Washington, Dec 11, 2019 (Yes Punjab News)
Sikh community members pledged to support the support the plantation of Guru Nanak Sacred Forests in Punjab and other parts of India. Over 250 people joined EcoSikh 7th Gala event to celebrate organization’s tenth anniversary and support its agenda to combat climate change by planting forests in Punjab and elsewhere in the world.
Guests enthusiastically donated and pledged to fund the planting of 100 Guru Nanak Sacred forests to help EcoSikh reach its target of planting 1 million trees in honor of Guru Nanak’s 550th birth-anniversary.
EcoSikh has planted 120 mini forests of 550 trees of native species in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujrat, Delhi, Jammu and in Chandigarh.
Shubhendu Sharma of Afforest gripped the audience with his insightful speech. Tarlok Singh Chugh’s witty and funny jokes had people burst into laughter. Gurleen Kaur Chhabra, a singer from Dallas, Texas, opened the evening with Guru Nanak’s shabad ‘Pavan Guru, Pani Pita’ and she entertained the audience with her songs.
Shubendhu Sharma, the keynote speaker at the event, said, “I am privileged to be associated with this project to restore nature’s imbalance in Punjab and other parts of India by planting sacred forests. India and many other parts of the world is facing a pollution crisis and it is affecting the health of our children. Planting a forest is the best investment for our collective future.”
EcoSikh’s Global President Dr. Rajwant Singh, said, “Climate change is the greatest threat facing the world and world religions have a great role to play to solve this crisis. EcoSikh is committed to carry on the vision of Guru Nanak and will work with the world community on the climate issues. We feel that planting a forest in our backyard, schools, colleges, and gurdwaras can go a long way to purify our surroundings and make a dent in carbon sequestering.”
He added, “We are very thankful to the Washington area community for supporting EcoSikh from last ten years and this is only town where we have had 7 fundraising events to support the environmental work and they ought to congratulated for their proactive approach. “
Ameeta Vohra, EcoSikh Washington Team member, thanked the audience and said, “EcoSikh was able to convince a large section of the Washington community that Climate is a major issue and that this organization needs the support for this critical work.”
Dr. Gunpreet Kaur, EcoSikh Washington Coordinator, said, “We are overwhelmed by the response of the community. We are very hopeful that we will be able to reach our target by November 2020 when we would celebrate Guru Nanak’s 551st birthday.”
Rasna Kaur Lamba, EcoSikh Team member, said, “People loved the program which was informative, inspirational, enjoyable and made people laugh and have good time. People travelled from long distances to be part of this memorable evening.”
Members of Sikhs of America, Guru Gobind Singh Foundation, Gurdwara Gyan Sagar, and many individuals stepped forward to sponsor 5 forests each. Members of Gurdwara Raaj Khalsa and Sikh Human Development Foundation came to support this cause.
Meenu Nandra, EcoSikh Team member, said, “Thanks to many volunteers who worked day and night to make this evening a great success. We are also thankful to American Forests, the oldest environmental organization in United States for their representation to support EcoSikh.”
Ravneet Singh, EcoSikh’s South Asia Program Manager, especially came from India to participate. He informed the audience that all the trees planted in the ten months in the Guru Nanak Sacred Forests are thriving. He said, “These forests have become the seed banks for the native species and we have been able to preserve the disappearing species of trees in Punjab and other parts of India. We need the support of everyone so we can continue this important work.”
Jad Daley, CEO of American Forests, said, “We are looking forward to our partnership with EcoSikh to save Earth’s environment and we are impressed by the incredible energy tonight.”
