Group pitches in to help clear rubbish at waterfall

Tuesday April 27, 2010

By AMIN KHAIRUDDIN
MAmin@thestar.com.my

Source from: The Star Online

TO celebrate the 40th Earth Day, the Waterfall Survivors brought their Save Our Waterfalls campaign to the Sungai Kedondong Waterfall Recreational Park in Batang Kali, Selangor, on Sunday.

During the event, the Waterfall Survivors also launched a No Plastic Earth campaign in support of the Selangor government’s No Plastic Day campaign.

About 400 participants collected about two tonnes of rubbish from the lower stream of the waterfall.

Among the discarded items found by the volunteers were a tractor tyre found half buried in the sand and leftover food.

All geared up: About 400 volunteers turned up for the Sungai Kedondong clean-up.

“Malaysians are still unaware of what is happening to our Earth. Besides cleaning up the waterfall, today’s event also aims to educate participants about Earth Day.

“We also hope to show how indiscriminate dumping can harm our water sources,” Waterfall Survivors president and founder Joe Yap said.

“I think this is a good thing to do,” Waterfall Survivors member Low Mei Lin said.

Regular visitor Mohd Hazwan Razlan, 16, a student from Beranang, said the area did not have enough rubbish bins and many visitors were to lazy to walk to throw their rubbish.

Students from SMK Sri Ampang and Sunway University College joined in the clean-up as well.

“We have 120 students from our pre-university courses here.

“This project is a part of the Sun-U CR initiatives to raise awareness on environmental protection,” Sunway College University public relations representative Simpson Khoo said.

USJ Rotary member Alex Ow, 42, also brought his family along to take part in the event.

Good job: The team with some of the rubbish they managed to collect during the event.

“It is our first time here and I brought my children along to teach them to conserve,” Ow said.

“Tourism Selangor will give its full support to programmes like this.

“These programmes are important to us as they can play a role in promoting eco-tourism in Selangor,” Tourism Selangor general manager Noorul Ashikin said.

Waterfall Survivors is a social group founded on Facebook that has visited more than 80 waterfalls in Malaysia and has more than 4,500 registered members.

Last year, the group collected about three tonnes of garbage from Sungai Kanching, Selangor, during a similar project.

“We want Malaysians to preserve nature and our natural beauty,” Yap said.

投票日忙環保

Source from: China Press, Metro Edition 26th April 2010

400人瀑布撿垃圾

報導／攝影：許慧瑩

大家埋頭苦幹，為保護地球及環境生態儘一分力。

（峇冬加里25日訊）烏雪區國席補選投票日，選民踴躍投票，以手中一票決定國家未來，而在烏雪峇冬加里區的雙溪科冬冬休閒公園（Sg. Kedondong）裡，有400名來自各地的環保人士，默默在瀑布四周收拾垃圾，全力以赴保護“大地之母”。

今天是烏雪區國席補選投票日，各投票站都聚滿朝野陣營支持者，大家積極爭取選票，全區氣氛熱烘烘。

在烏雪另一個角落──雙溪科冬冬休閒公園，雖然不是投票站，沒有政黨支持者叫囂聲，但該區的氣氛卻同樣激昂。

配合2010年地球日，大馬瀑布樂園特別召集一群環保人士，今早8時在雙溪科冬冬休閒公園進行大掃除活動，提倡環保意識，同時保護瀑布環境生態，搶救地球的“健康”。

取消宣傳無塑料袋日

大馬瀑布樂園創辦人葉慧麗指出，雙溪科冬冬休閒公園大掃除活動，于今年1月已開始策劃及公開接受報名，儘管適巧碰上今日是烏雪區國席補選，但因為活動一早已安排好，不能被取消或展延。

她說，因此，該組織選擇于今日在烏雪區進行大掃除，與烏雪區國席補選完全沒有關係，該組織為非政府組織，沒有政黨背景。

“但我們原本計劃將參加者分為兩組，一組負責大掃除，另一組參加者則到峇冬加里市鎮宣傳‘無塑料袋日’，但因碰上補選，我們擔心補選場面混亂，所以決定取消宣傳活動。”

她說，今日參加者有超過400人，包括最年長者有50多歲，年紀最小的有3歲，大家參加的目的只有一個，就是響應環保，為保護地球出一分力，分工合作清理垃圾，保護環境生態。

