By: Ciptanti Putri

An early morning group of people in white shirts with green sleeves gathered at the Mangrove Tourism Park in Pantai Indah Kapuk, North Jakarta. Their faces showed the excitement and spirit of the morning despite the sun shining quite brightly. "They are representatives of BCA employees from four regional offices in Jakarta, namely from Regional Office VIII, Regional Office IX, Regional Office X, and Regional Office XII. There are 100 people in total," said Dwi Narini, Public Relations Officer of PT Bank Central Asia Tbk. On Wednesday (18/3), they flocked to the protected green space managed by the DKI Jakarta Regional Government to attend a ceremony to plant 18,000 mangrove seedlings as a form of BCA's dedication to Indonesia's nature conservation efforts in celebration of its 58th anniversary. BCA once again partnered with WWF-Indonesia in the NEWtrees corridor, a corporate-funded critical land reforestation program.

Before planting the seedlings, a simple opening ceremony was held in the front gate area of Taman Wisata. Jaja Suraja, Head of the Forestry Division of the DKI Jakarta Regional Government, gave a speech as the host. "We welcome BCA's steps to plant this area. We hope that what BCA has done will be followed by other corporate partners, because green space is needed by the community. The DKI Jakarta local government itself still has around 10,000 hectares of land that can be greened."

President Director of PT Bank Central Asia Tbk, Jahja Setia Atmaja, said that he saw the day's activities as a form of gratitude for BCA's achievements over a period of 58 years and a form of corporate concern for future generations. "BCA is reforesting nine critical coastal areas across the archipelago, as a representation of our Regional Offices. We are called to be part of this noble activity and hope that today's activities will become an investment and legacy for our children and grandchildren who have the right to a better earth."

WWF-Indonesia CEO, Dr. Efransjah, appreciated BCA's consistency in becoming WWF's conservation partner in Indonesia. "WWF is proud to work with BCA to maintain areas of rich and strategic value to the ecosystem. Mangroves represent the qualities of resilience and service. Hopefully, the BCA family can adopt the values of mangroves." Efransjah also invited the audience to actively participate in a campaign that will be celebrated on March 28, Earth Hour. "Earth Hour is a mass individual movement in concern for the issue of energy saving. Let's participate in turning off the lights for one hour, and continue with the implementation of a green lifestyle."

After the symbolic handover of Mangrove seedlings, plaques, and a group photo session, all participants of the activity were explained how to plant Mangrove seedlings. They were then directed to the planting field. While chatting casually, joking and not a few who took pictures together and enjoying the Mangrove Tourism Park area, participants soon arrived at a temporary dock for planting activities. In an orderly manner, the Regional Office representatives took their positions and prepared to plant the mangroves.

"This is our first experience coming to the Mangrove Tourism Park. It turns out to be quite well maintained and pleasant," said Haryono Wongsonegoro, Head of BCA Region XII. Furthermore, he was grateful that he could be in the place to see and feel for himself the importance of the existence of Mangrove forests for the environment./div>