BENGALURU: World Environment Day 2024, in support of the global environment movement One Tree by One Person was celebrated by the students, teachers and the management of Magnifique English School in their campus at Minhaj Nagar, Jhbcs Layout. The students enacted mimes and plays to highlight the importance of planting trees and conserving the environment. An environment quiz was also conducted to make the students aware about the environment. The students accompanied by their teachers and the management of the school took out a rally in support of One Tree by One Person. Subsequently, the students protested against garbage that is being dumped on vacant sites near a school and a hospital in the locality. During the protest, BBMP workers, and the hospital staff too accompanied the students.
Environmentalist and the founder of the global environment movement One Tree by One Person U S Moinuddin said in his speech, “Many vacant sites are becoming garbage dumping grounds in Bengaluru. To counter this problem, the residents of the area should act responsibly, the garbage which is generated in their houses should be systematically handed over to the garbage collecting vehicles, rather than dumping it in the vacant sites creating unhygienic conditions and health hazards to the residents of the areas. It is a tough situation for the government too when the residents do not cooperate.”
ONE TREE BY ONE PERSON
One Tree by One Person, a revolutionary movement to make India and the world greener was introduced by environmentalist U S Moinuddin in the year 2002. The agenda of this movement is to encourage tree planting and educate the masses about the role of trees in our ecosystem.
People love trees, but most of them do not make an effort to plant them as they get engrossed in their day-to-day activities. To make tree planting more realistic and easier, U S Moinuddin began to promote the idea of “One Tree by One person,” according to which, a person is required to plant at least one sapling during their lifetime and take care of it. As of 2024 the population of Bengaluru is 1.4 Crore, if every resident takes an initiative of planting one sapling, then the city will have over 1.4 Crore trees in addition to the trees that already exist. If every Indian takes an initiative of planting a sapling, then there would be 140 Crore trees in addition to the trees that are already existing. Likewise, if every person across the earth plants a sapling, then there will be 8 billion trees in addition to the trees that already exist.
In overcrowded cities like Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, how does one plant so many trees? That is the usual question asked by many. “Nature gives us varieties of trees. Where there is more space you can plant a Rain tree, Peepal tree, Sausage tree, Melia Dubia, Tabebuia Rosea, Gulmohar, Peltophorum Pterocarpum(Copper Pod) Mango, Tamarind, Cannon Ball tree(Nagalinga) and other big trees, where there is less space you can plant Silver Oak, Honge, Singapore Cherry and other small and medium size trees.” Moinuddin answers.
This movement is attracting people of all age groups. Students across schools and colleges, office employees, housewives, factory workers and others have sworn to plant trees and make our environment healthy and beautiful. U S Moinuddin has been constantly meeting people and encouraging them to support this campaign where one can witness a Greener India and a Greener Earth. He has also planted a large number of saplings and also takes out rallies and distributes saplings for free.
One Tree by One Person is also inspiring people in Bangladesh, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Bahrain, Poland, Russia, New Zealand and America.
“Global Warming is a serious problem; the Earth is becoming warmer and warmer as a result of the toxic gases generated from the vehicles, forest fires, factories and deforestation. As a result, the Polar ice caps can melt, rising the sea levels. When the sea levels rise, islands such as Lakshadweep, Maldives, and hundreds of other islands including the Southern part of India, which is a Peninsula can get submerged under water. Planting trees can slow down the global warming process to a very large extent.” Moinuddin further states.
With the concept of One Tree by One Person, the deserts can become green, the barren lands can become productive, the temperature in the cities will decrease, and the trees will attract rain replenishing the decreasing water table. This is one campaign that will truly make the Earth a greener place to live in.
One Tree By One Person is a vision oriented Movement. It is not about a single person or a group of people taking an initiative of planting trees, but it is about every person across the earth, becoming responsible citizens of the planet, for a greener and safer earth.
Every year World Environment Day is hosted by different countries on June-5, with a different theme. This year, the host country is Saudi Arabia and the theme for the 2024 world environment day is Land Restoration, Desertification and Drought Resilience.
