To celebrate 100 years of Soroptimism in 2021, Soroptimists across the globe were challenged to commemorate a century of work supporting women and girls throughout the world. Many chose to plant trees, which would not only benefit our environment now but stand as our gift to generations to come, providing a lasting legacy for SI’s 100 years of work.
Here in Surrey Hills we are fortunate enough to live in one of the most leafy counties in England. We decided therefore to plant our trees elsewhere. Our Soroptimist Sisters in SI South Kolkata were supporting a challenging project to re-establish mangrove plantations in the Sunderbans at the head of the Bay of Bengal in partnership with Kolkata Society for Cultural Heritage’ (KSCH), a leading social enterprise in Eastern India. The aim of the project was to restore the mangrove forest which was all but destroyed by super cyclone Amphan in 2020, leading to the loss of housing, crops and livelihoods, by planting a community forest of new mangrove trees.
We have donated to this amazing venture and the funds we have sent have funded 527 mangrove saplings. We can’t wait to see the completed plantation!
To learn more about the Community Forest and see the planting project in action, click here.
For a certificate saying where our saplings have been planted, please see here: SI Surrey Hills Tree Planting Certificate.