Updates of Eco-activity

• Announcement for Wild Asia's Take A Picture for Conservation Photo Competition

Links about AMP Tree Party 2009

Articles

• Blazing Vapours
• FakawiTribe.com
• ERA
• High Flyers Club - Scholars of Taylor's University College
• Lite FM
• Malay Mail Online
• Mix FM
• Pengakap Daerah Zon Bangsar (Bangsar Zone Scouts)
• The Green Base
• The Sun Daily

Photo Gallery

• Azma Muhamed's flickr album
• Yusmar Yahaya's flickr album

Video Gallery

• Mix FM Tree Party 2009 (Part 1)
• Mix FM Tree Party 2009 (Part 2)
• SINAR: Najman dan Jamal Jamaluddin Di Tree Party 2009 Bah 1
• SINAR:Jamal Di Tree party 2009 bah. 2
• SINAR:Najman Beri Penerangan di Tree Party 2009
• Rayvelline Lopez: Wild Asia's Environmental Education Video Highlight: Discover Your Environment!

"Plant-a-Tree For The Planet" Tree Party 2009: Impact Report

Wild Asia, AMP Radio Networks and Friends of Kota Damansara threw a public Tree Party on June 21, 2009, at Kota Damansara Community Forest in Selangor, Malaysia, to celebrate World Environment Day. This impact report highlights Wild Asia's unique waste audit on the event and the myriad of fun activities carried out to convey the message of eco-conscious living and protection of urban green lungs.

Tree Party an accomplishment!

Seeing the need to effectively communicate to the general public about safeguarding green spaces, Wild Asia, AMP Radio Networks (AMP) and Friends of Kota Damansara (FOKD) worked hand-in-hand together with their respective network of like-minded groups, to bring the Tree Party to the people.

Themed "Plant-a-Tree for the Planet", the main objectives of the Party are to get urban communities to use their green space, and thereby contributing to the upkeep and overall protection of the community forest as a functional urban green lung and watershed area.

The true success of the tree-planting event held in Kota Damansara Community Forest (KDCF) that day was attributed to the positive steps taken towards raising environmental awareness, recognising and supporting the sustained efforts of communities responsible for safeguarding and managing the green lung that is KDCF, as well as efficiently reducing the overall environmental impact from this event (particularly the event-associated rubbish aftermath).

Below is a summarised reflection of some of the main activity's.

Tree Planting

495 registered visitors sacrificed their Sunday to attend and also physically plant the 310 trees that were pledged by corporate organisations and individuals.

Adhering to Wild Asia's policy of planting only native jungle tree species that are useful to wildlife and/or man, 5 different species of trees were locally-sourced from Perniagaan Tunas Harapan (Tanjung Malim, Perak) and Hutan Kanan Tapak Semaian (Sg. Buloh, Selangor) to reduce the transport miles.

AMP's radio announcers from participating radio stations such as ERA, MY FM, hitz.fm, MIX fm, LiteFM, SINAR, XFM and THR Raaga planted the suite of Pittosporum ferrugineum (Splay berry tree), Pouteria obovata (Menasi), Dipterocarpus chartaceous (Keruing Kertas), Buchanania arborescens (Little Gooseberry Tree) and Aquilaria malaccensis (Karas Plains) together with corporate and individuals who pledged trees in contribution to Wild Asia's Plant-a-Tree programme.

Our previous Tree Party '08 with AMP Radio saw 70 trees pledged and planted in Tanah Merah, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia - this year we had 310 tree pledges! This reflects the effective communication through YouTube's Tree Party video promo, community service announcements via radio, online newsletters, forums and Facebook.

1 typical tropical tree absorbs 1 ton of carbon over its estimated 40-year lifespan (assuming an acceptance of a mortality rate of 25% due to planting stress, pest and disease, adaptation-stress, and competition from others for natural resources). By planting 310 trees, the 310 tons of carbon eventually sequestered, according to Mike McAliney, offsets the amount of pollution ONE person produces in a lifetime. Earth now has a population of 6 billion - let's do the math and continue planting more trees!

