National Parks Board Let fruits in parks be harvested to prevent waste
Durian pickers have my sympathy because they are doing something they are passionate about but are unwittingly breaking the law (Sweet pickings for those on the scent of wild durians, July 26).

It is illegal to pluck, collect or keep fruits from parks or nature reserves. This law should be reviewed and revised.

The authorities should allow voluntary organisations to harvest the fruits in our parks instead of letting them go to waste.

I have seen many coconut trees in East Coast Park bearing fruit with no one daring to pluck them.

It's sad to see the fruit on the trees turning from green to yellow and going to waste.

It is only then that contractors are employed to pluck the coconuts to prevent them from falling on parkgoers.

The National Parks Board should arrange for the fresh coconuts to be plucked and donated to charitable causes.

The country plans to plant one million more trees by 2030.

We can make our parks exciting by planting more fruit trees that are easy to grow and maintain. There will then be more public support, participation and appreciation for these tree-planting efforts.

As Singaporeans are great durian lovers, certain parks or plots of land should be used to grow durians.

Harry Ong Heng Poh

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/forum/forum-let-fruits-in-parks-be-harvested-to-prevent-waste

Add Comment

---