WASHINGTON: As part of its climate action, EcoSingh, a US-based Sikh organisation, has declared the planting of 400 forests in India and other countries. EcoSikh announced on Sikh Environment Day (SED) that they had planted a forest of 1150 trees in Ireland and 500 trees in Derbyshire, the United Kingdom. A forest comprising 250 trees was also planted in Canada. Based in Washington DC, this organisation has collaborated with local governments and gurudwaras for this project.
Hundreds of people from all around the world have joined the community-based Sacred Forest project, which has evolved into a grass roots movement. Rajwant Singh, Founder and President of EcoSikh, says that all of the trees planted are surviving in these healthy forests, which is a significant step toward reducing the impact of climate change. According to him, EcoSikh has planted trees in numerous Indian states over the past 36 months, including Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Jammu. There are 550 native species of trees in each forest. These trees were planted using the Japenese methodology of Miyawaki and identified on Google maps across Punjab and India. Miyawaki is an afforestation technique, developed by the award-winning Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, which helps grow dense and native forests fast.
Many Gurdwaras and Sikh institutions throughout the world participate in SED every year by taking action to conserve environment and reduce carbon footprints. For the community to take action on SED, EcoSikh produced a tool kit that includes solar panels, an organic langar, nature walks, and LED light switches.