ON Dec 14, this 69-year-old had the privilege of watching smartly dressed kindergarten (KG) students of a school in the Soldier Bazar area plant 85 saplings of fruit-bearing trees along with other old and young volunteers. The school is located in the heart of Karachi, and has 3,000 plus students from KG all the way to matri-culation. It has a huge cricket ground and a proper school building. The school turned 85 recently, and it was celebrated by planting 85 fruit-bearing trees.

All the teachers, including their principal, participated in the event. The children, assisted by their teachers and parents, planted the trees. The trees were donated by a group formed by a young, energetic business school graduate to make Karachi green.

These young children will water and look after these trees. Soon, the trees will outgrow their planters and nurturers, and start to bear fruit by the time these KG students reach class IV. Their fruits will attract parrots, bulbuls, cuckoos, butterflies and bees.

These living elements are becoming rare in Karachi, especially in the densely populated areas like Soldier Bazar. They will add some more shade for birds, animals and humans.

All public and private schools should follow suit. This simple yet significant step will certainly help us overcome the rising pollution in the city, and preserve whatever wildlife we have left in this concrete jungle called Karachi.

S. Nayyar Iqbal Raza
Karachi

Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2024