have been planted with the community. Please refer to Annex D for more information on the OneMillionTrees movement and the tree species that were planted today.

7          In conjunction with the CGS movement, NParks will host a series of therapeutic horticulture experiences at three recently opened Therapeutic Gardens at KMPG Wellness Garden at East Coast Park, Sun Plaza Park and Sembawang Park. Please refer to Annex E for more details on therapeutic gardens.

Appointment of Community in Bloom Ambassadors

8          Eight new Community in Bloom (CIB) Ambassadors were also appointed during this year’s CGS event. The CIB Ambassador Award recognises individuals who have made significant contributions to promote gardening and actively engage with the community to facilitate gardening-based community projects. To encourage more people to garden and to equip gardeners with the relevant knowledge for self-help, NParks has also launched a one-stop gardening portal, GardeningSG. Please refer to Annex F for more details on the CIB Ambassador Awards, the Ambassadors who have been appointed this year, and GardeningSG.

Green efforts by South East Community Development Council  

9          As part of South East Community Development Council (CDC)’s continuous efforts in supporting Singapore’s green roadmap, the CDC launched multiple green initiatives such as The Sustainable Living @ South East and the Wormery Movement: A Sustainable Alternative. Sustainable Living @ South East comprises an empowering workshop and a valuable grant. Present at today’s booths were students from schools in the South East District who participated in the workshop. They are empowered with this platform to share more about plastic waste and green transport. The Wormery Movement features a household-scale compost system that encourages eco-friendly practices within the community, with a special focus on educating the young ones. Please refer to Annex G for more details on SE CDC’s green initiatives.

Green Efforts by East Coast GRC

10        In East Coast, the East Coast Green Ambassadors Programme has trained close to 300 residents to help drive environmental sustainability and long-term behavioural change. These trained ambassadors do so by leading projects such as refreshing community gardens, monthly estate clean ups, and farm tours.

11        Two new programmes were announced — Eco Heroes @ East Coast, which is a four-month long programme for children below 12 years old that will teach about energy conservation in their own homes while empowering them with financial literacy, and the Munch Bunch, a programme to inspire young residents and their parents in East Coast to embrace healthier and more sustainable eating through locally-sourced vegetables, and foster a greater connection with nature.

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ANNEXES

Annex A - Factsheet on CGS Experiences and Activities
Annex B - Factsheet with Profiles of Environmental Services Award Winners
Annex C - Factsheet on Green Action for Communities
Annex D - Factsheet on Tree Species Planted and OneMillionTrees Movement
Annex E - Factsheet on Therapeutic Gardens in Parks
Annex F - Factsheet on CIB Ambassadors 2023
Annex G - Factsheet on Sustainable Initiatives by South East CDC