Did you know the campaign to transform Singapore into a "garden city" is almost as old as Singapore?

The islandwide greening movement was one of Singapore's founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew's legacies that greatly shaped Singapore today.

Greening Singapore

Lee first kickstarted a tree planting campaign by planting a Mempat tree at Farrer Circus in 1963.

Since then, over 1.5 million trees have been planted along the streetscapes, parks and state lands across the island.

And now, 60 years later, tree planting is just one of many ways that his vision of a green and clean Singapore is kept alive.

Back in the 1960s, Singapore struggled with serious issues in unemployment, lack of housing, health and education.

Yet, Lee pushed for the greening of Singapore. In a 1995 speech, he said:

“I have always believed that a blighted urban jungle of concrete destroys the human spirit. We need the greenery of nature to lift up our spirits.”

There were the fast-growing angsana, sea apple and rain trees, which were later joined by more colourful plants like bougainvillea, yellow flame tree and the deep pink frangipani.

Lee became Singapore's chief gardener, and he reiterated in 2012 that Singapore would have been a "barren, ugly city" if not for the greening effort.

Celebrating Lee Kuan Yew's green legacy

A short film featuring prominent local nature figures was created as a tribute to Lee's vision of a garden city.

To commemorate his green legacy, about 1,000 People's Action Party (PAP) activists and guests were invited to the LKY100 The Greening of Singapore ceremony on Sunday (Oct. 29), where the short film was also screened.At the event, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also took part in completing a floral map of Singapore, created from close to 9,000 pots of chrysanthemum plants of different colours.

Green groups such as Green Drumming, Touch Wood by Ground Up Initiative (GUI) and Temenggong Artist-In-Residence (TMG) also showcased their work.

Highlights of the film "The Greening of Singapore"

In the film, Leo Tan Wee Hin, professor and former chairman of the National Parks Board (NParks), spoke about Lee's foresight in building a healthy society through protecting nature, even before climate change became the hot topic it is today.

"The foundations were very well laid when the first tree was planted when Mr. Lee Kuan Yew planted the pink Mempat tree. His tree planting campaign wasn't about planting a tree. Mr. Lee gave us a deep connection with nature."

The film also highlighted that Singapore's green cover has contributed to mitigating some of the negative impacts from rising global temperatures that other cities face.

PM Lee recalled that the late Lee returned from his visits to cities around the world with the sense that their built-up environments felt "oppressive".

As Singapore did not have the landmass to provide "countrysides" where urban dwellers could relax, he realised that greenery needed to be incorporated into the living environment in Singapore instead.

Back then, most of Singapore's rainforests have been killed by colonial masters for urban development such as agriculture. In addition, modernisation was an indicator of progress so many places were focusing on building huge infrastructures.

In the video, Liu Thai Ker, former CEO of the Housing Development Board (HDB) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), also elaborated on how this was implemented during urban planning.

Green advocates like Kong Man Jing, also known as BioGirl MJ of the science channel Just Keep Thinking, nature guide Elliott Ong and Vilma D’Rozario, co-director of the Singapore Wildcat Action Group (SWAG), are also featured in the film.

Continuing LKY's legacy

At the event, PM Lee also reminded the audience to appreciate why the founding prime minister placed an emphasis on greening which has contributed to today's liveable environment.

"It is also to understand what he fought for, why he did that, why all those years ago in 1963, in the midst of so many other things to think about, he decided to say, 'Let’s have a Tree Planting Day.'"

PM Lee urged people to continue the late Lee's greening legacy and "make it better" for both current and future generations.

"I think LKY100, Mr Lee would have been happy that we are celebrating it. I think what would make him truly happy is to make sure that beyond LKY100, the country continues to progress, continues to prosper, continues to be one united people, regardless of race, language or religion, making this a shining red dot, full of green trees, in a very dangerous world."

You can watch the video here:

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Top images via Desmond Lee/Facebook and Henry Kwek/Facebook.