“Kindness Day” at Bangpakong Mangrove Forest

The highlight of the experience, I would say, was the activity that I participated in for “Kindness Day”. I planted mangroves in Bangpakong Mangrove Forest, and I was also able to learn more about the site’s history. The lead conservationist explained how the mangrove forest we were on was planted over a decade ago by himself and his team, and we are now about to plant 800 seedlings, that we will be able to visit years later.

Playing a part in an activity that directly benefited the environment was a refresher from my studies. Those mangroves are planted to restore previously degraded mangrove areas, providing ecological benefits such as coastal protection, habitat for marine life, carbon sequestration and sediment control. The experience was filled with screams of delegates as they took a dip into the sticky mud, small crabs skittering every time we stuck seedlings into the ground, and peeks of mudskippers swimming around us.

Aurellia Widjaya
Bachelor of Engineering (Civil and Environmental)
BUILD – University Scholars Leadership Symposium (Thailand)
BUILD Global Ambassador Grant recipient

For more information on UTS BUILD, please visit: www.uts.edu.au/build