to the Garden City Fund for the
Sembcorp Forest of Giants project
as well as the Sembcorp Education
and Conservation Fund
Launched on 21 April 2010, the Sembcorp Forest of Giants is a special collection of massive, giant trees native to the region. The arboretum – a living gallery of trees for education and research – was named in appreciation of a sponsorship of $1 million from Sembcorp Industries to the Garden City Fund. It is part of the National Parks Board’s (NParks) initiative to enhance biodiversity within Singapore’s urban areas.
The Sembcorp Forest of Giants comprises over 600 trees that originally dominated our regional landscape before urbanisation. Also known as emergents – large trees that grow above the forest canopy – some of these 55 species selected for the collection can take more than 50 years to mature, and can attain great heights of over 80 metres in the wild.
As the number of giant trees dwindles within the region, the Sembcorp Forest of Giants will enable park visitors to view and experience firsthand, rare and majestic reminders of the biodiversity, which once thrived in our regional landscape. Researchers will also be able to better identify suitable species for future urban planting along our roads and in our parks.
Mah Bow Tan, Mr Tang Kin Fei,
Group President and CEO of
Sembcorp, Mr Goh Geok Ling,
Board Director of Sembcorp,
Mr Peter Seah, Chairman of
Sembcorp, planting the Tualang
(Koompassia excelsa).
The Southern Ridges was chosen to showcase the Sembcorp Forest of Giants, due to the presence of healthy secondary forest vegetation on a hilly terrain. Having this Forest here presents future generations with the unique opportunity of viewing the giant trees from vantage points along Henderson Waves as they rise from the forest canopy.
Park visitors can also stroll along two loops in Telok Blangah Hill Park to view the trees and learn more about them. Some of the species featured in the loops include the Tualang (Koompassia excelsa), which can reach a towering height of over 80 metres, Kempas (Koompassia malaccensis), Jelutong (Dyera costulata) and Kapur Paji (Dryobalanops lanceolata).
At the launch event, Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan sealed a time capsule, which contained items of significance to the project, including a list of people involved in the project, the planting plan, artist impressions, digital photographs, and news articles. The time capsule will remain sealed for the next 50 years.
Minister Mah adding the winning illustration from Fairfield Methodist Secondary School to the Sembcorp Forest of Giants time capsule.
The launch of the Sembcorp Forest of Giants is a key event in celebration of the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB). NParks has lined up an exciting series of activities throughout this year to raise public awareness of the rich biodiversity in Singapore.