大馬瀑布樂園
號召民眾愛地球

大馬瀑布樂園創辦人葉慧麗指出，配合世界地球日第40週年紀念，該組織希望喚醒民眾對環保的意識，了解保護地球的重要性。

她說，這次舉辦的大掃除活動，是該組織第3 次舉辦的大型活動，該組織早前曾在雙溪科冬冬休閒公園進行大掃除，雖然當時參加者只有20多人，但大家在短短2小時內，成功收拾150包垃圾。

“參加人數超過400人，我們相信聚集大家的力量及合作精神，在活動結束前，估計可收超過300包的垃圾。”

葉慧麗說，全球氣候暖化，是地球給人們的紅色警訊，人們必須及時採取拯救地球行動，才能有效減緩氣候變化問題。

她說，配合世界地球日40週年，民眾應趁此機會，開始投入環保工作，除了個人，非政府組織及商業機構也應該積極響應環保，以為氣候政策、能源效率、再生能源及綠色就業機會做出改變。

“我們希望藉此活動讓更多人對環保有所覺醒，以便大家一同保護自然環境生態，尤其是瀑布。”

徐美真：續響應環保
★18歲，雙威大學學生

我第一次參加大馬瀑布樂園舉辦的大掃除活動。

我是從學校獲悉此活動，覺得這個環保活動非常有意義，就和同學一起參加。

我覺得我國人民對環保的意識仍非常低，四處可看見民眾公開焚燒垃圾，對空氣造成嚴重污染。

我平時會與同學共車上學，除了節省汽油及過路費，主要可以減少汽車排放的廢氣，減低空氣污染。

保護地球，人人有責，我會繼續響應環保工作。

蘇穎觀：受姨丈影響
★17 歲，雙威大學學生

我和同學一起來參加，這也是我第一次參與大馬瀑布樂園舉辦的環保活動，我覺得此活動很有意義。

中學時期，我已曾參加學校舉辦的環保活動，平時得空，我也會和朋友一同登山，享受天然環境。

我的姨丈是活躍環保分子，可能是受姨丈影響，我和家人都會愛護環境，不隨意丟垃圾，尤其是不公開燃燒垃圾。

黃炳榮：與朋友同行
★24歲，零件供應

我透過朋友介紹，首次參加大馬瀑布樂園舉辦的大掃除活動，我與7名朋友同行，當中有些曾經參與，有些則是首次參與。

這個活動很有意義，畢竟現在全世界都關注地球氣候暖化問題，我們身為地球的居民，我們有義務保護地球，減緩氣候暖化。

Facebook group cleans Kedondong Falls

Source from: New Straits Times, Streets

2010/04/26
by: Veena Babulal

Waterfall Survivors and over 400 volunteers have two tonnes of rubbish to show for their efforts.

HULU SELANGOR: A beautiful relaxing spot has been tarnished by the disgusting habits of picnickers and campers.

Volunteers pick up condoms, diapers, beer bottles, soiled sanitary pads, plastic bags, food packages, paper as well as polystyrene cups and plates during the three-hour cleanup exercise.

Condoms, diapers, beer bottles and soiled sanitary pads were among the two tonnes of garbage picked up by over 400 volunteers in a major cleanup of Kedondong Falls, a popular cascade, here in the state's cradle of many waterfalls, yesterday.

Families and schoolchildren who participated in the event also found discarded clothing and bihun and rice crawling with maggots in the three-hour exercise organised by Facebook group, The Waterfall Survivors. The green group was set up to protect riverine areas nationwide.

Plastic bags, food packages, paper as well as polystyrene cups and plates were also found strewn across the stream's banks. The rubbish was caught between the rocks and attracting flies.

Schoolchildren also raked up several empty cans of inflammable lighter fluid left behind by campers. Rubbish bins, few and far between, were filled to overflowing.
Waterfall Survivors president Joe Yap said the group's first cleanup this year held special significance as it happened against the backdrop of the by-elections.

"We picked the date five months ago, way before the former member of parliament passed away. However, I think we are lucky that it fell on polling day as it is important to send a message to the newly elected MP that waterfalls and rivers have to be protected," she said.

Yap said there were many waterfalls threatened by development as well as litterbugs in the area. One such waterfall is the Serendah Falls.

Other waterfalls in the area include Sungai Chiling, Sungai Tua, Ulu Tamu and Ulu Yam.

"This cleanup will make voters realise the importance of preserving our streams as well as the importance of electing a leader who is green conscious," she said.

The event was supported by Tourism Selangor as well as the Tourism, Environment and Public Affairs state committee.
Participants woke up at the crack of dawn to reach the falls at 8am. Most took the buses departing from various points in the Klang Valley to the cascade which is perched on a hill at Batang Kali in Jalan Gombak.

