Plant A Hope 6.0 – Phase 1
“Join us to grow and die as a beloved hope for Mother Earth!”
Plants are essential to all living creatures on Earth, providing important resources such as oxygen, water and food. As responsible inhabitants of the Earth, humans should avoid deforestation and prioritise planting trees.
As the Leo club of the University of
Colombo, we aim to promote awareness of the importance of planting trees in
society. Our first phase of the project involved building awareness about
plantations among young children. The program began on February 16th, 2024 at
Beruwala St. Lazarus Preschool, which has 24 students.
Before the program, we planned several activities for the children tailored to their age group. We planned to divide the children into three groups of eight and planned separate activities for each group and also planned two common activities for everyone, which included singing a song called "මොනවද මුත්තෙ මොකද කරන්නෙ" and planting a Mandarin tree in the preschool premises.
The separate activities included colouring a picture of a forest that we had created earlier, making a tree out of varnish paper, and attaching origami flowers and leaves to a tree trunk. The origami flowers and leaves were made by members of our club. The children were enthusiastic and actively participated in all activities.
One of the most significant common activities was planting a Mandarin tree. We dug a pit under the guidance of Rev. Father Janaka Costa, the headmaster of the preschool, and planted the tree with the chairperson of the project and an older child from the preschool. Each student was also allowed to water the planted tree.
There was something special that
happened after ending the session. After the program, we spoke with the two
teachers who taught the children. They raised concerns about drug dealing and
smuggling in the area and asked for a program to address this issue. We would
like to let the Leo Club of the University of Colombo know about this.
On that day, our team was guided and supported by the Leo Club committee, including the President. The president, Leo Shamod Gammanpila, and 1st Vice President, Leo Shehan Kumarasinghe, even visited the program to show their support and guidance. As a result, we were able to successfully and meaningfully end the first phase of the project "Plant a Hope 6.0," and plant hopes in the hearts of the children.
We are grateful to everyone who helped
make this program a success, including the Leo club executive committee
members, project committee members, the St. Lazarus preschool staff and
parents, Reverend Father Janaka Costa, and of course, all of you!
By,
Leo Thavin Dulnim.
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