Planting Saplings in the Mangrove Forest

World Ocean Day is celebrated every year on June 8th. As a way to celebrate it, I planted trees in the mangrove forest with Marine Buddies Jakarta. We planted trees on June 12, 2021 at Mangrove Ecotourism Centre PIK located at Jakarta, Indonesia.

The mangrove forest was a swamp, so the saplings were planted in muddy areas within brackish waters. We were barefoot whilst planting the saplings as to not get our footwear stuck in the mud. The depth of the planting area reached up to my thighs, with my feet sinking into the mud and occasionally getting stuck. The saplings were planted in a somewhat unique way. We made deep holes with our foot, since it was a muddy area. Then the sapling was taken out of its plastic cup and placed into the hole. The hole was then covered manually using our hands. The saplings had a bamboo stick near it to help it grow upright, with a string attaching the sapling to the bamboo. But the string was loosely tied so that the sapling would not be disturbed in its growth. Plastic cups where the sapling were once placed are put on top of the bamboo to be collected later.

The activity of planting saplings in a swamp mangrove forest was a new experience. I would usually plant saplings at mangroves located on the beach that is sandy and not muddy. Even though I learn about the types of mangroves in class, it is just a different experience seeing and learning about it directly.