This reporting trip was organized by the EJC to provide an opportunity to experience a project that runs for sustainable development and environmental protection, and to see how the project runs in real life. The participants were all professional/citizen journalists and reporters from different backgrounds who won a world-wide blogging competition (TH!NK) in the framework of Sustainibilty in the Developing World. They have been writing about sustainable development and the Millenium Development Goals concerning Africa and Asia since March this year, therefore they are interested in projects that are related to sustainability, environmental protection, health, education, community building and fight against poverty.

GEC brought them to our community project sites at Raja Musa Forest Reserve (RMFR), Sungai Pencala and Sungai Way to observe and learn about the environmental impacts on the area, the project's goals and the way the process to reach these goals, as well as community participation in the environmental projects and the achievements reached so far.

At the RMFR, Mr. Chee, Manager of GEC, led the group and provided a short briefing about peatlands and its importance and shared the background of the rehabilitation project. Mr. Maniam from the Sai Council then provided some information about our tree planting efforts and how the marcots were made. The participants were quite interested in our efforts to involve the community in the reforestation aspect of the rehabilitation programme and posed many questions as to how we were getting volunteers to come.

After the briefing, the participants were taken on a short tour of the planting site and had the opportunity to plant some of the marcots that were brought for them. They were also given a demonstration of how to marcot a tree, which was something very new and interesting to them.

The afternoon session was quite a change. After a delicious organic lunch at EcoGreen, the participants were taken to the source of Sungai Pencala at Taman Persekutuan Bukit Kiara. Here, Dr. Kalithasan shared how this site was so unique as there is no other place in Malaysia where you can find the source of a river in such a central location that is easily accessible. Sungai Pencala has been used as an open classroom by GEC for over 6 years now and because the area has been well-preserved, it continues to serve as a great educational tool for children and adults alike to learn about how natural rivers should look like.

As always, when GEC bring guests to the source, we always encourage them to try drinking the water as it is a once in a lifetime experience to be able to drink from the source of a river. A few of the participants did try and was surprised that it tasted even better than bottled water. Following this, Dr. Kali brought the participants to the bio-monitoring site where we got them to try their luck and catch some fish, prawns and invertebrates. In less than 10 minutes they managed to catch quite a few types of organisms and were excited to find out that there were so many living things inside a river.

The next item on the agenda was a site visit to the River Education Cabin in Sungai Way. This cabin is currently managed by the local community in the Sungai Way area and is part of the W.A.T.E.R. Project being run by GEC in partnership with GAB Foundation. Two community members were present to speak with the participants about their experience so far and how this project has helped to change their views about their local river and its benefits. Ms. Renuka Indrarajah and Ms. Ong Ping Ping from GAB Foundation were also present to talk about the Foundation's corporate responsibility efforts and their long term commitment to this project and river rehabilitation. It was important to express to the participants how this project is the first of its kind and truly showcases the right spirit of corporate responsibility. 

It was a long day for the participants, but all of them expressed their gratitude for sharing our work and efforts with them. It is hoped that through the site visits they were able to learn about some of the community efforts that are ongoing in Malaysia and the challenges that we face. Their reports will be published online, which will contribute to the final UN summit on Sustainable Development.