Bangalore: World Environment Day is celebrated across the Earth on the 5^th of June, every year. People from different walks of life, participate in the event and extend their support for the protection of our planet.

One environment movement, which is gaining a lot of momentum by encouraging the common man to be a part of the ‘tree planting and environment conserving process’ is One Tree by One Person.

WHAT IS “ONE TREE BY ONE PERSON” ALL ABOUT?

  One Tree by One Person, a revolutionary movement to make India and the world greener was introduced by Environmentalist U.S. Moinuddin in the year 2002. The agenda of this movement is to encourage tree planting and educate the masses about the role of trees in our ecosystem.

People love trees, but most of them do not make an effort to plant them as they get engrossed in their day-to-day activities. To make tree planting more realistic and easier, U.S. Moinuddin began to promote the idea of “One Tree by One person,” according to which, a person is required to plant at least one sapling during their lifetime and take care of it. The city of Bangalore is a home to a crore people, if every resident takes an initiative of planting one sapling, then the city will have 1 Crore trees in addition to the trees that already exist. If every Indian takes an initiative of planting a sapling, then there would be 124 crore trees. Likewise, if every person across the earth plants a sapling, then there will be 7.2 billion trees in addition to the trees that already exist.

How does one plant so many trees in overcrowded cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, and Kolkatta? That is the usual question asked by many.

“Nature gives us varieties of trees. Where there is more space you can plant Rain trees, Melia Dubia, Matti, Gulmohar, Mango, Tamarind and other big trees, where there is less space you can plant Silver Oak, Honge, Singapore cherry and other small and medium size trees.”Moinuddin answers. He further states, “Planting a sapling may be easy, but protecting the sapling so that it grows up into a mature tree requires a sense of responsibility. Hence, I ask people to   get emotionally connected with a tree that they have planted and treat it as though it is a member of their family.”

This movement is attracting people of all age groups. Students across schools and colleges, office employees, housewives, factory workers and others have sworn to plant trees and make our environment healthy and beautiful. U.S. Moinuddin has been constantly meeting people and encouraging them to support this campaign where one can witness a Greener India and a Greener Earth. He also takes out rallies, encourages skits and plays for the cause of the environment and distributes saplings for free.

One Tree by One Person has also attracted supporters from Bangladesh, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Bahrain, Poland, Russia, New Zealand and America.

Global Warming is a serious problem; the Earth is becoming warmer and warmer as a result of the toxic gases generated from the vehicles, forest fires, factories and deforestation. As a result, the Polar ice caps can melt, rising the sea levels. When the sea levels rise, islands such as Lakshadweep, Maldives, and hundreds of other islands including the Southern part of India, which is a Peninsula can get submerged under water. Planting trees can slow down the global warming process to a very large extent.

With the concept of One Tree by One Person, the deserts can become green, the barren lands can become productive, the temperature in the cities will decrease, and the trees will attract rain replenishing the decreasing water table. This is one campaign that will truly make the Earth a greener place to live in.

SUPPORTERS SPEAK:

 One Tree by One Person is an environmentally friendly project which helps in maintaining natural environmental temperature by planting trees. By such doing, we build a world free of Global Warming.

     – Datti Usman, Nigeria

I appreciate and thank Moinuddin for giving me an opportunity to be a part of One Tree by One Person.

I would go through Moin’s posts on Facebook and often wonder, why is he planting trees all the time, is it really important to plant a tree, but when I moved to Washington from Bangalore, I was surrounded by high tech glass buildings. Subsequently, I started making a small garden in my balcony which made me feel good.  Every morning, I felt like the plants were communicating with me, and I noticed all stages of their growth. My life styled changed, I felt more active after my garden started growing.

Just imagine land without trees in our near future and oxygen masks being supplied just for us to breathe, if this happens we will not be able to lead a healthy life in the future. Trees are very important and I would suggest every member in a family should plant a tree of their own and take good care of it.

 Monisha Ramachandran, Sammamish, Washington

In the last century, we have lived with much disregard to nature and each other. I am a supporter of One Tree by One Person, as I believe that planting a tree can create a shift in awareness. Planting a tree together reminds us of our connection with each other and nature. As more people reconnect, I believe we can create a new world, a sustainable world where we care for one another; a world which works for all

Richard Alexander, Netherlands

To plant one tree is not a big deal; it is a good way to clean the planet of toxic gases. The same

cleaning process takes place when each and every one becomes responsible enough to throw out garbage in a responsible manner rather than littering it around the surroundings.

Yana Ryabinina, Karelia, Russian Federation