The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development held in June 2012 in Rio de Janeiro and the more recent Doha Climate Change Conference of December 2012 were two of the latest high-level meetings that reminded us, once again, that the Earth’s resources are going downhill.
Now that we’ve entered a new year, it is time for new resolutions so why not aim high this time? Apart from your usual day-to-day challenges in which you promise yourself to go to the gym at least twice a week, to reduce the cigarettes you smoke by half and to take it easy on the alcohol intake, how about adding another resolution: to save the Earth!
The truth of the matter is that we all accept the fact that we’re slowly but surely destroying the world we live in and we do want to chip in and save it. Unfortunately, most of us can’t afford to reduce our carbon footprint by switching from our decade-old fuel-consuming rides to more ecologically designed cars. Who has the money for that?
Part of the problem with the world today is that everybody is busy making money while forgetting some of the other more important issues that plague our planet, such as child abuse, wildlife trafficking and climate change. Still, you and I and our next-door neighbours are all destroying Mother Earth and if we don’t act fast, our great-grandchildren might not get to know the world as we do now.
So, the question that arises is: What can we do? How about planting a tree through the PATT Foundation? Trees are key components to the global ecosystem and this is neatly suggested in PATT’s logo, which is nothing else but two trees with full, green canopies and the sun shining happily above.
PATT stands for “plant a tree today” and it is a foundation that, ever since its foundation in 2005, has taken action against deforestation and climate change through native forest restoration. Although PATT is a UK registered charity and Thai foundation, it also has offices in Indonesia, Malaysia, India, and South Africa.
The Country Manager for Thailand is Jane Bailey, a Bangkok-based activist who has lived and worked here for the past twelve years. She is in charge of organizing tree-planting trips aimed at school children, families, and adult volunteers.
In Bangkok, PATT Thailand organizes frequent excursions to Phra Padaeng, an area also known as “the lungs of Bangkok” located south of the capital and across the Chao Phraya River. Here, apart from enjoying a nature walk, you can also do your bit in saving the world by planting seeds and pricking out saps in their tree nursery as well as planting trees in the community forest.
If you feel like getting out of Bangkok, then Jane can take you on an organized trip to Khao Yai where you can learn about the environment and the specific flora of the region and, of course, plant trees.
Apart from the actual act of planting trees, there are many other ways you can help save the environment. Again, without spending a single baht, you can contribute by simply speaking up and spreading the word. Our environment is not a topic only for the Discovery Channel but it concerns all of us, from students to office workers, from billionaires to politicians. So don’t be shy about posting on your Facebook wall the small contributions you make towards a greener Earth and if you have a blog or a website or a Twitter account, take the time to write a few words about the importance of cleaner air.
If you’re more of a person who likes to mingle with the masses, then joining a fundraiser with PATT might be just the thing you were looking for. As fundraising and volunteer work go hand in hand, you can also sign up for PATT’s Environmental Outreach and Advocacy Program and inspire your community to take action and care for their environment.
Planting trees is also a great family activity. What better way of spending the weekend can you image other than taking your son or daughter out in the nature, digging holes in the ground and planting trees? Even if you don’t have children of your own, you can volunteers in the EcoKids program and help supervise kids in PATT’s environmental school holiday camps.
The importance of trees has been the subject of hundreds of pages of academic papers but, for the sake of clarity, here are only eight reasons why you should plant a tree:
1) Trees absorb carbon dioxide, which is bad for us.
2) Trees produce oxygen, which we all need to survive.
3) Trees provide a habitat for wildlife.
4) Trees help prevent soil erosion.
5) Trees are a key factor in water conservation (and we all remember what happened in 2011 during the rainy season).
6) Trees can control temperature, which means that, in Bangkok, more trees means a cooler climate.
7) Trees can assist in the remediation of land, in other words, trees clean the soil.
8) Trees help us achieve a positive frame of mind.
The PATT Foundation has a holistic approach to climate change, which they see as the biggest challenge facing our world. Help them save the world one tree at a time. It will cost you next to nothing, but the impact you’ll make on the environment might last for centuries. Find out more about other PATT activities and how you can get involved on their website.
If you’re a big tree lover, join the great people at BIGTreesProject who, in 2011, were at the helm of a wonderful campaign aimed at indentifying the biggest, the tallest, the most beautiful, and the public’s most favourite trees in Bangkok.
Nature photography by Regin Reyno
Initially published in “Bangkok Trader” (Vol.7, No.3, February 2013)
