April 21, 2019

|     James Kon     |

SOME 70 volunteers from the Rotary Club of Bandar Seri Begawan together with their friends as well as students of St Andrew’s School gathered yesterday afternoon to plant 700 saplings at the Berakas Forest Reserve, part of the Rotary Club’s ‘End Polio Tree Planting’ event.

The Rotary Club of Bandar Seri Begawan with the support of the Department of Forestry at the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism has organised such activities since 2017 with the objective of raising funds for its ‘End Polio’ initiative and to raise awareness on environmental conservation.

Present were President of the Rotary Club of Bandar Seri Begawan Klaus Tomalla and Rotarians. Mohd Zukrina bin Haji Daimun, a forestry assistant at the Department of Forestry briefed on the right way to plant the saplings to prepare the volunteers for the activity.

“From today’s event, we are raising funds for the Rotary International’s ‘End Polio’ campaign, the organisation’s signature project for reducing polio cases by 99.9 per cent worldwide, and we won’t stop until we end the disease for good,” Tomalla said of the planting activity in an interview.

“We will also save the environment by planting 700 trees from the activity. Young children as well as students from St Andrew’s School who volunteer today also gain an understanding on the importance of the natural environment and gain awareness on climate change.”

Tomalla also conveyed his appreciation and thanks to the donors of the saplings and volunteers, noting that he “hopes the event will continue every year”.

The saplings were donated by Sumitomo Corporation Tubular, Rotary Club of Bandar Seri Begawan, Rotary Club of Singapore, Rotary Club of Singapore West, Rotary Club of Sentosa, Rotary Club of Sarikei, Rotary Club of Tanjong Pagar, Rotary Club of Novena, and Rotary Club of Miri Oil Town.

Eight types of saplings were planted yesterday: the Meranti Sarang Punai-Shorea Parvifolia Dyer, Tolong-Agathis Borneensis, Selangan Batu Daun Tebal-Shorea Crassa, Penaga Laut-Calophy Inophyllum, Kapor Paji-Dryobalanops Aromatica, Kapor Bukit, Dryobalanops Beccarii, and Binchaloi-Aisoptera Spp.