KUALA LUMPUR (RVA News): More than a hundred environmental enthusiasts, some of whom came from other religious groups, attended the Mangroves Are Amazing event, organised by the Kuala Lumpur Archdiocesan Creation Justice Ministry, on July 22.
The Creation Justice Ministry chose Kuala Selangor Nature Park for the planting of 300 Rhizophora trees [mangrove] since the majority of its 290 hectares of coastal land is composed of mangrove swamps in need of constant rehabilitation.
According to the park’s project coordinator, Ashok, there were originally plans caonvert it into a golf course.
In collaboration with the Malaysian Nature Society, the nature park is currently conserving it and transforming it into a self-sustaining park.
Thanks to the archdiocese’s tree-planting efforts, the park is getting a much-needed boost for its decarbonisation efforts, since mangroves are known for their ability to store huge amounts of carbon.
It will also prove helpful in maintaining the park’s sustainability, especially since it houses more than 150 species birds. On top of that, around 100,000 wading birds pass through the area on their annual migration.
The tree planting event saw two groups of environmental enthusiasts working together to prepare saplings and do the planting. After the event, they bonded over a meal and were given a chance to interact with one another.
This mangrove planting activity is a follow-up to the Run4Unity in May 2023, organised by the Laudato Si’ Action Platform of the Vatican’s Dicastery of Promoting Integral Human Development. Garnering a total of 50 participants who collectively completed more than 240 km, this translated into the planting of at least 200 mangrove trees.
During the Clergy Recollection of the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur this July, priests were given saplings to encourage tree-planting advocacies in their respective parishes.
