Volunteers muck in to conserve Tanjung Piai

Volunteers collecting rubbish at Tanjung Piai National Park in Pontian.

MORE than 100 mangrove seedlings have been planted by volunteers at the Tanjung Piai National Park in Pontian.

Johor Corporation (JCorp) Foundation chief Zaidatul Zurita Abdul Rahman said the programme with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) was aimed at promoting environmental awareness.

“Other than volunteers from the foundation and UTM, the programme also involved residents from the area.

“We wanted to spread awareness about conserving the environment through tree planting and rubbish-collecting activities.

“It is important for us to conserve mangrove trees, which are vastly found in Tanjung Piai, also known as the southernmost tip of mainland Asia,” she said.

She added that the programme was supported by the national park, which prepared some 115 seedlings for planting.

The volunteers also collected about 99kg of rubbish including plastic bottles and food packaging, some found stuck to mangrove tree roots.

Meanwhile, UTM environmental sustainability and water security centre director Prof Dr Zainura Zainon Noor hoped the programme would inspire more corporations and civil societies to care for the environment.

“We cannot emphasise enough the importance of continuously raising awareness on this issue to ensure a sustainable environment for the next generation.

“Not only do programmes such as this help the environment, it also helps strengthen Tanjung Piai National Park’s position as a tourism attraction to help boost the local and state economy.”

She added that this collaboration on environmental education began last year through events such as webinar, clean-up activities in Sungai Melayu, Iskandar Puteri and rubbish-collection programmes in Kampung Kukup Laut, Kampung Ayer Masin and Kampung Benteng Kanan in Pontian.