One of my most cherished memories from school is picking and eating from a mulberry tree. But as Pakistan faces deforestation and water shortages, we are facing a lack of mulberry trees – and every other type of tree as well.
Our team in Pakistan wanted to play a part in turning things around.
Together, we organized a “300 Tree Planting Campaign,” in our non-formal schools across Islamabad, getting kids excited about planting trees – and bringing some new life to these neighborhoods.
This campaign reduces our environmental footprint, encourages community involvement, demonstrates the importance of teamwork, fosters responsibility among students, highlights the nutritional value of trees, incorporates water management, and raises awareness. So many wins!
To foster a sense of responsibility among students, we had each student adopt a tree, tying name tags around the trunks and as students pledged to take care of them.
The contribution from the community was inspiring – students, teachers, headmasters, local gardeners, and even the nursery farmer played a crucial role in making the campaign successful.
We were also inspired by the students’ enthusiasm for the campaign, and their enjoyment over having more trees in their lives. “I enjoy sitting in the shade of our Mango tree at home,” said Jonathan, one of the students, “eating its fruit, breathing the fresh air and thinking of my grandfather who planted it years ago.” What a great way to continue this family tradition!
Meet Rida! Rida works at Alight Islamabad office as Training and Reporting Officer. She hopes to assist in professional development of teachers in every corner of Pakistan through the online teacher training platform. She believes that no action is small, as long as it has a positive impact! So she is working towards lighting the world, a smile at a time.
