She collaborated with Grow-Trees.com which is completing 14 years of afforestation projects across the country
This May, actress Dia Mirza celebrated the third birthday of her son Avyaan in the garden of her home and as always it was a zero waste, plastic-free, green spirited and joyful occasion. Upcycled cloth banners and buntings, reusable cups made of crop waste, bamboo cutlery and bagasse plates made the celebrations truly eco-conscious. However, what made the birthday even more memorable was Dia’s unique idea of offering trees as return gifts to each one of the little attendees. The trees have been planted in Uttarakhand with the help by Grow-Trees.com which completes 14 years this year.
Dia says, “I have collaborated with Grow-Tree.com before too and this time, I wanted to support their Trees for Ecotourism™ project in Uttarakhand. We owe the gift of a healthy planet to our children and every tree we plant today will help mitigate climate change, beat pollution and restore biodiversity. All of us can do our bit to change the discourse around climate change with simple actions. We can start by making simple choices that are climate conscious and help expand the green cover of eco-sensitive areas by planting or dedicating trees.”
Dia’s green gesture will support the plantation project being implemented by Grow-Trees.com in the Kyarkuli Bhatta Van Panchayat of Mussoorie district in Uttarakhand. The enhanced green cover will not only nurture biodiversity but also sequester carbon, promote ecotourism and generate rural employment for the local population.
Pradip Shah, the co-founder of Grow-Trees.com adds, “Uttarakhand usually receives few spells of snowfall in December, January and February, but this frequency has reduced due to deforestation, construction activities and global warming. The unstable rain cycle is also impacting the local economy which is primarily dependent on tourism. Planting more trees is one of the simplest ways to counter climate change and reduce its impact on tourism, local ecology and livelihoods.”
Since its inception in 2010, Grow-Trees.com has planted over 19 million trees across 23 Indian states and generated over 1.6 million workdays. Trees for Ecotourism™ in Uttarakhand has planted over 400,00 trees and these include species such as Madhavi Latha (Hiptage Benghalensis), Aadu/ Peach (Prunuspersica), White orchid tree (Bauhinia picta), Redbud tree (Oklahoma Redbud tree), Guava (Psidiumguajava), Kandis (Garciniacowa) and many more.
About Grow-Trees.com: Grow-Trees.com is a pioneering, web-enabled and cost-effective social enterprise that aims to popularize the practice of ‘Greet with Trees®’ around the world. With the mission of mitigating climate change and promoting trees as a sustainable and meaningful gift, we have developed thematic planting programs such as Trees for Tigers®, Trees for Tribals®, Trees for Rivers, etc. Grow-Trees also has tree plantation projects for carbon credits to help corporations offset their carbon footprint. Every project generates employment for local communities and aims to address the socio-environmental challenges in a region through tree planting. Individuals and companies can dedicate the trees they plant via an eTreeCertificate® delivered online on important occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, festivals, etc.; the trees can also be used to welcome new employees, honor customers, event speakers and acknowledge dignitaries.
