Keppel commits S$3m to Garden City Fund

Singapore

KEPPEL Corporation, through its philanthropic arm Keppel Care Foundation, has committed S$3 million to the Garden City Fund to support the planting of 10,000 trees in various parks and nature reserves in Singapore over the next five years.

This is in support of the National Parks Board's (Nparks) OneMillionTrees movement to enhance existing green spaces and transform the country into a "city in nature".

At Labrador Nature Reserve on Monday, National Development Minister Desmond Lee graced an event where Keppel marked the start of its pledge with the planting of 50 coastal forest trees.

Restore and enhance coastal habitats

Around half of the 10,000 trees will be planted at the 22ha reserve to help restore and enhance its coastal habitats.

Mr Lee was joined by Keppel volunteers led by Keppel Care Foundation chairman Lee Boon Yang, Keppel Corporation chairman Danny Teoh, and Keppel Corporation chief executive officer Loh Chin Hua. Also present were NParks CEO Kenneth Er and Garden City Fund chairman Leo Tan.

"We will work closely with Keppel and other corporate partners, as well as the larger community, to green our city further under the OneMillionTrees movement," said Mr Lee.

"This will help to mitigate the effects of climate change and urbanisation, protect our biodiversity, and create a greener Singapore for our present and future generations to enjoy."

The Keppel Group is an active supporter of environmental conservation programmes. Keppel has also collaborated with NParks to restore a freshwater wetland habitat at the Botanic Gardens called the Keppel Discovery Wetlands. Since its launch in March 2017, the Learning Forest, which Keppel Discovery Wetlands is a part of, has received about 1.3 million visitors.