Small lessons. Big impact

Sir PM was pacing up and down in the foyer leading to the Cathedral His dear friend was back from Singapore after a mini vacation with her cousin and he couldnrsquot wait to hear all about her stay there It had been raining intermittently these past few days those premonsoon showers didnrsquot help his perspiration levels and so he felt it best to meet in a suitably protected area ldquoAh There you are Pheroze You seemed to have lost weight in one weekrsquos time How I wish you could have come with me So much to love and learn from reallyrdquo she smiled her vacation glow still very visible ldquoHow was the experience and is it true that they have executed some truly inspiring ideas to ensure their green cover isnrsquot affected by their industrialised corerdquo Sir PM enquiredLady Flora smiled she knew her friend was eager to learn all about this amazing success story ldquoPheroze I was impressed Do you know that the powers that be have gone all out to keep their country green According to the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources Singapore almost half of the countryrsquos area is green I learnt that from nature reserves to botanical gardens and parks linked by treetop highways there is so much greenery wherever I went Cousin Victoria was telling me that the young nation since its inception has been focused on this aspect Apparently in the early days of its development they lost a sizeable percentage of greenery to urbanisation but they decided to relook at this approach and launched an aggressive greening campaignrdquo Lady Flora realised that Sir PM was actually taking notes so she felt that much more responsible to share key detailsldquoPlus a friend of Victoriarsquos who was part of their original civic setup like you Pheroze shared over a very stimulating tea session about how all new public housing had to integrate greener surroundings This could include plants green roofs foliage walls or vertical gardens An article in their leading newspaper Strait Times reiterated this mandaterdquo she added ldquoI am impressed beyond words My Lady Please go onrdquo he requested as he noticed an overcast sky ldquoLetrsquos head inside looks like it will come down heavyrdquo Both proceeded quickly inside in the nick of timeldquoSo I also heard they had built a 101hectare park on reclaimed land pretty much like our Maharashtra Nature Park But donrsquot you think we need hundreds of such ideas across such a nongreen city like oursrdquo she glanced at her friend who was looking a bit glum by nowldquoMy Lady this sounds impressive and also a bit farfetched for our fellows herehellipWe are just about struggling to meet our targets for this yearrsquos cleanup jobs before the real rains reach us I wonrsquot even get into our longpending infra projects that arenrsquot exactly moving at a great pace given the original architecture of our cityrdquoLady Flora could gauge why he was forlorn but tried to cheer him up ldquoThere is even a park that moves along a river I wish our civic authorities could plan something similar along the Mithi River for starters I explored the East Coast Park that lines the southeastern coast of the city It was such an amazing idea It also makes for a lovely picnic spot for families keen to enjoy the outdoors amidst this green lung Imagine if the same could be conceptualised for the Coastal Road These are all very possible you see Plus they double up as floodcontrol systems I fail to understand why these measures cannot be taken up at the earliest given how fragile our cityrsquos ecosystem is and worse given the ominous threat of climate change that isnrsquot going anywhere with each passing yearrdquoSir PM looked like he wanted to say something important ldquoAnd tell me about this tea sessionhellipis the tea any good as Irsquove heard from Viegasrdquo Lady Flora smiled and pulled out a cutesy pouch from her tote bag ldquoHere this is for you Singaporersquos finest tea and let me know what you think I knew yoursquod be curiousrdquo Sir PM was gushing at his friendrsquos thoughtful gestureBy now the sky had cleared and they made their way towards Horniman Circle Gardens where work was still underwayldquoItrsquos about keeping time I dearly wish we could stick to project deadlines with greater intensity and respect the fact that greening our city must be on top of the agenda above all else Once these two factors are focused upon we will become a more livable city I am pretty sure that this green movement in Singapore played a role in the fact that it is the worldrsquos third happiest city in the Happy City Index It will be the most satisfying day for me when we enter even the Top 50rdquo Sir PM smiledmiddayrsquos Features Editor Fiona Fernandez relishes the cityrsquos sights sounds smells and stoneswherever the ink and the inclination takes her She tweets bombayanaSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params