Gift a plant, save the world and make it a better place

New Delhi: The International Day of Forests is on March 21 and the emphasis is on planting trees and saving the environment. At a time when deforestation is rampant, pollution is making our cities not worth living and climate change is causing natural disasters, experts are recommending a simple way to make the world greener and healthier.

Here is a platform that can be used for planting trees in the country on barren land. The platform provides opportunities to gift a plant on special occasions such as birthdays and other happy moments to plant trees on your behalf which will be planted across India and looked after by the company.

If you don't have time to go out or the land to plant trees, you can do your bit through Grow-Trees.com. In its new project, it will plant trees on 500 acres across 19 villages of the Laylam and Luabasa Panchayats in East Singhbhum district of Jharkhand and Jamukeswar Panchayat in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha.

This will not only expand the green cover but also enhance animal habitat.

Over 2.6 million trees were planted in 2020 across the country, providing rural employment during the pandemic. The platform charges Rupees 85 for planting one tree. Since it came into being, the platform has planted about 7.5 million trees.

Explains Pradip Shah, the co-founder and director of Grow-Trees.com: "The company has earned the trust of thousands of individuals and hundreds of companies for planting millions of local trees on community lands in projects benefiting local communities, tribals, and wildlife. All plantings are audited and undertaken after permission of authorities."

Grow-Trees.com's eco-planner and environmental expert Supriya Patil says, "It is time to go back to the basics and simply plant more trees. Let me give you just five reasons why we should though there are a million more."

She says: "Trees create the much-needed carbon sinks, absorb CO2 and even sequester pollutants like nitrogen oxide, ammonia and sulphur dioxide. It is a commonly known fact that just one tree can absorb nearly 10 pounds of polluted air annually. Thriving forests and green lung spaces are critical to the health of the planet as they are the most effective eco-warriors and natural oxygenerators."

Experts say a lot of natural disasters occur because there is an imbalance between what we take from nature and what we give back. "Trees prevent soil erosion, curtail fires, floods, and even landslides. They also sustain biodiversity, protect animal habitats and even slow down the filtration of water into the drainage networks of concrete jungles. Increased vegetation in any region improves moisture conservation and also enhances the water table in the region," adds Patil.

Denuded forests mean more industrialisation and pollution and less space for wildlife. Shrinking wildlife corridors have resulted in increased animal-human conflicts, elephants being electrocuted or hit by trains.

The platform has initiated several projects to support the locals and tribal communities in Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, and many other Indian states. "When trees mature, they serve as a sustainable source of income for rural communities," adds Patil.