The Indonesian Forest Fires One Year Later - The Great Project Volunteers Have Helped To Plant Over 2,000 New Trees!

Posted by Connor Whelan on 8th Nov 2016

You may remember last year when we brought you news of the terrifying fires which had spread through the Samboja Lestari Orangutan Sanctuary in Indonesia and had begun to threaten the lives of the orangutans and other wildlife in the area.

The fires were started after local farmers used the “slash and burn technique” which involves cutting down and then burning large areas of forest to make way for new farmland. In an area which is dense with forest that is often very dry, this is a recipe for disaster and the flames spread far and wide in no time at all.

The devastation from last years fires cannot be shown any clearer than this.

Fortunately, with a combination of wet weather and the efforts made by local people to quash the flames, the fires subsided with minimal damage to animal lives. However, one piece of nature that did suffer badly as a result of the fires was the trees.

Around 200 hectares of the 1800 at Samboja Lestari were lost last October and November, and this meant that a huge operation was needed to replant and re-establish the forest. A dedicated tree planting team was created at the project site, and with the help of some generous donors they have been able to replant around 15,500 trees over 40 hectares so far!

Here is out volunteer coordinator Kate with some of the new tree cutlings!

The rains have been plentiful in this year’s wet season, and this has meant that the trees have been able to flourish and get off to the best start possible!

These volunteers are proud of their sapling!

The forest rebuilding process would not be possible without volunteers. The Great Projects volunteers have planted around 2,000 trees within the area, and they are now tasked with the difficult job of clearing any vegetation which may stop the trees from growing.

If you look closely here you will see the young saplings growing in the centre of the forest clearing!

The process of recovering from last year’s awful forest fires will be a long one, but as you can see it is well underway. With the help of the dedicated Samboja staff and hardworking volunteers, the aim is to take the forest back to its pre-fire state and to ensure that the biodiversity of the forest can return.

If this sounds like something you would like help with, or you would like to have the chance to aid in orangutan conservation in their natural homeland then why not take a look at the Samboja Lestari Orangutan Project webpage?

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