ROTARY TREE PLANTING GETS ROYAL TOUCH
The Rotary Club, in its drive to make the world better, sees its tree-planting campaign striking a chord with people to reverse climate change and reduce our carbon footprint, writes AUDREY VIJAINDREN
IN response to the Rotary International challenge to green the world, Rotary Club (RC) Kuala Lumpur DiRaja raised RM75,000 to buy trees, which were planted by members and volunteers.
This was carried out with assistance from the Rotary clubs of Shah Alam, Bernam Valley, Kampung Baru Central, Damansara, Bandar Utama, Pudu, Sentul, Lake Gardens and Gombak.
More than 400 trees were planted in Puteri Central Park, Bandar Tasek Puteri, Rawang, which is a major carbon dioxide (CO2) sinkhole in the Klang Valley.
At the recent Selayang Municipal Council’s environment carnival, Selangor princess Tengku Datin Paduka Setia Zatashah Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah launched the “My R Tree” campaign by RC KL DiRaja.
The event aimed to create awareness and appreciation for outdoor activities and reduce CO2 emission in the Klang Valley.
It was part of the “Perdana Tree Planting” campaign, a brainchild of council president Suliman Abdul Rahman.
“It was a great gesture on the part of the princess to take time off her busy schedule to work with Rotarians to help the environment,”
said RC KL DiRaja president Ajmal Khan.
Ajmal said tree planting was important in today’s changing climate and global warming.
He said the purpose of the campaign was to motivate people to plant trees.
“Tree planting can reduce CO2 emission, control temperature and reduce dust.
“This particular site was selected as it had been identified as having a major carbon dioxide (CO2) sinkhole.
“Hence, we felt it deserved our attention.
“Putting our minds together
and heeding the call of Rotary International, Rotarians from eight clubs, under the leadership of project director Datuk Jimmy Lim, have made a huge and lasting impact.
“The message we want to put forward is that change can come from just planting one tree at a time.
“We hope it will help Malaysians understand how trees play a big role in reducing CO2 emission.
“We should strive to make this world a better place and for future generations.”
Lim said: “It is a great day to see Rotarians responding to the challenge and coming together to green the world.”
Project chairman Datuk Uwe Ahrens shared the same opinion, adding: “It’s all about encouraging people to plant a tree in their garden, school, workplace and community like what we are doing now.”
While RC has efforts to improve the environment and living conditions, this year’s focus is its “Clean Drinking Water” project where welfare homes and Orang Asli settlements are given access to clean drinking water.