Saturday, December 5, 2009
Sweeper laments the littering habit of human residents!
7.00am
2.30pm
Cases of high-rise littering increasing despite education efforts
The common items that are thrown are cigarette butts, tissue paper and fruit seeds. More extreme litter would be sanitary pads, wound dressings and bags of urine or faeces.
The method that Town Councils use most to combat the problem of high-rise littering is to distribute flyers and pamphlets to urge residents not to litter.
A spokesman from Bishan-Toa Payoh Town Council told TODAY: “The Town Council will send reminder notices to the residents to refrain from such anti-social behaviour.
"Our approach is to advise and remind them, and this has reduced the high-rise littering cases. Enforcement action is used a last resort.”
2.30pm
Cases of high-rise littering increasing despite education efforts
The common items that are thrown are cigarette butts, tissue paper and fruit seeds. More extreme litter would be sanitary pads, wound dressings and bags of urine or faeces.
The method that Town Councils use most to combat the problem of high-rise littering is to distribute flyers and pamphlets to urge residents not to litter.
A spokesman from Bishan-Toa Payoh Town Council told TODAY: “The Town Council will send reminder notices to the residents to refrain from such anti-social behaviour.
"Our approach is to advise and remind them, and this has reduced the high-rise littering cases. Enforcement action is used a last resort.”
Are only VIP trees protected?
Write to Sembawang Town Council at feedback@sbtc.org.sg
Write to the MPs - Obtain their email addresses from here: http://app.sgdi.gov.sg/index.asp?cat=1
Straits Times Forum
Dec 5, 2009
TENDING A GARDEN CITY
Are only VIP trees protected?
I REFER to the report, ''VIP trees' symbols of commitment to Garden City' (Nov 26), on the tradition of tree planting dating back to 1963 started by then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
Over the years, political leaders have exhorted us to develop a sense of belonging and pride in the community and care for the environment.
Residents in Marsiling Rise have taken this advice to heart and spent a great deal of time nurturing the trees that grow in our locality. For more than a decade, these residents have nurtured these trees, including starfruit, stunted mango, soursop, chicku, jackfruit, rambutan, moringa, sugarcane and banana. They are home to munias, bulbuls, golden orioles, swifts, sunbirds, koels, jambu parrots, and even woodpeckers.
Many residents, including me, were greatly distressed by Sembawang Town Council's decision to cordon off a large number of these beautiful trees and plants, designated for removal because of 'unauthorised planting on turf'. These mature trees, which are around 10 to 15 years old and include the evergreen neem tree - like the one planted recently by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong - have been targeted to be cut down by the town council.
About a month ago, 20 of us residents appealed for only selective culling of those trees that pose a threat to health or property, as an alternative solution to cutting down all the trees.
The town council responded in a generic e-mail inviting us to use the communal garden, allocated to residents 'for in-ground planting' and 'community bonding and for maintaining the aesthetics of the estate'.
This official gardening spot is completely fenced off and under lock and key.
Since then, our repeated appeals have been met with stony silence, despite several attempts to invite the town council to engage with us in person and to understand the personal stories behind the Marsiling Rise trees and why they are of great importance to residents.
How can Singaporeans and residents develop a sense of responsibility and belonging to the nation when our efforts are discouraged in this manner?
More important, the removal of these trees - a rare and educational thicket in the urban jungle - will result in a loss to Singapore's garden city. Every tree plays a valuable role in helping us reduce our energy needs, offsetting our carbon footprint and slowing down global warming.
Do trees have to be planted by VIPs to be sacred?
Dr Praema Raghavan-Gilber
Friday, December 4, 2009
How trees became lifeline
My Paper
FRIDAY DECEMBER 4, 2009
BY DAWN TAY
OVER 10 years ago, planting and caring for a clump of fruit trees in Marsiling Rise was a grieving woman’s lifeline.
