By Ayachi Mishra
As the decades are crossing, so are we entering into the realm of more buildings, more industries, expanded commercial institutions and so on, but all at the cost of tearing down our life provider, our forests and the earth. Not long ago in the last century, our Earth was enveloped with bird-chirps, lion-roars, wolf-caves, human shelters, flower gardens and what not! But look at the vexatious make-up of the human-kind (or maybe just human subtracted from kind), where now we are all gathered in the commercial and materialistic environment, far from the Mother Nature who use to nurture us. Now it’s time for us to shed our planet with care and protection.
The Mountains
Our mountains whether it be – the Himalayas covered with snow – or the Catskills hills covered with forest – are the foremost thing we need to conserve. Ask Why? Because they are hard to conquer and the only monuments left to be exploited hugely. So, what should we do? Yes, you might be thinking to volunteer in mountain conservation programs but, what for those who aren’t free for a huge duration of the program? The good news is that we need not do anything, yes you read it right. Just leave the mountains as it is, and that’s what you can do.
Confused? Well, what I mean to say is that, if you’re on a visit or trek to the mountains, as an individual what you can do is:
- Take back your garbage (or collect them and dump them later to the trash can)
- Don’t litter the area
- If in a forested mountain, avoid using fire as much as you can
- Avoid taking your stuff in plastic bags- PLEASE!
And don’t try to hurt the feelings of the mountain and its family animals in any manner.
Deforestation and Habitat Factor
So how can we draw the line between the mentioned factors? Individually, to ensure habitat is conserved, we must first learn to respect the land where we belong to. It includes promoting organic foods, support eateries and shops which are not using plastic products etc. Also, increase awareness for conserving natural habitat and its animals.
- Educate people about endangered and threatened species on Earth
- How they are important and how they must be protected
- If the people belong to the arena of habitat, inform them about sustainable development
- Edify people about poaching and trafficking- and how they’re both illegal and unjust
Now to combat deforestation, we must on an individual level ensure that we plant a tree once a year at least and teach one person a year about deforestation. Other things include restricting deforestation to certain areas by government assistance, restoring barren lands, and most important to support and help afforestation.
Broader Aspects
For keeping up with forests and biodiversity on our earth, one can contribute financially by investing in campaigns that are really doing something for nature. (Always check before investing your money.) Also, there must be bodies that ensure such forest management units are doing their job without any swindling. The government should realize that safeguarding forest, their flora and fauna, must require amendments and time to time inspection for the same. Even the sensitive planting of non-native species must be banned if we have to preserve our ecosystem.
What can we do?
After everything, how can we ensure our contribution to Mother Nature? Well, here are a few steps that you can follow:
- Shifting to Geo related energy resources for small tasks
- Lessen plastic consumption and plastic wastes
- Donate a weekend at least once every three months for gardening activities and nature programs
- Switching off lights while we leave the room
- If possible, take short showers
- Avoiding littering and teach others too to not litter
- Check your food for the organic factor and keep away from consuming genetically modified foods
- Go for the products having eco-friendly nature
- Recycle as much as you can
- Love nature – Yes you can do it!
Conclusion
In order to sustain the ecosystem, I think each one of us must oath to preserve it. Let’s just not invest in hoardings and money schemes for awareness, but more in the actual requirement of the process. Let’s educate our people and let’s do the most we can. Because it’s not nature or earth who owe to us but we who keep on exploiting it. And don’t forget to – water a plant each day. Keep trying!
