ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECTS

Environmental Tree Planting Project

In conjunction with the adoption of the environmental program as the official international service project for the Leo program by the Lions Clubs International since 1999, the Leo Club of KL Perennial (Omega) had organized an environmental project of tree planting, at the Recreational Park, PJS 1/47, Petaling Jaya on 23rd of January 2005.

The project was organized from 10 AM to 3 PM, with the objective to beautify the park in PJS 1/41 PJ and further promote the importance of greenery in ecology system and its affect towards the environment. The target groups of beneficiary are the residents around the area, as well as other general public who uses the park.

Initially after obtaining approval from the sponsoring Lions Club, KL Vision City, the Leos contacted the person-in-charge from the town council, MPPJ (Majlis Perbandaran Petaling Jaya) to acquire a suitable place for this tree planting project. From MPPJ, the Leos attained the location of the park and also the position for the trees to be planted.
 The Leos then continued further preparations as below for the project :-

A)   Trees - After obtaining the approval from MPPJ, the Leos started looking for the most suitable tree to be planted and also the best bargain. There were 2 type of trees that were chosen. Pisonia Alba, commonly called as the lettuce tree, is a small, evergreen foliage tree or a large shrub found in our gardens. It reaches a height of four to seven meters. The leaves are long and pointed and about 30 cm in length. They are of a pleasing pale green colour. Pisonia has dense foliage and so trimming provides us with large quantities of leaves if we have a few Pisonia trees or well-grown hedges. The leaves by their quality and quantity make good cattle feed.

The second type of tree was Yellow Flame, also known as Peltophorum Pterocarpum or Batai Laut, is a type of tall, huge forest tree that can grow until a maximum length of 15 meters. Its origin is from the South East Asia and the leaves are mainly in bright yellowish colour. Yellow flame is also the most ideal and commonly planted type of trees among the parks and road sides in Malaysia.

The Leos decided to plant a total of 15 Pisonia Alba and 12 Yellow Flames.

B)    Tool - The Leos collected appropriate tools for the use on that event from all the club members’ family instead of purchasing for it. The tools gathered were hoe, spade, trowel, wheel barrow and etc.

C)   Transportation - The trees were arranged to be delivered to the park from the nurseries on that day by lorry with the help from Lion Elaine Tan.
On the project day, the Leos were assigned into two groups to plant trees at different places in the park, which were allocated by MPPJ before this. Every participated Leos were given a bottle of mineral water to prevent from heat stroke and also to quench thirst. Some of the supportive residents provided water, as the plants need to be sprinkled with water shortly after being planted. Apart from that, they also gave mental support to the Leos, which managed to boost their determination for continuing planting trees under the scorching sun. The Leos were given a break for an hour to have lunch and rest. After finish planting, the Leos took the initiative to collect the litters lying around the park.

All members worked together hand in hand to plant the trees.

The opening ceremony started at 2.15 PM, when the invited Lions arrived. The event started with addresses from Lions and Leos representatives, and then reached its climax when the Lions took turn to add soil to the tree, representing the very first step in improving the quality of the environment and also in educating the public of the importance of taking care of the environment. Subsequently, the Lions were invited to have a walk around the park to take a look at the trees planted earlier in the morning. The organizing chairperson of this tree planting project and the President of the Leo Club of KL Perennial (Omega) accompanied the Lions and gave them a brief description throughout the way.

The tree planting ceremony by all Leos and Lions representatives.

As the green house effect is getting serious, this is vital for everyone to do their part in taking care of our planet – Earth, where the green house effect can be minimized. By taking the initiative to organize this project, it is a golden opportunity for the Leos to involve themselves in this meaningful environmental project as this will be the first step towards a better future of pollution-free zone and at the same time, it can be a model to create awareness among the public especially the younger generation. Besides, this project also has been reported for the Leo Environment Project Banner Patch Award to Lions Club International. With our believes of “small changes make big difference”, this project was completed successfully.

Group Photo