To battle the despair that set in when she lost her 20-year-old son to nose cancer,Madam Lee Moi made the 15-minute walk to a 100m-long stretch of grass next to blocks 116 and 117 daily for three years, to plant and tend to the saplings.
After that, the fruit trees came under the tender care of some residents of the two blocks, who took pride in maintaining the trees, which numbered around 18.
Now, these trees – such as neem, mango, jackfruit and soursop – face the axe from the Sembawang Town Council, because their planting constitutes “unauthorised planting on turf”.
They faced a similar threat six years ago but were given a reprieve when residents appealed to a Member of Parliament.
Unauthorised planting aside, the issue has resurfaced, as the town council has received complaints from residents, said its public relations manager, Ms Dorothy Cheung.
She added: “We’re also concerned about pest infestations and mosquito breeding.”
Madam Lee, 74, is in China on a two-month holiday and has not been told the news.
But her grandson, Mr Navin Anand, a 22-year-old law student, told my paper: “She’ll be very upset if she knows that the trees are due to be cut down. She put in a lot of effort to plant and tend to them.”
Last month, more than 20 residents from the two blocks petitioned the town council in a bid to save the trees, which they say also provide a haven for birds such as golden orioles and swifts.
One of the residents, retired doctor Praema Raghavan, said: “We asked the town council to cull only those trees that pose a threat to life or property. Most of these trees are well-maintained – we used to hire somebody to come in and take care of the area once a month.”
Following the petition, the town council is considering taking over the maintenance of some of the mature trees, and letting residents adopt some others, said Ms Cheung.
The move will please residents like guest relations officer Shantini Rajamani, 41, who uses flowers and fruit from the betel-nut plant outside her house for prayers.
She said: “Our family bought a ground-floor unit in one of the blocks in 2000, just so that wecould do gardening.”
But should the trees go, not all residents will be sorry. Housewife Mardziyah Nor, 50, said: “I’ve had wasps from the trees fly into my house. A disease which originated in the papaya tree also affected my roses and orchids.”
Last month, residents of a condominium in Bukit Timah also protested when the vegetation next to their estate was cleared to make way for an MRT site office.
The Land Transport Authority said that it would look into the matter.
dawnt@sph.com.sg
FRIDAY DECEMBER 4, 2009
BY DAWN TAY
OVER 10 years ago, planting and caring for a clump of fruit trees in Marsiling Rise was a grieving woman’s lifeline.
To battle the despair that set in when she lost her 20-year-old son to nose cancer,Madam Lee Moi made the 15-minute walk to a 100m-long stretch of grass next to blocks 116 and 117 daily for three years, to plant and tend to the saplings.
After that, the fruit trees came under the tender care of some residents of the two blocks, who took pride in maintaining the trees, which numbered around 18.
Now, these trees – such as neem, mango, jackfruit and soursop – face the axe from the Sembawang Town Council, because their planting constitutes “unauthorised planting on turf”.
They faced a similar threat six years ago but were given a reprieve when residents appealed to a Member of Parliament.
Unauthorised planting aside, the issue has resurfaced, as the town council has received complaints from residents, said its public relations manager, Ms Dorothy Cheung.
She added: “We’re also concerned about pest infestations and mosquito breeding.”
Madam Lee, 74, is in China on a two-month holiday and has not been told the news.
But her grandson, Mr Navin Anand, a 22-year-old law student, told my paper: “She’ll be very upset if she knows that the trees are due to be cut down. She put in a lot of effort to plant and tend to them.”
Last month, more than 20 residents from the two blocks petitioned the town council in a bid to save the trees, which they say also provide a haven for birds such as golden orioles and swifts.
One of the residents, retired doctor Praema Raghavan, said: “We asked the town council to cull only those trees that pose a threat to life or property. Most of these trees are well-maintained – we used to hire somebody to come in and take care of the area once a month.”
Following the petition, the town council is considering taking over the maintenance of some of the mature trees, and letting residents adopt some others, said Ms Cheung.
