Rainforest replanting project

 

Participants of the project

Kahagalla Hill

A rainforest replanting project was carried out by the Young Zoologists' Association (YZA) at the Kahagalla Hill recently. The Junior Section of the YZA took part in it with their parents.

The Kahagalle Hill, which is over 30 hectares in extent, is in Atale in the Kalutara district. Two sides of the hill border the River Maguru while the rest borders the agricultural lands of Atale. About five hectares of this remain as rainforest while the rest is barren. It is this barren area that is being replanted by the YZA.

Nearly 800 trees were planted as part of the project; 70 per cent of these were endemic to the island. Some of the plants were etambe, waldel, hedawaka, kanpotta and milla and they were provided by the Organization for Aquatic Resources Management. Support was provided to the project by officers of the Forest Department and some villages.

The YZA is based at the National Zoo in Dehiwala and has been educating young people who are interested in wildlife and nature conservation since 1972. The Junior Section was formed in 1999 for children between the ages of six and 12.