Staff and workers at the Botanic Gardens – recently in the headlines after a centuries-old Tembusu tree fell during an event, with fatal consequences – were given drinks and notes of encouragement on Feb 15.

The message: One freak accident doesn’t diminish all the work hard put in daily by the workers.

Workers at the Botanic Gardens were blessed with drinks and cards of encouragement.

About a dozen friends from a church gathered at the Botanic Gardens “to show our appreciation and encouragement to all the ground staff who worked tirelessly to keep Botanic Gardens safe”, according to one of the participants.

“We also prayed a blessing and protection over their work.”

A pastor prays for the workers at the Botanic Gardens.

The group gave out drinks: Low-sugar Redbull and cans of coffee to help get them through the day. A total of 180 cans of drinks were given out, with the group fanning out across the entire grounds in search of groundsmen and other NParks staff to encourage.

The families and children also made handwritten cards to give out, carrying a message of gratitude: “Thank you for working hard to keep our parks safe.”

Cards of encouragement were handwritten and given to workers at the Botanic Gardens.

In the span of a few months, workers at the Botanic Gardens have experienced the high of seeing the 156-year-old park declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, to the low of seeing an expatriate killed and four others injured when a 270-year-old Tembusu tree fell on Feb 11.

This is despite the fact that trees in Singapore are inspected more frequently than is recommended by international standards. The tree care staff also conduct routine pruning and mulching to ensure plants are healthy, reported Channel NewsAsia.