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More than 8,000 ‘trembesi’ trees to provide shelter on East Java toll road
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(Courtesy of Djarum Foundation)
T
hroughout 2018, the Djarum Foundation has planted 8,400 trembesi trees along 70 kilometers of the Trans Java toll road, namely along two routes connecting four cities in East Java: Surabaya to Mojokerto as well as Gempol to Pasuruan.
Djarum Foundation has chosen to plant trembesi because of the plant’s strong carbon dioxide absorption capacity, with a single tree able to absorb 28.5 tons of carbon dioxide per year. The trees can, therefore, help to mitigate climate change. Furthermore, the tree’s canopy looks like a giant umbrella, and is capable of decreasing temperatures by 4 degrees Celsius in the shade.
To mark the milestones of the trembesi planting initiative, which is part of Djarum Trees for Life (DTFL) program, on Dec. 5 Djarum Foundation organized a trembesi seed planting ceremony in front of Sidoarjo City Hall.
The ceremony was attended by Sidoarjo Regent H. Saiful Ilah, toll road operator PT Jasamarga Gempol-Pasuruan president director Rahardjo, toll road operator PT Jasamarga Surabaya-Mojokerto president director Budi Pramono, Djarum Foundation vice president F.X. Supanji as well as environment ambassador and Indonesian pop-rock band Gigi.
“Since 2015, we have been planting trembesi trees along the Trans Java toll road starting from the Cipali route connecting the Cikopo and Palimanan roads in West Java, before moving on to other Trans Java toll road routes. Currently, we are planting the trees along the Gempol – Pasuruan and Kertosono – Ngawi routes,” Supanji said.
Furthermore, he said that the DTFL initiative had already accomplished its goal of planting and nurturing 8,400 trembesi trees in its three-year implementation. Djarum Foundation takes care of the trees by supervising their watering, nutrition supply, pruning as well as the substitution of dead trees with the plantation of new seeds.
Besides trembesi trees, Djarum Foundation will also continue its DTFL initiative by planting other flowering tree species such as 650 Tabebuia seeds, 200 wild almond seeds and 100 flamboyant tree seeds, among others species, by the interchange and rest area spots as well as around management offices along the Trans Java toll road.
The trees and flowers are surely going to beautify the Trans Java toll road. Furthermore, Djarum Foundation has also provided agricultural equipment and seeds to 18 regencies in Sidoarjo. The foundation distributed 1,800 trembesi, mango and longan seeds for locals to engage in their own environment preservation activities. Each regency, meanwhile, received 10 agricultural tools for them to boost their economic activities.
The DTFL initiative was lauded by the Environment and Forestry Ministry’s head of natural resources conservation, Nandang Prihadi, who said the climate change mitigation initiative also needed support from the general public, who were expected to conduct such tree-planting initiatives themselves.
Armand Maulana, vocalist of band Gigi, meanwhile, said that by joining the effort to conserve the environment, “we also guarantee the welfare of our children and grandchildren, as well as the next generations to come, by protecting the only planet we can inhabit.”
“The initiative also gives us an opportunity to go beyond Go Green slogans and actually encourage the general public to take concrete actions to care for our planet by planting the trembesi trees,” Gigi guitarist and songwriter Dewa Budjana said.
