Bangkok governor invites public to ‘plant a million trees’

Bangkok’s new governor Chadchart Sittipunt is continuing to voice his commitment to bettering the city. His latest move is to invite Bangkok dwellers to plant a million trees throughout the Thai capital. Chadchart said today that 700,000 of the trees have been planted so far, and officials want more people to participate.

Now, 56 year old governor says that City Hall is seeking saplings and places to plant them so that more people can be part of the project. Chadchart even said all 50 district offices across Bangkok have tree specialists to advise officials on how to properly care for the trees. He noted that Bangkokians can apply to join the project starting next week.

Today, Chadchart took part in tree planting efforts with the Canadian Embassy. He helped embassy staff plant Bodhi and Ironwood trees at Vachirabenjatas Park in the Chatuchak district. He said, “A liveable city is a city with well-cared-for trees.”

Chadchart’s tree planting endeavour isn’t the only action he’s taking to make Bangkok greener. When speaking after the Canadian Embassy’s event today, he also brought up his “Bangkok 15 minutes” policy. The policy’s goal is to create small public parks so that all Bangkokians are within a 15-minute walk of a green space. Chadchart said…

“A good public park is one close to people’s residences.”

In a video he posted on Facebook, Chadchart jokes with Canadian staff that they should plant maple trees.

Ever since Chadchart won Bangkok’s governor election in a landslide victory in May, he has made plans on a number of pressing issues. Another major issue he has brought up is the city’s traffic, and he requested a year to study solutions to the problem. Issues such as greenery and traffic are a major cause of concern in a city known as a crowded ‘concrete jungle’. Whether Chadchart will be successful in finding solutions remains to be seen.

SOURCE: Nation Thailand