Back when I was in elementary school, I went to this awesome nature school in Surabaya, where I got to do all sorts of wild stuff like trekking to villages to check out rice fields and waterfalls. Then, in middle school, I was kind of a big deal in an environmental club we called “Eco School” (fancy, I know), until COVID showed up and ruined the party.
My parents? They’re always super aware of its importance. They’ve been nudging us kids to get outside since we were tiny, partly to keep us from turning into Ipad kids–or worse, online gaming zombies–but also because they think playing in nature sparks creativity and some kind of special brainpower. They also taught us to be grateful for the world’s gifts by protecting, respecting, and caring for the environment. So yeah, planting trees? It’s basically woven into my soul at this point.
Which brings me to planting trees with the Friends of Lake Claremont—totally not on my 2025 bingo card, but wow, what a ride! I met Nick, Eva and Josh, the brains behind the event, who explained that the whole deal was about saving the habitat of the black cockatoo, whose home is getting wrecked by land misuse. Rude, right?
Nick told us to team up in groups of four for each planting area. Well, my group? We went full rebel with six people, haha! It was mostly girls my age, and I plucked up the courage to introduce myself. We had a criminology student, a marine engineering genius, a human biology buff, and someone grinding through their master’s degree. And then there’s me, the senior undergrad who’s been dodging her thesis like it’s a dodgeball game.
We planted two trees—yep, I know, not exactly a forest! But one of them had this awesome water-catcher gadget to help the roots snag water underground. Super cool, right? Digging those deep, wide holes was a blast… until we started unearthing random treasures: trash, glass, a brick, and—hold up—a buried high heel! Like, who’s out here losing their stilettos in the dirt?
Still, the older I get, the more I’m vibing with that mindfulness stuff (look at me, sounding all wise). I’m starting to get why people say the journey’s the real deal, not the destination. Our group was slow, planting just one tree with the water gadget in an hour while others were out here speed-planting two or three. But in that hour? I felt alive.
The dew on the grass soaking my shoes, the warm sun giving my face a cozy hug, the sound of people laughing, dogs zooming around the park, little birds flitting about in flocks, and—holy smokes—an actual carnaby’s black cockatoo swooping by. It was like nature threw a party, and I was on the guest list! No way I’d get that vibe if I’d stayed home, wrapped in my blanket, binge-watching nonsense.
After planting two more trees, it was time for the moment we’d all been waiting for… morning tea! I sipped on warm milk tea and chatted with more awesome people, like a web developer working on their master’s and a legit university professor. I swapped contacts with a few of them.
This whole day was like a big thank-you note to nature, a chance to give back to the Earth, and a ridiculously fun networking adventure all rolled into one. I’m still buzzing from how happy it made me!
By Taffy Kamajaya, MK Intern
Thanks to the Town of Claremont that funded the trees!
