The tree planting event took place on 27 March 2022. It was carried out in support of the National Parks Board's OneMillionTrees Movement, through the Plant-A-Tree Programme by its registered charity and IPC, Garden City Fund.

During the event, which was graced by Mr. Liang Eng Hwa - Member of Parliament for Bukit Panjang Constituency and Chairman of Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council - current students from the school, long-time staff, Board of Governors and alumni came together to plant 50 individual tree saplings.

The school has also started an internal campaign to raise awareness of the OneMillionTrees Movement – a movement which aims to plant one million more trees across Singapore together with the community by 2030. The hope is to encourage the parents and staff of the school to contribute to the movement in their own capacity.

As one of the long-established international schools in Singapore, GESS has called the city-state home from its very beginning. It was incepted in 1972 by a group of European expat parents who were working and living in Singapore. The school has since experienced tremendous growth going from a student count of 6 to 1,800 and 65 nationalities in 50 years. While enabling students to embrace their home culture, the school also places emphasis on helping these students from all around the world connect with the Singaporean society.

"Singapore is a country filled with unique opportunities and at GESS, we actively encourage our students to embrace these opportunities and forge closer connections with the country. This tree planting activity, as part of our school's 50th anniversary celebrations, is one such opportunity, that provides our students and the community, with a lasting-reminder of GESS' connection with Singapore," said the President of the Board of Governors, Rachel Ward.