To celebrate SPF200, the SPF has pledged to plant 200 trees in support of the One Million Trees movement.
By: Elliot Wong
It was a bright, breezy morning on 10 December 2020; perfect weather for tree-planting! As the sun shone through the trees and the wind rustled the leaves, Commissioner of Police (CP) Hoong Wee Teck and Chief Executive Officer of the National Parks Board Mr Kenneth Er planted five merbatu trees at Empress Place with a group of Police officers, volunteers and retirees.
Remembering Our Roots
Empress Place is one of the stops on the Police Heritage Trail, which takes participants on a journey through the Singapore Police Force’s (SPF) humble beginnings. When Major William Farquhar first set up the island’s police force in 1820, the Police Office was situated at Empress Place, by the Singapore River. Now, 200 years later, the SPF has returned to this location to commemorate its roots.
“It is very fitting to commemorate the Police Bicentennial with tree-planting as trees provide shade, and they are sturdy as well as enduring,” said CP Hoong. “Tree-planting symbolises saluting the past by putting down roots while safeguarding the future with growth.”
A Historic Link
Beyond the five trees planted at Empress Place, another 195 trees will be planted in 2021 from Empress Place to roads in the vicinity of Fort Canning Park and Farquhar Garden, Singapore’s first Botanical Garden.
“The planting from Empress Place to Fort Canning Park reflects the close historic link between the first Police Office and the first Botanic Garden,” said Mr Er. “We congratulate the SPF on its bicentennial and are heartened that the SPF is part of the One Million Trees movement, sharing our vision to make Singapore our City in Nature.”
Want to learn more about the SPF’s proud history and heritage? Visit the Police Heritage Centre!
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