Name: Debolina Sen (picture right)

Age: 40

Claim to fame: A school teacher by day, she has worked tirelessly for the environment. Sen plants trees wherever she can, but mostly in unutilised places.

Sen fell in love with trees when she was quite young. “My mother used to plant a lot of trees and took great care of them. She is my inspiration. I now spend more on plants and fertilisers than on jewellery,” she says.

Pet project: Sen became a full-fledged green activist about seven years back. Ling Liang High School in Bowbazar, where she teaches, had three tiny open plots in front. They were barren except for a couple of trees.

“I took the initiative to plant saplings there. Initially, there was resistance from a section of local people. It took years of effort to make the plants grow,” says Sen.

Some of the deodar, Krishnachura and Radhachura saplings were procured from the forest department, while she and her students brought the rest.

Those who helped: Sen refuses to take sole credit for the success. “Principal Shipra Biswas, the students, other teachers and even the Group IV staff supported me.”

Even the hawkers near the school now water the plants during vacations. “I had to threaten them by saying that if they did not take care of the trees, I would ask the students not to buy snacks from them,” smiles Sen.

She has also planted saplings in the park that her Lake Town house overlooks. “It was barren a couple of years ago. I planted bamboo and mango trees. A local club converted it into a children’s park.” She does not mind screaming at neighbours and passersby if they tear leaves.

Green dream: For most of the 16 years Sen has been working as a teacher, she has been motivating her students to conserve the environment.

“Parents and students are so busy these days that talking about social responsibilities with them has become difficult. I try to do my bit,” says Sen, who also runs an NGO that works primarily with children.