The move will please residents like guest relations officer Shantini Rajamani, 41, who uses flowers and fruit from the betel-nut plant outside her house for prayers.
She said: “Our family bought a ground-floor unit in one of the blocks in 2000, just so that wecould do gardening.”
But should the trees go, not all residents will be sorry. Housewife Mardziyah Nor, 50, said: “I’ve had wasps from the trees fly into my house. A disease which originated in the papaya tree also affected my roses and orchids.”
Last month, residents of a condominium in Bukit Timah also protested when the vegetation next to their estate was cleared to make way for an MRT site office.
The Land Transport Authority said that it would look into the matter.
dawnt@sph.com.sg
Acres lauds animal-friendly move
Straits Times Forum
Dec 4, 2009
Acres lauds animal-friendly move
THE Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) would like to commend Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) for maintaining its position not to acquire and keep whale sharks in its upcoming marine park.
Whale sharks have not fared well in captivity and RWS has said that it may not be able to care for the animals. It is a tremendous risk to the lives and welfare of these animals to keep them in captivity, and a risk that should not be taken.
Acres urges the Singapore Tourism Board to give a favourable response to RWS by allowing changes to its original submission and support efforts by companies that aim to be more animal-friendly and socially responsible.
Andrea Kwan (Ms)
Campaigns Officer
Animal Concerns Research and Education Society
Dec 4, 2009
Acres lauds animal-friendly move
THE Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) would like to commend Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) for maintaining its position not to acquire and keep whale sharks in its upcoming marine park.
Whale sharks have not fared well in captivity and RWS has said that it may not be able to care for the animals. It is a tremendous risk to the lives and welfare of these animals to keep them in captivity, and a risk that should not be taken.
Acres urges the Singapore Tourism Board to give a favourable response to RWS by allowing changes to its original submission and support efforts by companies that aim to be more animal-friendly and socially responsible.
Andrea Kwan (Ms)
Campaigns Officer
Animal Concerns Research and Education Society
Absence of whale sharks won't hurt IR
Straits Times Forum
Dec 4, 2009
Absence of whale sharks won't hurt IR
I REFER to last Saturday's report, 'Sentosa's whale shark plan being reviewed'.
According to expert opinion, keeping the whale sharks in the upcoming Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) is neither practical nor feasible, despite the integrated resort's 'strong focus on education and marine life conservation'.
It is unnecessarily cruel to confine these large oceanic animals in an 8ha enclosure, vastly different from their natural environment. This aquarium is far from ideal for proper scientific study. The cacophony of peripheral activities is unnecessary and a stressful distraction. In their natural habitat, these animals have infrequent contact with humans. Held captive in a small aquarium, there is a real risk that more members of an already endangered species will die.
To fulfil its desire to contribute to marine life conservation, RWS could channel revenues, from all aspects of its business, to well-established research centres. This is a more feasible way to support conservation efforts.
I doubt the absence of the whale sharks will dampen the overall appeal of RWS as an entertainment venue.
Goh Si Guim
Dec 4, 2009
Absence of whale sharks won't hurt IR
I REFER to last Saturday's report, 'Sentosa's whale shark plan being reviewed'.
According to expert opinion, keeping the whale sharks in the upcoming Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) is neither practical nor feasible, despite the integrated resort's 'strong focus on education and marine life conservation'.
It is unnecessarily cruel to confine these large oceanic animals in an 8ha enclosure, vastly different from their natural environment. This aquarium is far from ideal for proper scientific study. The cacophony of peripheral activities is unnecessary and a stressful distraction. In their natural habitat, these animals have infrequent contact with humans. Held captive in a small aquarium, there is a real risk that more members of an already endangered species will die.
To fulfil its desire to contribute to marine life conservation, RWS could channel revenues, from all aspects of its business, to well-established research centres. This is a more feasible way to support conservation efforts.
I doubt the absence of the whale sharks will dampen the overall appeal of RWS as an entertainment venue.
Goh Si Guim
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)