After planting 1,000 trees, New Town residents focus on workshops
Times of India | 8 December 2024
12 Kolkata: Achieving the milestone of planting yet another 1,000 trees in different areas of New Town for the third year in a row, Ecologic—a New Town-based nature lovers' forum—now plans to conduct workshops, specially for school going children, in different apartment complexes in the township to adopt eco-friendly and sustainable lifestyle measures.
The forum, which started its plantation drive in 2022, planted close to 3,400 trees across New Town in the last three years, with close to 80% of the trees surviving and growing with proper maintenance. Trees such as Neem, Bakul, Arjun, Amlaki, and Palash have been planted across the township.
"This year, we planted 1,050 plants in the green verges, on the sides of Bagjola canal, inside parks, and on the road dividers around the New Town bus stand, in the open spaces near Novotel hotel, Pride Plaza, Happy Street, and Central Mall. The initiative was taken by the citizens all by themselves without any external funding. It has been our small but spontaneous endeavour to make our neighbourhoods greener and to spread the message of developing an eco-friendly environment," said Biswajit Majumdar, a resident of Eastern High complex in New Town who has been one of the founder members of the forum.
The forum is now planning to conduct workshops to educate children on eco-friendly and sustainable measures. "Adopting a nature-friendly lifestyle can help us achieve a better quality of life, and planting and maintaining trees is one part of the story. We can create a positive impact in developing an eco-friendly environment by adopting a lifestyle of simple choices such as avoiding plastics, reducing the use of motor vehicles, recycling, or having a kitchen garden. We plan to conduct workshops in schools or apartment complexes to create awareness of eco-friendly living," Majumdar said.
NKDA authorities have lauded the initiative. ‘This has been a laudable effort, and we are extremely happy to see citizens taking up such initiatives. We always try to reach out and involve residents in joining with us in such eco-friendly initiatives," said an NKDA official.
For the maintenance of the trees that were planted, the forum has involved the local gardeners and even auto drivers in the localities for watering the plants and taking care of them. Sticks have been placed beside the planted trees as identification marks so that they can be identified and protected.
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