The event, which was held in conjunction with Earth Day, received a warm response from SMK Sri Ampang, Sunway University College and a number of orphanages.

Mohd Imran Mohd Noor, who participated in the cleanup, said: "I normally sleep in on weekends but I'm glad I woke up early for this as it was an eye opener.

"I now know the extent of the damage a litterbug can inflict. If one member of every family leaves something behind, all it takes is one weekend for this place to turn into a dump.
The 13-year-old came with 40 of his schoolmates from SMK Sri Ampang.

Other supporters of the event were the Rotary Club of USJ McGraw-Hill, Teva Footwear, World of Sports, OYL Manufacturing, Colgate Palmolive, Tenaga Nasional Bhd and Bacfree.
This is The Waterfall Survivors' seventh cleanup exercise since it was established two years ago. It is its biggest so far in terms of number of volunteers. Plans to clean up four more waterfalls are in the offing.

WATERFALL SURVIVORS – SAVE OUR WATERFALLS CAMPAIGN ON THE 40th EARTH DAY

edited by: Andrew Sia

One of over thousands of simultaneous events in the world

Batang Kali: April 25^th - To celebrate the 40^th Earth Day, Waterfall Survivors joined thousands of other similar community efforts around the world in its 3^rd Major Save Our Waterfalls (SOW) campaign.

Waterfall Survivors is a group of local waterfall lovers founded on Facebook and has over 4500 members currently.

Picture by: Shirley Lim

And so today over 400 volunteers, equipped with garbage bags, gloves and a love for nature fanned out all over the Sungai Kedondong Waterfall Recreational Park near Batang Kali to clear the place of garbage.

The volunteers, who were Waterfall Survivors members as well as participants from OYL Manufacturing, Tenaga National Berhad, McGraw Hill, Rotary Club of USJ went beneath the surface of things and dug deeper – literally – onto the problem with shovels and cangkuls to unearth layers and layers of garbage.

Picture by: Clara Ee

They picked up not only innumerable plastic bags and wrappers, but also polystyrene plates and even discarded underwear and barbeque pits!

The toughest, stinkiest, part of the operation was the relocation of a large orange garbage bin, located just next to crystal clear waters flowing down from the Main Range mountains. The bin was full and overflowing with rubbish which had been left uncollected for a long time and the pong from it spread all over the place when the volunteers emptied it.

At the end of the day, Waterfall Survivors members presented their “trophy” – almost 250 bags of rubbish collected from the lower reaches of the waterfall park.

Picture by Admas Koh

“Malaysians are still not aware of what is really happening to our Earth. Lots of rubbish has been left by irresponsible picnickers and campers,” said Waterfall Survivors President and Founder Joe Yap.

“Besides cleaning up the waterfalls, today’s event is also aimed to raise awareness about Earth Day and how improper disposal can harm our water sources.”

Waterfall Survivors is also creating awareness on NO PLASTIC EARTH to support the initiative of No Plastic Day (every Saturday) by the Selangor State Government.

Students from students S.M.K Sri Ampang and Sunway University College joined in this auspicious event to show their love towards Mother Nature. “120 students are from the pre-university courses – Sunway Foundation in Arts, Australian Matriculation as and also Monash University Foundation Year (MUFY). This project is part of the Sun-U ongoing CR initiatives in instilling awareness and educates them on the environment protection among students and youths.” said Sunway College University Public Relation Manager,  Simpson Khoo.

Picture by: HP Chong

The event was endorsed and supported by the Tourism Selangor, Selangor and Tourism, Environmental and Public Affairs of Selangor State Government and Majlis Daerah Hulu Selangor.

Puan Noorul Ashikin, General Manager of Tourism Selangor Sdn. Bhd, said: “We in Tourism Selangor will give our full commitment to support this program as well as other program that shares the same objective in saving our environment. This is also important for Tourism Selangor as it can play a pivotal role in promoting and bringing forward the eco-tourism in Selangor.”

The Save Our Waterfalls campaign was sponsored by Teva Footwear, World of Sports, Bacfree, and The Rotary Club of USJ.

Picture by: Zaidi Ahmad

About Earth Day

Forty years after the first Earth Day, the world is in greater peril than ever. While climate change is the greatest challenge of our time, it also presents the greatest opportunity – an unprecedented opportunity to build a healthy, prosperous, clean energy economy now and for the future.

