Global Environment Centre (GEC) and Sepang Municipal Council (MPSepang) recently launched the Community-based Ecological Restoration Project at Cyberjaya Lake Gardens as part of the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) Standards-based Restoration in Action programme in collaboration with Microsoft’s Community Environmental Sustainability programme.
In his launching address, YDP MPSepang, Dato’ Haji Abd Hamid bin Hussain commends the restoration efforts as a crucial step to protect and enhance the lake’s ecosystem especially with nature-based solutions.
“The 400-acre Cyberjaya Lake Gardens is considered the ‘green lung’ of Cyberjaya. It currently boasts facilities for recreational activities like an information centre, a lookout tower, a children’s playground, exercise facilities, as well as picnic sites. As we improve the park with such facilities and attract more visitors, it is also crucial to restore the health and water quality of the lake including enhancing biodiversity mainly with local species,” said Dato’ Haji Abd Hamid.
“To realise and ensure the success of this innovative programme we need key stakeholders’ involvement, especially from local communities and park users. MPSepang supports the implementation of this restoration project to the best of our capacities. Therefore, I would like to call other stakeholders, such as corporations, education institutions, communities and volunteers to do the same,” Dato’ Haji Abd Hamid added. “I am happy to know that the project is also establishing the Friends of Cyberjaya Lake Garden as a formal platform for the involvement of the community in taking ownership and being actively involved in the activities held at Cyberjaya Lake Garden together with MPSepang.”
GEC’s Director, Mr Faizal Parish said that the restoration of the Taman Cyberjaya Lake will not only improve water quality but also beautify the area and enhance the biodiversity including aquatic life. It will also empower the local community to actively engage in improving nature.
He said, “The project will adopt nature-based solutions; we will plant native species along the stream leading to the lake to filter water before it enters the lake. The plantings will improve biodiversity by creating habitat, including the establishment of a pollinator plant garden. The project also includes ‘floating islands’ of native plants that will be installed in the lake to continuously clean the water; these floating cells are a creative and innovative nature-based approach to addressing pollution. The programme also provides environmental education to increase awareness and ownership of the park as well as the importance of protecting water bodies and adopting nature-based solutions such as ecological restoration.”
Mr Faizal added, “GEC as the implementing agency will continue to collaborate with and empower Friends of Cyberjaya Lake Gardens and other key stakeholders to co-organise community-based wetland planting and clean-up activities aimed to instil a sense of ownership and commitment to protecting, restoring and monitoring the lake.”
The launching ceremony was attended by 245 participants with a total of 192 local community members, the public and volunteers participating in various water body care and awareness activities such as pollinator garden establishment, storytelling by the lake, bioblitz and LAKE Ranger initiative. The activities served as kick-starters under the restoration project, implemented by GEC with MPSepang, in collaboration with SER and Microsoft.
