Soroptimist International Lautoka club members decided on an environmental activity as a service to the City for this year's Saturday of Service program on Saturday, 1st March. The club collaborated with the Lautoka City Council to provide services for a cleanup program on one of the city's busiest streets.

Members and well-wishers started the clean-up along Drasa Avenue from 7 am to 9 am.  The Lautoka police station and a prominent high school are located along this street, and it is the main entry to Lautoka City from Ba and Nadi.

SI Lautoka members and their families picked up rubbish and cans along the street, which had become an eyesore. Members spent two hours of quality time cleaning the street. The rubbish was packed in garbage bags and disposed in the bins provided by the City Council.  The Special Administrator for Lautoka City Council, Mr Ajay Kumar, thanked the members for their initiative and hoped to see many more such initiatives for the city in future.

SI Lautoka club President Sarita Kumar was happy with the turnout for the clean-up and thanked the members and well-wishers for their time. The club plans to carry out more environmental projects this year, such as mangrove and tree planting, as well as 3R projects like Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.

Kiran Umlesh Lata

SI Lautoka

Mangroves protect us from the impact of waves in large storms and act as natural barriers against coastal erosion, climate warning, floods and rising sea levels.

Did you know that they support  BIODVERSITY too? They have their very own ecosystem.   

If we wish to ACT ON CLIMATE change MITIGATION, we can start with planting more mangroves saplings. Mangroves ABSORB and STORE large amounts of carbon ( “blue carbon”) . They are vital as they :

1. Protect the coast line;
2. 2 Act as natural barriers against storms, erosion, and floods
3. Support immense biodiversity by serving as nurseries for fish and habitats for countless species. At the Kota Kinabalu Ramsar site there are 90 species of resident and migratory birds, 21 species of fish and aquatic species including crustaceans, molluscs, horseshoe crabs and jellyfish;. https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/2290
4. Support climate change mitigation, absorbing and storing large amounts of carbon ("blue carbon"), and
5. Provide essential resources, livelihoods (food, income, medicine), and water filtration.

Mangrove coverage in Malaysia ranks sixth globally, representing nearly 5% of the entire worldwide mangrove ecosystem.  The Springer review indicated that sediment carbon stocks in Malaysian mangrove forests span from 0.8 to 352 megagrams of carbon per hectare ( Mg C ha⁻¹). (Abstract https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10750-023-05431-z )

HELLO  I AM AN AXOLOTL – sometimes they call me a Salamander- come and look me up! I heard lots of Soroptimist eco warriors are heading to COC  Kota Kinabalu !

DO SPONSOR / PLANT A MANGROVE SAPLING at COC SISEAP KOTA KINABALU in MAY 2026.  You might spot a long tailed macaque, a giant egret, a salamander ( a fish that walks ??!!) or more.There are three globally threatened species, including the critically endangered mangrove Bruguiera hainesii, and two vulnerable water birds, the Chinese egret (Egretta eulophotes) and the lesser adjutant (Leptoptilos javanicus).

Find out more about sponsoring/planting a mangrove sapling via the button below

Article by Nora Lam

President, SI Bangsar

The SI Port Moresby January–March Newsletter highlights the inspiring work of the club over the past months.

Discover the impact of recent projects, see what the members have been up to, and learn about the exciting programs and initiatives they have coming up.