Earth Day 2010 can be a turning point to advance climate policy, energy efficiency, renewable energy and green jobs. Earth Day Network is galvanizing millions who make personal commitments to sustainability. Earth Day 2010 is a pivotal opportunity for individuals, corporations and governments to join together and create a global green economy. (Source from Earth Day Network.)

ABOUT WATERFALL SURVIVORS

Waterfall Survivors is a social group founded on Facebook, the most popular online social networking service. The Facebook group was single-handedly created on 12^th July 2008. The group has been actively organizing regular waterfall expeditions ever since. To date, Waterfall Survivors has left footprints at over 75 waterfalls in Malaysia with more than 130 trips ventured and more than 4,500 registered members on Facebook. Waterfall Survivors is managed by Waterfall Explorers Sdn. Bhd.

The Waterfall Survivors Committees

Picture by: Soo Sang Yeong

For more information, email at waterfallsurvivors@hotmail.com or visit Waterfall Survivors site at http://groups.to/waterfallsurvivors/ http://waterfallsurvivors.blogspot.com

Waterfall Survivors in Sg Lembing

Waterfall Survivors members… all 51 members started the night drive on Friday nite to Sg. Lembing.

Reach the sleepy quiet town at 4am. And started the hike after resting a while to catch the sunrise at the Panorama Hill. The sunrise was beautiful. One side the sunrise, the other side is the sea of clouds covering the town.After the sunrise, we all proceeded to the market for breakfast. Then headed to Sg Panching Waterfalls a.k.a. Pandan Waterfalls at Panching. Hidden in the Palm Oil Plantation lies a well maintained Recreational Park The majestic Pandan Waterfalls, as usual packed during weekend. After everyone enjoyed at the waterfalls, we then proceeded for lunch then back to our guest house for a rest.

We left for Teluk Cempedak around 5pm. A lot of picnickers at the beach. But it’s a beautiful beach well maintained with a lot of shops at the beach side. Bought some kites to fly… After Teluk Cempedak, we proceeded for dinner in Kuantan. Then headed back to Sg Lembing after dinner. We had some Siew Yok at the Restaurant where the next door has freshly roasted Siew Yok…..yummy yummy On second day, we woke up around 5am. Had a quick bite and jumped in the 4WD to proceed to Rainbow Falls about 6.45am. We reached the falls around 9.30am. The Rainbow Falls is as beautiful as before. Everyone had so much fun. A double rainbow can be seen.

We all then departed back to Sg Lembing around 12pm. The 4WD operator brought us for a hot dip at the hotspring near the town.After the hotspring, we went to the Mines Museum.  A memory lane of the Town. 

After the walk down the memory lane at Sg Lembing Mines Museum, we all proceeded for lunch then went back to the guest house to pack up and leave back to KL. A full 2 days trip with lots of fun and places that we’ve visited.

Photos are contributed by: Lok Man Hoong, Janine Foo and Low Yew Keong and Clara Yii– Thank you.

 

~Waterfalls are BEAUTIFUL but DANGEROUS. Take Safety Precautions at Waterfalls~

Climb, Chill and Clean! Preserve Waterfalls The Fun Way

April 13, 2010 by admin
Filed under Life & Style

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It all started on a sunny July in 2008. Joe Yap wanted to take her four -year old daughter on a family trip and could not decide on where to go. She was bored of the same old shopping complexes when suddenly she remembered a trip she had taken as a kid to the waterfalls.

“I had only been to the waterfalls once as a kid with my parents. It was Templer’s Park, I think. So, I thought, why not take my daughter there,” reminisced Joe.
She surfed the net to check out the waterfalls in Malaysia through a website by Jan Stuivenberg, a Dutch expatriate with a passion for waterfalls in Malaysia. The family ended up at Kanching Waterfalls in Rawang, Selangor. According to Joe, the waterfall was beautiful. The water was cool and the paved walkway pushed her into taking the jungle trail which she said was breathtaking yet fun. For Joe, the fun didn’t end there. There was something endearing about the waterfall and she wanted to go to another. The following weekend, she trekked up Chiling Waterfalls in Kuala Kubu Bahru with a friend. “It was a killer, one hour hike. We were panting all the way but upon reaching the top, we were amazed. It was worth the hike as the air was so fresh, the water so clear and the lush greenery was a feast to the eye,” she claimed.

Joe knew that this was her calling when she got the urge to trek another waterfall, the next week. This time her friend refused to follow her so Joe used her Facebook access to send invitation to anyone who wanted to join her and surprisingly, she got six waterfall lovers who joined her. Joe knew there and then that this was a life-long addiction and thus brought upon the birth of Waterfall Survivors. Her love for the waterfalls was so great that she quit her job as a banker to do this full-time.

