On Earth Day, a social enterprise prepares to plant 7 million saplings during the pandemic

Every year on April 22, Earth Day is celebrated to refocus our collective attention to environmental issues. This year’s theme, ‘Restore Our Earth’  underscores the need to repair and harmonise our relationship with the planet.

That this is not possible without synergy is a given and that is why environmental initiative Grow-Trees.com engages with individuals, local communities, and corporates to increase green cover and plant millions of trees. Over 8.7 million trees to be exact, have been planted so far.

Bikrant Tiwary, the CEO of Grow-Trees.com says, “We cannot flip a switch overnight and change the world. It will take a lot of sustained effort to restore forests, protect biodiversity, wildlife habitats and replenish natural resources.”

Speaking further, he said, “This year’s theme is, ‘Restore Our Earth,’ and it reminds us that not just humanity but the earth is reeling from the negative impact of the pandemic. That is why we have set ourselves the goal of planting the 7 million saplings that are now in our nurseries across the country. We are waiting for the monsoon season to begin our plantation drive and will continue to work towards improving environmental markers.”  

Bikrant says, planting trees is the simplest and the most inexpensive way of doing our bit for the environment because an extensive plantation drive can help sustain wildlife, improve water table levels and give employment opportunities to local communities.

Bikrant also mentions, “By using our eTreeCertificates® for gifting, so many individuals and corporate entities have helped us plant trees near Sariska Tiger Reserve, Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary, and various other national sanctuaries and reserve forests.  In 2020 alone, we worked across 24 states to carry out plantation drives.”

He further added, “In cities like Mumbai and Delhi where pollution has affected the quality of life undeniably, we have also initiated tree plantation drives to improve air quality and create carbon sinks. We can no longer live in denial of climate change. This is the time to counter it with everything we have got. At  Grow-Trees.com, we are doing exactly that but we need more people to be a part of this movement. Believe me, every tree you plant is a message of hope that the earth needs to hear.”