National Awareness for Plantation Campaign 2011-2012 (March 12, 2012)
Venue: Vikrampur Vilage, Gwalior
SETU organized a campaign on “National Awareness for plantation & Importance of saving the Trees/ Forests” at ‘Vikrampur’, a local village near the city, in association with EPCO.
The event was set up with an objective to enlighten the local population about global warming, how important the trees are to us, the actual ways of plantation along with the conduct in which they can be taken care of & can be retained for a longer time.
The following pointers were discussed with the participants in detail:
1) Plantation of more and more trees can be a solution to Global warming.
2) Gardening can be also done at a smaller scale to initiate. It ranges in scale from fruit orchards, to long boulevard plantings.
3) Plantation (gardening) can be a way not only to promote greenery but it can also be a way to earn living, by growing seasonal vegetation or fruits perhaps and selling it in vegetable markets or ‘Sabzi Mandis’
4) Simple steps to be followed before, during and after the plantation :
• Proper knowledge is required for planting a particular tree (including knowledge of particular tree, type of environment required, season etc)
• Soil tests are required to be done, to know the type and quality of soil and the type of plantation suitable for that soil.
• Right amount of water, fertilizers requirement is equally important.
• The plantation shall be done at evening hours depending on various factors, as daytime temperatures may harm the plant.
• The plantation of small plants and trees shall be done at certain distance to avoid damaging the roots.
• Trimming of a plant is also important.
• Extracting unwanted weeds around the plants and trees as they may harm the growth
• If the plants are bending on one side, one may take care of it by tying it with a stick.
• Save the trees from pesticides and insecticides by putting required chemicals or organic substitutes without harming the plants.
• Save the trees from extreme sun by making small huts (Green house plantation)
• To avoid animals to eat the plants, put tree guards wherever required.
• Regular maintenances are required up till two years.
5) Children’s contribution towards the plantation:
• Trees are being cut for many reasons one of them is making papers, pencils and erasers etc, Children to try to save on these i.e. avoid wastage .
• Recycling of paper, so that it can be used in for various purposes.
• School participation with guidance from teachers can also be fruitful
• Maintaining kitchen gardens
6) Keeping the outer surroundings & water bodies clean and pollution free.
7) Using of paper bags instead of poly bags.
Recycle & reuse of water, where possible.
9) Disposal of wastes into degradable (organic wastes) and non degradable for recycling.
For plantation, SETU distributed plants like Mango, Jack tree (Kathal), Manilkara zapota (Chikoo) trees etc, among the participants. Plantation demonstrations were given to the crowd along with tips to maintain them for long term sustainability. Pamphlets/flyers were also distributed which covered all the related information. The reaction from the participants seemed positive and enthusiastic. They also contributed with more ideas of their own to address the issue.
“Say no to Polybags”- SETU observes World Environment day (5th June 2011)
World Environment day was observed at SETU with the theme “Say no to polythene”. On the occasion, a session spreading awareness about environmental issues was organized in City mall atGwalior.
In the event, SETU team members made people aware of the ban on polythenes in Gwalior and asked them to share their views on it. Most of the people appreciated the ban and said that such steps are necessary to protect the environment but still many did not take any pro-active steps to minimize the use of polybags. SETU team told the harmful effects that polythene usage poses on the environment and requested people to carry their own reusable shopping bags like cotton and newspaper bags.. Also, the importance of using recycled eco-friendly products was explained. .A lot of eco-friendly alternatives were displayed which can replace polybags, such as recycled newspaper bags, re-usable cloth shopping bags, recycled fabric bags, natural fibre bags, recycled cassette tape bags etc.
Another topic discussed at length was vehicular pollution that occurs as a result of smoke generated from vehicles. People were told that proper maintenance of vehicles is one of the solutions to it.
The highlights of the occasion included an `environment day’ quiz featuring an eco questionnaire. Ecofriendly bags made from recycled material were given away as prizes to those with high environmental I.Q.!!
