The Bhawanipur Education Society College Leads the Biggest College-led Tree Plantation Drive in West Bengal

The Bhawanipur Education Society College undertook the biggest College-led tree plantation drive in the Sunderbans. The event was organised at Bali Island 2 of the Sunderbans on 11th August, 2019. The event was organised and supported by the tree plantation initiative of the NGO, Sustainable Green Initiative. It was planned under the ‘Each Student Plant One’ Programme initiated by the college, an attempt to conserve Mother Earth’s rich endowments. The planted trees will help revive the depleting flora species of the Sunderbans and also help maintain the currently disturbed ecosystem.

 

 

Located in the heart of Kolkata, the college is acutely conscious of the need to compensate for the carbon footprint of an urban institution. The drive involved the plantation of 11,000 indigenous fruit bearing trees, one for each student of the college. The produce of these four feet, fruit bearing trees will yield sustenance and commercial benefits for the locals in addition to enhancing the biodiversity of the area. This has been the biggest college-led tree plantation drive in Bengal. The objective of this project conceptualised by Sustainable Green Initiative, is to transform the economic conditions of the island by providing a sustainable source of nutrition and commerce within a period of four to five years during which each family can nurture the trees without disrupting the farming of their traditional crops.

A team of ninety, teachers and students, participated in the drive supported by Rotary Calcutta Victoria and Rotract Club Victoria. The group of students included Undergraduate and Postgraduate students of the Department of English and members of the NSS.   Five hundred high school students from the local schools had gathered for the program. Saplings were distributed amongst them following lunch. The sapling distribution was preceded by an address to the assembled school children by representatives of the collaborators as well as pioneering conservationists in the area like Mr. Anil Mistry and Mr. Pradeep Shukla, who are working on the ground. Dr. Suchandra Chakravarty, Teacher-in-Charge of the college also addressed the audience. The students of The Bhawanipur Education Society College also interacted with the school children and the locals. Through the interactions, they conducted a survey pertaining to problems faced by the residents of the region as a result of changing environmental conditions all over the world and the potential benefits of the plantation drive. The interactions brought the students from the city close to the grass-root level realities of those living in Sunderban.

The program further followed by students planting saplings with their name tags and watering the plants. The entire sequence of events created a great stir among the students towards climate change and its impact. The Project was a success as each student contributed profoundly for this day in an attempt to replenish the Sunderbans Green Splendour.