By S.M.Nazmul Ahsan Sarup
Trees contribute to the environment by providing oxygen, improving air quality, enriching the climate, conserving water, preserving soil and supporting wildlife. During the process of photosynthesis, trees take in carbon dioxide and produce the oxygen we breathe. In the last few decades, the number of forests and bio-diversities have been dwindling due to extreme urbanization and industrialization. However, with growing economic development and global consciousness towards nature, global leaders are once again moving forward to save the environment through plantations.
With the aim to neutralize the carbon footprint and to conserve nature, Epyllion Group organized an event named “Prakritir Chobi Aki” in collaboration with the Department of Environment (DoE) and Green Savers Association in observing the World Environment Day 2015. After getting an intensive hype from the participants and the organizing bodies, Epyllion Group decided to move forward with this idea. With Green Savers Association, Epyllion Group started the “Sailor Green Savers Plant for Planet” program. Starting with Viqarunnissa Noon School & College in 2015, this program has covered 19 other schools during the 2015-2017 sessions.
With the motto of, “Painting. Planting. Recycling”, Epyllion Group reuses the empty chemical drums from its textile division through this program. All the empty chemical drums are collected from the textile sector and are then cleaned and sent to the Green Savers. This non-profit organization then gives these drums a white coating and makes them ready to be painted on. Students from class eight to ten paint these drums in a group and make planters for their schools.
All the plants for this program are selected from the local genre of plants. Both the organizing partners keep the schools under a monitoring program to make sure that the plants are alive and in a healthy condition. Replacement and nourishment programs are also executed to keep these plants alive.
This program has collaborated with 19 schools with a further involvement of more than 2000 direct exposures and 5000 indirect exposures through social and print media. This initiative aims to achieve three key results, one of which is recycling of waste chemical drums. Schools students are encouraged in conserving nature and tree plantation. This program also ensures that the educational institutions of Dhaka, where the plantation is rarely seen due to the scarcity of open space, get a place rooftop gardening.
With this plantation program, Epyllion Group envisions to promote a green environment inside the majority of educational institutions in Dhaka city. Thus, it will not be long when all the schools are reached out to for the “Plant for Planet” project by 2020.
The writer is the Manager of CSR at Epyllion Group.