2nd International Conference on Climate change and Sustainable Management of Natural resources (5- 7 December, 2010)
SETU team co-organized a conference on climate change and Green marketing with ITM Universe, a prestigious management school of Gwalior. The conference span over a period of 3 days from 5-7 Dec. 2010
Keynote speakers in the conference were Mr. David Wittenberg (CEO, Innovation Workgroup); his clients include prestigious companies like Godrej, Ranbaxy, Infosys, etc.; Mr.N. Raghu Raman ( leading columnist and Journalist); Ms. Rashmi Dhariwal (Founder and CEO, SETU Consortium); and Swami Sarvanand Saraswati ji (Motivational speaker)
Corporate houses Godrej and JK Tyre gave case study presentations in the 3 day conference.
Green Marketing Session – 6 Dec. 2010
“Going green is the need of the hour” was the topic of discussion in the Green Marketing Session. In the present scenario, where customers re not much aware about the green concept and therefore show less inclination to buy green products; green Marketing has a long way to go. The speakers stressed on the fact that the future of green marketing is entirely in the hands of youth; only they can bring changes in people’s perception.
Mr. David Wittenberg addressing the green marketing session and SETU team head Rashmi speaking at the Green Marketing Session.
SETU shared its views on “going green”. Rashmi Dhariwal said that SETU envisions of a “self sustainable green world”, a world free of poverty and suffering and discussed about the various activities which SETU is carrying out to achieve this long term vision. She revealed the fact that SETU believes in an ecofriendly tomorrow pertaining to which all products at SETU are sustainable & eco-friendly. In her opinion, fears of climate change can be a history only when sustainable practices are followed with commitment.
Development of eco-friendly sustainable products:
SETU is committed for environmental & social assurance. SETU believes that good working conditions and the protection of the environment are prerequisites for the well being of our planet & its people. SETU emphasizes on development of eco-friendly sustainable products, through eco-friendly processes. Our partner artisans are trained to work safely, to value time, energy and raw materials and to follow environmental waste, chemical and emission management procedures. Therefore, the products & manufacturing processes are eco-friendly & sustainable. We encourage development of recycled, natural, organic and handmade products.
World Environment Day-5th June 2010
This year, the World Environment Day was celebrated at SETU with an exciting theme “Know & save your environment” which is selected with a view to generate awareness on environment related issues. The whole activity took place in Dindayal city mall at Gwalior where the target participants were store owners, small shopkeepers/retailers & end customers. SETU team explained the importance of using eco-friendly products to the people. A lot of eco-friendly alternatives were displayed which can replace polybags, such as recycled newspaper bags, re-usable cloth shopping bags, recycled fabric bags, natural fibre bags, recycled cassette tape bags etc.
Customers were also requested to bring their own reusable shopping bags while shopping to reduce the use of poly bags. The highlight of the occasion was an `environment day’ quiz featuring a simple questionnaire. Lots of prizes (which consisted of eco-friendly jute bags as well as lead free fashion jewelry) were also announced & distributed in the end to motivate people.
Earth Day-22nd APRIL 2010
Planting trees not only reduces environmental pollution but it calms our minds too. With this view, SETU celebrated the 40th anniversary of “Earth Day” by doing plantation in a dilapidated park at Gwalior.. In the present scenario, where the environment is full of pollution and no. of trees are reducing day by day, it’s one of the most needed step to reduce our carbon footprints.
We also motivated the neighborhood children to join us. SETU team and the young saviors together planted trees. Since the future is in children’s hand, it is very important that green living habits are inculcated in them and they are made aware about such important events.
A small effort to replenish mother Earth! This exercise needs to be done as often as possible and one should not wait for an occasion like Earth Day to do such things. By celebrating Earth day in this simple manner, we just wanted to send a message to the people that it is easy to plan and participate in such events.
A step forward towards preserving the environment
Pollution prevention day is observed annually on 2nd December with a motive to create awareness on environment related issues. SETU, going by its green policy, observed this day by holding a workshop among the management students of Jiwaji University, Gwalior. The session started with a power packed presentation by our President Rashmi, explaining the various contributors in polluting the environment.
The highlight of the presentation was solving environmental issues through fair Trade. Many topics were discussed like Greenhouse effect, climate change, recycling of products and the like. Several quizzes were set in between the session to increase student participation and for monitoring the level of awareness present in the students about the environment. Students were asked in advance to bring at least one practical tip to prevent pollution, a day before. Several green prizes were given for the best tips and the quiz winners.The students were suggested to adopt the “Go Green” lifestyle. The advice was accepted by students with open arms. They committed to plan some green activities in close association with SETU society along with the campaign of promoting green living.