“I was very scared at first but the support I got from the members was so overwhelming that I knew I had made the right choice,” she said.

Waterfall Survivors is a social group managed by Waterfall Explorers Sdn Bhd founded on Facebook, the most popular online social networking service. The Facebook group was created by Joe Yap, with an aim to meet others who get the same kick and excitement at the thunderous sound of crashing waters in the tranquil setting of the rainforests like she does. The group has been actively organising regular waterfall expeditions ever since where they trek the jungle trail, clean up the waterfall and have fun in the water.

Guided by Stuivenberg website’s well- documented information on the country’s waterfalls, Joe started to organising trips for Waterfall Survivors’ members. To get clearer directions for waterfall expeditions, she began to communicate with Stuivenberg. Waterfall Survivors organises regular waterfall exploration trips which can be a day-tripper or an over-night excursion.

Waterfall Survivors aims to explore the unknown and unexplored waterfalls in Malaysia. Besides that, it also creates awareness on preserving nature for the next generation. It educates Malaysians to preserve the cleanliness of waterfalls and safety awareness when enjoying the waterfalls. Waterfall Survivors also promotes healthy lifestyle among Malaysians while appreciating the beautiful nature.
“Our long-term plan is to adopt waterfalls in Malaysia,” said Joe.

To date, Waterfall Survivors has left footprints at over 70 waterfalls in Malaysia such as Jeram Perlus at Ulu Langat, Seminyang Falls at Karak, Buaya Sangkut at Endau Rompin, Johor, Berkelah at Maran and many more. There has been a total of about 130 trips done.
“ We have 16 committees and we organise a trip every weekend. Our members are all equipped with first-aid, wilderness and swift water courses. We also have all safety equipments required for trekking. We welcome everyone. Come join us and have loads of fun enjoying nature our way,” ended Joe with a bubbly laugh.

Selangor Shines at Chiling Waterfalls on 10th April 2010

Tourism Selangor was launching the Selangor Shine Squad and the Kuala Kubu 4x4 Challenge at Kuala Kubu Bharu Town today. To promote the Eco-Tourism for Selangor, Tourism Selangor have also arranged a Day Trip to Chiling Waterfalls coordinated by Waterfall Survivors. Thanks to Tourism Selangor for giving Waterfall Survivors the opportunity to coordinate this event for them.

2 coaches was arranged at Mutiara Damansara Tesco at 9am to pick up all the participants to proceed to the launching of Selangor Shine Squad and Kuala Kubu Bharu 4x4 Challenge.

It was raining non stop in Klang Valley. Many was late at the meeting up point. We started off our journey around 9am plus..

A terrible traffic at the Rawang Town and slow drive along the old road to Kuala Kubu Bharu as there’s a group from a corporate was having a treasure hunt which slowed down the traffic.

We reached Kuala Kubu Bharu at 11.15am. We were late. The launching was over… The 4WDs already started to tour around the town…WOW… So many 4WDs…

We then proceeded to the Chiling Falls after the registration.There were a total number of 88 pax to this trip.

After distributing the lunch that was provided, all the participants started their lunch at the campsite near the entrance.

Joe did a safety briefing after everyone is finish with their lunch.

The hike started at 1pm as scheduled. A hugeeeeeeeeeeee group…. started their hike to the waterfalls. The youngest was 3 years old. But he made it all the way to the waterfalls. What a strong boy. With 6rivers crossings.. the hike took about 1 hours and 15 mins.

The view of the falls from far..

Everyone enjoyed so much at the falls. Swimming,… taking pictures..

We reached the trail head at 4.30pm and try to get some food from the stall infront of the ranger office. After a quick tea break, we had some games.. 

First was the passing game. A ping-pong ball was given to each group. The group that managed to pass the ball the the last person and first to pass the ping pong ball to Joe will win. The winning group got a nice Water Bottle from Waterfall Survivors.

Next was QUIZ session.. well.. We wanted to give away all the pressies that we brought… so the Quiz was just good… Some questions was throw to the participants. The fastest person to answer will get something from us. And the kids.. of course.. we gave them some stationeries a compliment from us..

Everyone had so much fun… and was really successful…

A BIG HUGE THANK YOU TO TOURISM SELANGOR for sponsoring and all the participants for coming..

~Waterfalls are BEAUTIFUL but DANGEROUS. Take Safety Precautions at Waterfalls~