On 11th November Aktiv ASPAC staff participated in a Kuala Lumpur Lions' EcoGreen 15mins 1000 trees campaign, organised with the Kuala Lumpur Seed company. We donated three trees, each of which will play an important part in the future of the environment.

Every tree matters. Every single tree we plant helps lessen the risk of run-away climate change by storing CO2, at least 67Kg a day for every acre of forest. Just one acre of trees absorbs at least 4Kg of toxic gases every month, as well as anything from 22 to 60 tons of dust. And more than 100 acres of farmland can be protected from damaging wind storms and wind erosion thanks to just one acre of trees.

Trees are beautiful. They cool our cities and towns and provide shade for people, animals and buildings. They generate precious oxygen, around 49Kg a day from every acre of woodland. They give off special chemicals that we can't smell, but which make us feel well and happy. They even talk to each other via a complex underground network of fungal networks, spreading the news when there's danger nearby. And mother trees feed their baby saplings with liquid sugar. Isn't that amazing?

About the Kuala Lumpur Lions' 15 Minutes, 1000 trees campaign

The campaign challenged 1000 Participants to Plant 1000 Trees in 15 Minutes, an attempt to enter the Malaysia record books. The participants told touching personal stories too, implanting their feelings into the living environment for future generations to enjoy.

The location was Xiamen University in Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia, a place with enough land to plant an awesome 1500 or more trees. The university is the first overseas campus set up by a respected Chinese university, as well as the first Chinese university branch campus in Malaysia.

This land is protected. It will never be developed and the trees will never be cut down, so they will be there for hundreds of years, creating a beautiful, healthy social environment for people and wildlife to enjoy. And this long, long timescale matters because mature old forests are a lot better at absorbing CO2 than new forests.

Can we plant trees faster than they are being destroyed?

We live in a world where an average of 32,000 acres of forest are destroyed every day. 80% of the world's forests no longer exist thanks to human activity. And 70% of our wildlife is affected, with the environments they need for survival no longer available.

The more trees we can plant, the better. We want to help raise community interest in planting trees, and promote the importance of green ecology to our environment. We want to help the campaign enhance human relationships and bring different communities together to help fight climate change.

Planting four vital tree types

The campaign focused on four tree types, the Albizia, Angsana, Sakura and Rain Tree. Everyone who participated was given a special T shirt, a shovel, a report, water and a meal, plus a special tree-planting certificate. People planted their tree and named it during the 15 minute slot between 9.30am and 9.45am, followed by shared stories, group photos, a campus tour, education sharing, a happy meal and a press conference.

How does tree-planting affect insurance?

We all know that climate change is predicted to have a dramatic effect on insurance premiums. More flooding, much more frequent 'once in 100 years' storms, higher winds, heavier rainfall... these unusual and unexpected seasonal conditions all mean more risk, higher premiums and more claims. As you can see, the more trees we can plant, the better!

Here are photos of Aktiv staff Stanley Kong, Natasya Khalid, and Munirah Mohamad Riah on the big day.