Inspired by his daughter, Shivam Goyal starts an organisation, 'Ek Kadam Samridh Bharat Ki Aur', in a bid towards environmental conservation

Human society and the global economy are inextricably linked to forests. More than 1 billion people depend on forests for their livelihoods. Forests and trees make vital contributions to both people and the planet, bolstering livelihoods, providing clean air and water, conserving biodiversity and diminishing the effects of climate change.

As per recent research by World Resources Institute (WRI), India has lost over 1.6 million hectare of tree cover between 2001 and 2018, about four times the geographical area of Goa. Though the Indian forest cover has recovered by a very small percentage in the past few years, it is certainly not enough to negate the overall side effects caused by loss of trees.

Several reasons such as increasing population, deforestation due to commercial use of  trees, urbanization, increased industrialization and heightened pressure from agricultural process are all contributing factors towards loss of tree cover in our country.

Shivam Goyal an alumni of Nand Lal Sekhri Saraswati Shishu Mandir, Ram Nagar, Meerut, UP had learnt about the importance of trees since his school days, but a huge turning point in his life came when he heard his daughter advocating the importance of planting trees to others. Inspired by the incident, he started an organisation,'Ek Kadam Samridh Bharat Ki Aur’ on his daughter’s birthday (16th July 2016), with the aspiration of doing something good for the society at the grassroots level.

Since its inception the organisation has grown exponentially. More than 2000 people have participated in 38 programs pertaining to tree plantation and environmental protection coordinated under the banner of the organisation. It is responsible for planting more than 2500 trees till now.

Mr. Goyal also runs frequent public campaigns to educate people on the importance of tree plantation, with major emphasis on children. He believes that children are the most impressionable and developing good habits such as thinking about one’s environment, is the most effective during this period.

Mr. Goyal believes that the future generation will be more empathetic about the environment and hopefully put more effort towards its conservation. He is convinced that any work started with good intention is always successful in spite of the hurdles faced and would like to share the same message with all students of Vidya Bharati.
 

If you have a similar inspirational story to share with fellow Vidya Bharati alumni community, kindly email us at : info@vidyabharatialumni.org