Along with community volunteers, members of the Rotary Club of Lautoka planted more than 4,000 mangrove saplings in September along a nearly 2,000-square-foot stretch of beach at Taiperia. The area, home to low-income Fijians, is about 2.5 miles from central Lautoka, on the island of Viti Levu.
“For a small island nation such as Fiji, it is particularly important to protect our homes and livelihoods, as the vast population of the country lives near coastal areas,” says Club President Chirag Parmar. “The planting of mangroves helps protect these areas from coastal erosion and also rehabilitates the ecosystem of our shoreline.” The club teamed up with the Ministry of Forestry on the project and used $130 in donations to buy the plantings. “We used a small batch of funds from a much larger donation received from the International Fellowship of Rotarian Scuba Divers,” Parmar adds, illustrating the depth of Rotary partnerships.