By KT Leong
When you think of Ipoh, you probably think about the delicious foods or the beautiful surrounding hills. But you probably forget about the symbol of Ipoh that’s right under your nose. The namesake of Ipoh itself, the Ipoh tree.
In conjunction with Earth Hour 2026, Meru Valley Resort held a suite of activities that served the community, with the highlight being the planting of two Ipoh trees, amid the beautiful lush greenery of Meru Valley Resort.
Thanks to the generosity of Meru Valley Resort resident Dixon Tan and naturalist Dr. Zi-Yang Chan, 2 saplings of this iconic tree were procured.
Leading the charge to preserve the tree that is the representative of Ipoh’s soul were Meru Valley Golf & Country Club (MVGCC) Director, Mr. Edwin Tan, the organising chairman, Mr. Sundaresan, MVGCC liaison committee member and Chairman of the Meru Valley Residents Association (MVRA), Dr. Chakr Sri na Nagara and Meru Valley Resort’s hospitality manager, Ms. Moo Fei Ling.
Together, they climbed the slopes of Valley Nine: Hole 5 and personally planted the trees, following the advice of Dr. Zi-Yang, to ensure that the trees will grow and prosper, much like Ipoh itself.
In addition, the Earth Hour event on 28 March also saw a blood donation drive by Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun and health screenings held by Perak Community Specialist Hospital (PCSH) and even a booth by Total Energy, a company with 27 years of industry performance, offering the installation of solar panels (contact 018-3743304 (Ms. Jayavarthini) or 011-1640422 (Ms. Priya) for inquiries).
MVGCC has been actively organising for the Earth Hour campaign for many years. They prepared an art installation representing the 60+ minutes where we all take it easy on Mother Earth, where members could put in recyclable items like plastic bottles. As part of the campaign, they also organised a kids colouring contest, a cash4trash campaign and additional tree plantings. As part of the energy saving programme, no buggies were allowed on the course from 4 pm onwards. All golfers were only allowed to walk until completion of their round. Lights off was at 8.30pm
“It’s good that we’re holding initiatives to help the community”, commented Dr. Nagara.
Meru Valley Resort is dedicated to preserving the beauty and sanctity of nature.
