Diptanshu Das, a student of Class VII, B.D.M. International School, feels disheartened whenever people in his locality (Narendrapur) cut down trees.
“My home used to be so green, but now construction is taking over all the land there,” he said.
Now the boy has a space where he can replenish the loss.
Diptanshu was one of the 120 students from different city schools who were part of The Miyawaki Project, initiated by SIP Academy at Subhas Sarovar, on October 18. The event, renamed “Let us re-forest” saw SIP Academy starting its first Miyawaki forest project in the city.
The organisation planted 2,900 saplings at the inaugural event, 800 by the students. It included saplings of fruit trees, flowering plants, medicinal plants and others.
The attending students were similarly dressed in orange T-shirts and green or white caps. They were excited to tour the lake area before digging. Adrita Mukherjee of Class IX, Sri Chaitanya Techno School, Panihati, was excited to be part of a conservation project. “Through the project, we get to learn how to plant trees and conserve them. I would like to return and check on the sapling that I have planted. I hope it grows well,” she said.
Dinesh Victor, managing director and founder of SIP Academy, was impressed. “The Miyawaki concept began in Japan. It includes planting of trees in a very close area. The trees compete with each other for sunlight and try to grow faster as compared to the traditional methods. We wanted to make the students aware of these new methods,”
he said.
The chief guest was IAS officer Nandini Ghosh of the Metropolitan Development Authority. “Afforestation is essential for balancing our environment and reducing global warming. Young children should be aware of the importance of such activities,”
she said.
Also present from SIP Academy were Sarala Kulasekaran, director of finance operations (HR) and Shubhajit Mullick, regional manager (east). K. Selva Kumar, a consultant of the Miyawaki
Project, briefed the students about the project and sustainable living.
Class VI student Arnish Banerjee has only seen concrete in his neighbourhood. “There is at least one place that we are trying to make green. I hope the initiative spreads.”
SIP Academy has planted more than 23,000 trees across six cities. Mullick said: “Our goal is to have at least 50 Miyawaki forests in the next 10 years across the region.”