KK resort recruits 'tree doctor' to manage organic garden

 

KOTA KINABALU: Almost every morning, Su Mon Fung spends at least four hours under the sun tending to the herb garden of a resort here.

When hotel patrons visit the site, the 36-year-old arborist from Beaufort lets them try the taste of fresh leaves plucked directly from the organic garden.

Since she joined the resort less than a year ago, the number of flowers and herbs has increased to more than 40 species, including lemongrass, basil, edible flowers and rosemary, for salads.

"There are also butterflies coming to our garden, which shows that the plants are healthy and thriving," said the Universiti Malaysia Sabah graduate, adding that the resort also successfully introduced stingless bees to the herb garden.

The three-decade-old garden has become one of the sites for Shangri-la Tanjung Aru resort to become more sustainable.

Every month, Su said the garden could provide up to 50kg for the resort's kitchens, resulting in savings of approximately RM1,000.

"Apart from fruit peels, the resort also sends back between 4kg and 8kg of eggshells for composting to fertilise our garden."

Recently, the resort received the Asean Green Hotel Standard award from the Asean Tourism Forum 2024 (ATF) held in Vientiane, Laos, in recognition of its sustainable tourism practices.

The Asean Green Hotel Standard fosters sustainable tourism through the adoption of environmentally friendly and energy conservation practices, as well as compiling, adapting, and creating tools and training to engage in Asean Green Hotel practices.

Other practices applied by the resort include using a food waste monitoring system to avoid oversupply of food, eliminating plastic mineral water bottles in the hotel shop, utilising solar-powered lights to illuminate the resort's car parks and gardens, collecting rainwater, and recycling plastic and paper.

In the guestrooms, the resort provides reusable glass bottles for storing drinking water, and the air conditioning automatically turns off when the room balcony doors are open.

The resort also conducts annual training for all employees and suppliers about its environmental policies. It also educates young guests and communities about marine conservation through the Clownfish Discovery Centre.

-nst online.