LAHORE | Years of rapid industrial growth, deforestation and urbanization have left Pakistan’s residents facing rising temperatures and blanketed its cities in smog. But in August, a group of Seeds-led volunteers gathered to help fight back, one newly-planted tree at a time.
In just 40 minutes, 28 Seeds, educators and supporters planted 160 trees in the Aashiana section of Lahore. A dozen Seeds took part; there were also three Pakistani Seeds of Peace Educators in attendance. The initiative was led by a group of 2014 and 2017 Seeds.
In recent years initiatives have been put into place by the Pakistani government and various groups to plant a billion trees in the country, which was leading Asia in deforestation at one time.
The Seeds are also planning to continue their work in fighting the problem of deforestation—but next time, they’ll bring more trees.
“We could have easily done 300 with the current volunteer pool,” said Qasim, a 2001 Pakistani Seed. “Keeping this in mind, the Seeds will be conducting another plantation drive!”