By Lim Jing Jing, TODAY | Posted: 28
June 2011 0619 hrs
SINGAPORE: It was once a nutmeg plantation. Today,
it is the Istana, the official residence of the President of
Singapore.
At 43 hectares, about the size of 53 football fields, it is home to
more than 10,000 trees, which in turn house a variety of
wildlife.
The trees were here more than a century ago, long before any of the
dense concrete jungle of shopping malls were built along
Singapore's Orchard Road.
The yellow flame trees lining the path leading to the Istana
quietly greeted countless state visitors which included foreign
dignitaries, statesmen and royalties.
Today, other than functioning as the green lungs of urban
Singapore, the trees of Istana have become a science lab for the
National Parks Board's (NParks) study of wildlife in
Singapore.
"One good reason why we do it in the Istana is because it's serene
and well-protected, so we can do our work quietly," NParks chief
executive officer Poon Hong Yuen said.
"Key figures, like Mr Lee Kuan Yew, have (also) been very
encouraging of NParks doing new things in the Istana because these
are the things he also enjoys very much."
As a result, NParks introduced a pair of oriental pied hornbills in
2008 to the gardens to understand their nesting and feeding habits.
Today, the Istana gardens is home to eight of these birds.
The NParks says there are about 150 varieties of trees in the
gardens of Istana.
Over 70 of them are featured in the new book, Trees of the Istana,
which was launched yesterday by President S R Nathan.
The book took three years to write and was first mooted by
President Nathan.
The release of the book this year coincides with the United
Nations' International Year of Forests.
