UKQE Reflection Report 1
Extracurricular activities 1: JKM Love Mangrove
Jawatan Kuasa Mahasiswa (JKM) KTDI has organized a volunteering event to the Taman Negara Johor Tanjung Piai. The objective of this event is to adhere awareness about mangrove forest and its importance to the ecosystem. In this activity, I got to learn more about the roles of the mangrove forest to our environment. I have always thought that mangrove forest is just a mere ordinary forest until I join this activity. I learned a lot about the significant of mangrove towards our ecosystem. I also got to plant a mangrove tree there. I just knew that their roots actually collect the silt and sediment that tides carry in and rivers carry out towards the sea.
I initially joined this activity merely just to get the merit point provided. The merit is important for the students in order for them to keep staying in the college. As I am from the school of computing, it would be really convenience for me to stay in Kolej Tun Dr Ismail (KTDI) as it is the nearest to my faculty. I can make it to my class within just 10 minutes of walk. I had seen a lot of students from the same faculty whom staying at different college had a hard time going to the class as they had to go there by bus. They had to wait for the bus for several minutes; even hours at the bus stop under a scorching hot or heavily rained weather every single day.
One of the reasons for the students not getting into the nearest college is because the did not have enough merit for them to get into one. Basically they are ineligible to apply for the college in the next semester. This is because they barely join any merit provided activity conducted by the college committee. During our first week as freshmen in UTM, the seniors indeed briefed us on how important it is to join all the activities in the college. As these being said, it is obvious that I was oblivious on the activity objectives even after I register to join. I just knew the fact that I will go to the local mangrove forest with my friends. I really had no idea on what is actually mangrove forest, or how they formed and what are their significant to the environment. The journey to the mangrove forest took us approximately one and a half hours to get there by bus. We had a little briefing, and an opening speech by the principal of KTDI as soon as we arrived. Next we were divided into few groups and each group was lead by a conductor. The conductors are actually experienced workers in the mangrove.
In the forest, each of us got to plant our own mangrove tree and after that, we had to walk for almost 1.2 KM along a network of wooden boardwalks. I was really out of breath and for the fact that I had to carry along my heavy bag pack throughout the walk is not helping at all.
This is where I realized how important it is to have good stamina and to be fit. All this while, I have always been unfit and overweight. However, I do like to play sports but not playing them regularly. It is actually really crucial to get involve in healthy lifestyle in order to improve our health. With this being said, it actually kind of eye-opening experience which make me realize the importance of engaging with healthy lifestyle. However, I hope people get over the fact that being skinny does not always mean healthy and vice versa. You can be curvy, but fit at the same time. I am neither skinny nor fit. It never comes to my sense that I can actually be fit without being skinny.
Aside from that, when I was strolling around the forest, it got me thinking on how the mangrove forest actually works? I have always wondered why the debris from the ocean never got to the land. Never in my 22 years of living knowing about these matters where it actually should be a general knowledge for me.
After joining this activity, I quickly do some research regarding fitness and the mangrove itself. I want to know the significant of both of them. The former finding is because I want to experience more adventurous activity in the future, thus I need to keep my body healthy and capable in doing those activities. As for the latter, the activity I joined actually intrigued me to know more about mangroves forest and their contribution to our environment and ecosystem.
I reviewed a research paper regarding the benefits of being fit. Inderjit Kaur, an author of a Living Series suggested that If you want to accomplish something great, you need to have an edge for discomfort. This, I believe resonated with me and many other people. In order to be fit, I have to go through fitness training, regular exercises and do vigorous activity to gain stamina. These activities may be difficult to some especially if they are beginner like me. Besides, the fact that I also need to opt for calorie deficit in order to get a better result just add to the point why it can be such a troublesome. However, looking back at what the author said, you need to go through those in order to accomplish something impeccable. Few research revisions and surveys have disclosed that working out and adapting exercises in any form springs greater energy. Human body cells comprise Mitochondria, known as the powerhouse of the cell, exercise helps in the growth of new Mitochondria, raising up more energy in our bodies. Thus, with the excessive energy, it is not only useful to comprehend physical tasks but also helps to resolve mentally complex situations (Inderjit Kaur, 2018). Being fit also can boost your self-confidence. It will renew your mental energy in a better form and this will eventually make you feel good about yourself. Besides, working out and exercises do releases endorphins hormone, it is the chemical that increase positive elements that are vital for being happy and cheerful. In conclusion, healthy me, happy me!
For the latter finding, I dug in some facts about the mangroves forest. I have come to know that it turns out the mangrove forest halting the debris from getting to the land. This is because they have significant type of root that can trap sediments flowing down rivers and off the land. I cannot imagine a world without mangroves. It will be a world with fewer fishes, unknown ecosystem and more coastal damage. Whether you love them or hate them, we all depend on mangroves on daily basis. It has been the quiet achievers that have somehow adapted to suit among our everyday lives. Facing the sea, stream estuaries and bordering river, these habitats offer significant services that will be tremendously missed when they are further diminished (Duke, Norman, 2014). Gabby Ahmadia (2019) said that out of all coastal ecosystems, mangrove conservation has some of the greatest potential when it comes on investment returning. She also insisted that with the right method, mangrove restoration is a feasible option that can be done at extent. They have high adaptive capacity mangroves as they are less vulnerable to climate changes. If mangroves diminished, we would lose a main resource for hundreds of millions of people across the tropics and subtropics. Mangroves provide so many ecosystem services to coastal communities and beyond; fuel and timber, fisheries, coastal protection, medicinal products, and miscellaneous cultural and spiritual services. These would be almost impossible to replace (Daniel R Richards, Daniel A Friess, 2016, pp. 344-349).
As I got a lot more things to anticipate in the future, I finally have come to realize that I need to do some background research of the activity’s objective to get a better understanding and reflect deeply throughout the events. In my case, I ought to have the idea of the destination I will go for the activity. In terms of how big the area of the place is, so that I can prepare physically and also to learn few general points about mangroves forest. If I had known the objectives beforehand, I am going to do light exercises every day to maintain my stamina to walk in the mangrove forest for few kilometers. I might opt for some Cardio training or HITT (High Intensity Interval Training) over the weekend and just walking around the university area on the weekdays.
I also would learn a lot more about the place I am going for the activity by utilizing the social medias. It will come to my sense on what to do and what not to do while visiting the place. Every places in this world have their rules and regulation that we need to follow. With this being implied, I think I will enjoy the experience more as I got the gist on why certain situation and event is happening and I would have focus more on the objectives of the activity instead of worrying on myself being out of breath.
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