On the occasion of the World Environment Day, Grow-Trees.com and Vodafone India have announced a novel private initiative to benefit the wildlife corridor between Kanha-Pench wildlife reserves by planting 3, 00,000 trees over 3 years. The tree planting activities will be spread out over 100 hectares of forest land between the two reserves.
Handing over the first sapling to Pradip Shah, Co-Founder & Chairman of Grow-Trees.com, to formally launch the project, Marten Pieters, MD & CEO Vodafone India, said, "As a responsible corporate, Vodafone India is committed to initiatives that protect our environment and benefit the community. With this unique project, we will be able to offset the 33 million kg of carbon footprint generated by our offices every year for 3-years. In addition, we will be able to support livelihood opportunities, enable reforestation and facilitate habitat connectivity in tiger breeding areas. This is a win-win-win proposition for all - the organization, the community and the environment, exemplifying the true spirit of sustainability."
This project will create about 25,000 workdays of direct jobs mainly for women and tribals inhabiting the area in addition to supporting several allied livelihood generating activities such as farming, fruit and honey gathering etc. on a sustained basis. The site is in Sijhora Range and would be jointly protected by three villages - Majhipur, Jogisoda and Chandiya. A variety of trees, including Karani, Harra, Baheda, Bamboo, Khamer, Ladiya, Mango and Amla, that are local to the region will be planted. Saplings of these are already being grown in the special nurseries funded by Grow-Trees.com.
