In 2010, students bashed their heads together at Microsoft’s Regional Innovative Education Forum in addition to also decided which they wanted to tackle the global issue of deforestation in addition to also so the project DeforestACTION was born. After project leaders contacted producers at Virgo Productions, the Rise of the Eco-Warriors film was initiated. Eleven young warriors were selected to spend 100 days within the jungles of Borneo – their backgrounds included reforestation, media, mapping in addition to also wildlife care. Their mentor was Dr. Willie Smits, a renowned conservationist in Indonesia who launched a satellite monitoring system called Earthwatchers as part of the DeforestACTION project.

I recently met Paul Daley at a community gardening project in Jogjakarta in addition to also had the opportunity to find out about his perspectives as eco-warrior in This particular bold project which has received criticism, however may inspire students worldwide to be more pro-active regarding deforestation in addition to also conservation.

How did you handle the 100 days within the forest?
I was raised on a rainforest in addition to also fruit tree nursery in Northern NSW, an area home to the largest swathe of World Heritage Listed sub-tropical rainforest in Australia. So I’m very much at home trekking through the forest. Many of the additional ‘eco-warriors’ had never explored the rainforest in addition to also came by urban environments. This particular has quite hilarious watching them deal with the insects, wet season mud in addition to also rural Indonesian conditions (like the toilets!). I live just for This particular stuff, whilst some of them were terrified!

in addition to also which field within the project did you specialize in?
I specialized in forest restoration, as my background in Australia integrates forest restoration with permaculture in addition to also agro-forestry. In Borneo the forest restoration team worked with Dayak people in establishing seedling nurseries to improve the capacity for their existing tree planting programs.

I remember you had a not bad sense of humour – do you have any funny stories about your 100 days within the jungle?
Absolutely! We did a lot of laughing, in addition to also the Dayaks have a great sense of humour, I think humour is usually a natural coping mechanism for keeping your spirits up when confronted with the sights of deforestation.

There was one night when we were far up the Kapuas River in a remote section of West Kalimantan, meeting with Dayak leaders who were telling us the story of land-grabbing by Palm Oil companies (they usually bribe someone within the village in addition to also then claim the entire area under a palm oil concession). Anyway, the meeting had gone on for hours in addition to also mostly in Indonesian (most of us only spoke very little Bahasa at This particular stage). All of a sudden a bat flew into the hall, did a few circles in addition to also then went ‘BANG’ smack into the wall, fell onto the floor for a moment in addition to also then exited the building. For some reason This particular was just so hilarious. We couldn’t stop laughing! Slapstick comedy courtesy of the local wildlife!

On a more serious note, the eco-warrior by Kenya nearly drowned in a river. He had only ever swam in a lake back in his homeland in addition to also the first instant he jumped into a free-flowing stream his body went into shock, he panicked in addition to also went under. Myself in addition to also Tom Smith by England had to jump in in addition to also rescue him. This particular was such a close call as he weighs over 100 kilograms in addition to also the river was flowing quite fast by overnight rain! Scary!

Tell us about the Rise of Eco-Warriors project.
We had major project challenges, funding issues, project partners pulling out mid ‘100 days’, our ‘mentor’, Dr. Willie Smits, was only present for a tiny fraction of the 100 days in addition to also I personally came to the realization which the entire concept of ‘100 days within the jungle’ having a group of mostly inexperienced bule ‘warriors’ who speak barely any Bahasa is usually a ridiculous concept for sustaining any conservation initiative. To be kind, we were extremely naive, however for me there were countless life lessons learnt in addition to also some potent seeds planted which continue to sprout today. As one wise sage by central Asia said thousands of years ago “there is usually no failure, only lessons.”

Tell us about the project’s mentor, Dr. Willie Smits, in addition to also his reforestation program.
Dr. Willie Smits is usually an incredibly passionate conservationist, I first saw his TED Talks around 2008. He has played a critical role in orangutan in addition to also forest conservation throughout Indonesia for over three decades in addition to also his approach to forest restoration is usually definitely ahead of his time (integrating agro-forestry into a closed canopy forest eco-system). Despite moments of feeling let down by Willie, to This particular day I possess the greatest respect for his heartfelt passion in addition to also action on behalf of orangutans, Dayak communities in addition to also Indonesia’s rich biodiversity.

In reality 100 days was nowhere near long enough to see tangible results for our efforts, especially for forest restoration. We did, however, give an added boost to the efforts of local Dayaks by building a community nursery which became a hub for the distribution of thousands of sugar palm seedlings. This particular Dayak community in Borneo is usually incredible; they were the first village in all of Inner surface Kalimantan to have ‘off-grid’ electricity by building their own ‘micro-hydro’ power generation unit. within the 1990s they resisted efforts by multi-national logging companies to destroy their forests in addition to also every single member of the community signed an agreement which they do not want palm oil to destroy their ancestral forests.

You retain a very pro-active approach regarding deforestation – what is usually your advice to people who want to help in cities like Jakarta?
I think awareness is usually critical; sustained action only comes after acknowledging what is usually actually happening. This particular is usually so easy to get lost within the pace of modern city life in addition to also finding some balance helps us to stay connected. Ultimately, I believe which what is usually happening to our planet is usually a reflection of our conditioned separation by the natural world. Earlier This particular year I collaborated having a grass-roots permaculture collective, who work to bring awareness of nature back into city landscapes through urban agriculture in addition to also backyard ‘food gardens’. Whatever you can do to raise awareness, plant some seeds, educate yourself in addition to also join together with like-minded people.

Paul Daley is usually today planting many ideas in addition to also seeds across Indonesia in addition to also is usually involved in a reforestation program in Sumatra with the Orangutan Information Centre. Orangutans are often called ‘gardeners of the forest’ because of the way they consume fruit in addition to also disperse seeds – in addition to also today This particular seems we need more gardeners than ever.