Bringing People Together and Reaching Out

In addition to the 495 visitors/participants that day, there were also a group of 20 cyclists, led by Wild Asia's Executive Director, Dr. Reza Azmi, who cycled from Puchong to Kota Damansara carrying sponsored lunch packs for volunteers from I Loving Hut Café.

People from all walks of life - families of all 3 generations, cyclists, scuba divers, birders, even pilots from Korean Airlines who pledged trees for their plot adoringly called "The Cockpit", endured the heat of the day and put to soil their jungle tree seedlings.

Selflessly contributing to the smooth-running of the event is an army of over 180 volunteers from Bangsar Zone Scouts, Red Crescent, students from Sek. Men. Keb. Seksyen 10 Kota Damansara, Taylor's College High Flyers Club, as well as friends of Wild Asia and AMP Radio Networks.

The Tree Party's carnival-type ambience was mainly due to the presence of 32 organisations and the 14 booths set up by food vendors and eco-related groups. Adding to the lively scene were the children's Eco-Play corner and live performances.

Throughout the day, 8 radio stations engaged and educated the public nationwide on ways to lead greener lifestyles. Mainstream media coverage for the Tree Party was through the 13 media representatives, including 3 television stations.

Through the Party's photo competition, nature hunt (similar to treasure hunt, but the 'treasures' are a myriad of flora specimens) and eco-play for children, people got the opportunity to bond with nature and discovered KDCF's green treasures - its flora and fauna.

Transportation

While it cannot be denied that there was a significant amount of driving around in preparation to the event, all required driving to the necessary locations were planned to optimise time spent on the road. Many 'meetings' and discussions between the event coordinators were done via phone calls and/or emails.

During the event itself, some of our corporate partners came by bus, thereby reducing the amount of carbon emissions released into the air. Individuals had carpooled by coming together with family and friends.

Waste Management

Big events usually result in the aftermath of rubbish due to public's irresponsible behavior and overall poor event management. Not only does it waste resources in the production of numerous items used, but gases emitted from the landfill also contribute significantly to global warming.

A noteworthy objective of this event is to measure and subsequently strategise ways to reduce waste that would be typically generated by such an event. By doing this 'waste audit', segregated rubbish can be streamed and dealt with appropriately - i.e. composting organic waste, recycling non-biodegradables and keeping the reusable items.

Food vendors were informed to use alternative packaging that can be recycled, for example, paper bags instead of plastic bags, paper cups in place of polystyrene ones, and aluminum cans rather than plastic bottles.

Clearly labeled bins for paper, aluminum, plastics and non-recyclables were suitably placed at the event location. Alam Flora weighed all recyclable items and those were subsequently collected by recycling center operators, while the remaining waste was properly disposed.

For an event with close to 800 people in total, the Tree Party generated 133 kg of waste (Tokitsuumi Masahiro, a former professional sumo wrestler, weighs just as much!). The breakdown of waste type is as follows:-

• Paper: 16.5
• Plastic: 30.5
• Aluminum: 15.5
• Glass: 7
• Other non-recyclable trash: 63.5

This puts into context how much waste (both recyclable and non-recyclable) is generated in one day!

Big Thank You, Everyone!

Wild Asia would like to take this opportunity to meaningfully recognise the great efforts channeled into conserving the 857-acre Kota Damansara Community Forest. It goes to show that the power and commitment of residents, NGOs and community groups are absolutely crucial in the preservation our ecological heritage and vital green lung.

The event will not be possible without a network of people! Wild Asia, AMP Radio Networks and FOKD would like thank all our tree donors who pledged trees in support of our Plant-A-Tree Programme, and extend our heartiest gratitude to our event sponsors (detailed above), hardworking volunteers and supportive corporate partners involved in making this event a true success!