Date:17/05/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/17/stories/2008051757170400.htm

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Spreading greenery to combat global warming

Special Correspondent

— Photo: C. Ratheesh Kumar

GREENING DRIVE: Forest Minister Benoy Viswom and poet Sugathakumari plant the sapling of a fruit tree on the premises of the district panchayat in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday to mark the 10th anniversary of the Kudumbasree Mission.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Spurred by the success of the ‘My Tree’ campaign of last year focusing on school students, the Departments of Forest and Education are jointly launching another programme this year to spread greenery in Kerala “to help combat global warming.”

‘Our Tree’ campaign

The new programme will be called ‘Our Tree’ campaign. It will start on June 5, the World Environment Day, with higher secondary-level and college-level students planting at least 10 lakh saplings of rain trees across the State, Forest Minister Benoy Viswom and Education Minister M.A. Baby told presspersons here on Friday.

Last year’s ‘My Tree’ campaign had seen school students planting nearly 25 lakh saplings in their school compounds, vacant public lands and backyard of their homes. That too was started on the World Environment Day, with several lakhs of students devoting the day for going around the countryside and planting saplings supplied by the Forest Department.

Schools that did well in the campaign were honoured with awards by the State government last month.

“At least 80 per cent of the planted saplings survived and are growing, the students still tending to them,” Mr. Viswom said.

Along with their senior colleagues in higher secondary institutions and colleges, school students too will get a fresh supply of rain tree saplings this year.

Mr. Viswom and Mr. Baby convened a meeting of the top officials of their departments on Friday to plan the execution of the ‘Our Tree’ campaign. Representatives of student organisations and school/college managements too were at the meeting, offering their cooperation.

“Global warming — the answer is the tree” is the campaign’s slogan. Mr. Baby said last year’s campaign produced superb results in schools where at least one teacher had passion for conservation.

There were a large number of such schools. When there is someone to kindle the passion and the concern, the students respond enthusiastically.