On a hot, sunny Wednesday afternoon, our team took shelter under Tumih tree (Combretocarpus rotundatus (Miq.) Danser) after a long, tiring day of cutting down bushes and ferns to prepare our planting area in Tangkiling. Once a lush tropical rainforest overgrown with towering ancient trees and home to a variety of birds and primates endemic to Borneo, the devastating forest fires of 2015 scorched the area, and, today, only three types of pioneer trees still thrive. In response, we are planting dozens of local tree species to increase diversity and protect the genetic vibrancy. This endeavor also celebrated Tropical Rainforest Day on June 22, 2022. In Palangka Raya city, we engaged young people from all corners of Indonesia to participate in restoring Indonesia's forests, through The HEARTLAND PROJECT.
Traveling by motorbike from Palangka Raya, the diverse scenery of the landscape preoccupied our minds as we traveled from city through lush forest, admiring the monotypic thickets of Karamunting flowers along the road. As we got closer to our destination, we saw numerous freshly developed palm oil plantations, as this area, unfortunately, continues to be overrun by industrial agriculture. In the foreseeable future, our protected forest might be the last habitat for animals in the region. That's why we, together with young people of Palangka Raya, are focused on planting trees and patrolling the area.
We sowed 88 seeds of jelutung, rambai, pulai, balangeran, bungur, and meranti trees in the hot weather and challenging terrain. These six endemic tree species have elevated survival rates, especially in the degraded peatland ecosystem. We worked together with Mapala Comodo and Mapala Adiwiyata on this tree-planting initiative. These two young groups are also actively involved in local firefighting, reforestation, and forest protection at the grassroots level.
On the same day, in the different places, dozens of small children also took part in planting trees to celebrate International Rainforest Day. This movement was led by Taman Baca Laskar Pelangi, a non-formal school that opens space for children to learn independently, and Trash Hero Palangka Raya, a movement that invites the community to clean up and avoid garbage altogether. With laughter and hands full of dirt, these children planted trees near their reading garden.
On different islands, various youth organizations and indigenous peoples also united with us to plant trees. One of them is the Mangrove Restoration Movement led by the Yayasan Budaya Mentawai, an indigenous education program focused on native Mentawai culture and environmental studies. They planted hundreds of mangroves in Muara Siberut and South Siberut, together with the South Siberut Police, the Sekebun Foundation, and the Mentawai Mengajar Indonesia Foundation.
257 Indonesian youths joined this movement to plant 1,254 trees across Indonesia in their homes, communities, and schools. The young people come from Mentawai, Padang, Central Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, Bali, Jakarta and Central Sulawesi. There are 12 schools, local communities, organizations, and indigenous groups that were involved in this project, including SMK Kesehatan Borneo, Wurung Jue, Mapala Pencinta Alam Universitas PGRI Palangka Raya, and Methodist Indonesia Jemaat Pendohop. Please see notes below for further details on our partners.
Pertoday, there are 14,768 trees have been planted through the Heartland Project.
This movement demonstrates that Indonesian Youth are not only aware of climate change and deforestation, but we are proudly taking action. Our impact would not be possible without you. We look forward to continuing our partnership to help empower Indonesian youth.
We hope you enjoy the photos here.