Write to be understood, speak to be heard, read to grow...: He who plants a tree, Plants a hope. ~Lucy Larcom :)

I trudged up the crumbled side-walk, thinking of how refreshing it would be to lay flat on my bed with a bottle of cold water... Cold, cold water...

"Come on guys! We are almost there!" Mrs. Smith exclaimed over the small rustlings that our feet made on the dead leaves of the trees.

Hot Malaysian air was thick around me. The trees made it a little cooler, each time we walked under it's umbrella-like branches, blocking out the sun. Oh, the sun. It was blazing its overpowering rays upon me and I could not think straight. I organized my thoughts and tried to think of the postives. I am doing this for everyone, for nature, for Mother Earth. This will be worth it in the long run. I thought about the park ranger's words and suddenly I realized that this job of planting one mangrove could affect the environment around it immensely.

Each tree should be thought of as a breath of air. If we run out of trees, we run out of good, clean air. The environment depends on these trees. The branches that reach to the sky balance the environment. But say if these trees were cut down, demolished to make buildings and golf courses, then wouldn't the environment be destroyed? Trees serve for many purposes, so what would happen to the Kuala Selangor Nature Park if the over 200 trees there were to be gone? Animals would be killed and the park would be nothing. Keeping these trees is our duty as the most intelligent race in the world.

In my mind I think of a tree as a guardian and a role model. It unselfishly lends its branches, trunks, and leaves for protection against winds, rains, and floods from reaching the uplands. It also provide safe nursery areas for crustaceans, fishes, and other marine life. The mudflats of Kuala Selangor are home to mudskippers, mud lobsters, and mangrove crabs who wade in its muddy pools. Otters are seen on the water's surfaces. Mangroves are also a source of food for marine life like shrimp. It's roots and branches are shelters for animals. Birds from around the world, like kingfishers, pond herons, bee-eaters, and water cocks migrate and take rest in the mangroves. At the Kuala Selangor Nature Park over 140 species of birds have been spotted, such as the especially rare ones, Nordman Greenshank and Mangrove Pitta. Species of monkeys, such as the Silver Leaf Monkey, are also found across the mangrove trees. Mangroves are important to the ecosystem and the world. Without these Mangroves many animal species would die.

Planting one mangrove, only sacrificing one day of your time, can change the way of life for hundreds of animals that depend on these trees. Keeping these trees alive ensures the survival of animals and the safety of the towns near Selangor River, for they would be flooded without the mangroves. Marine life and wildlife alike of Malaysia and other countries feed here. We should be the warriors for our ecosystem and environment. We should save nature for future generations. We should aid the world when it is at its weakest, because we take the world for granted. Our Earth has always been our resource, our home, and our way of life, so when its in trouble, shouldn't we be there to nurture it? If we work together we can bring the world out of crisis and save millions of lives, just by simple acts of kindness, like planting a mangrove tree.

I took a deep breath and looked at all the mangroves we planted, 80 or so mangrove samplings, so far. Tomorrow another 40 kids would come, endure the torture, complain, ask why we are planting these mangroves, and finally realization will come to them. One day those samplings will be big enough to fulfill its purpose and help the environment around it. One little mangrove sapling can make a huge difference.

Sources

http://www3.leegov.com/dcd/Environmental/Mangroves.htm

http://hydec.com/ksnp/

http://www.wildeyeview.com/places/?p=128