The issue of Climate change and its effects are hugely accelerating. Human beings still have not quite grasped the concept and continue to act in their mindless ways. Global warming is considered one of the major reasons for this condition of the planet, for which the ecosystem needs to be taken care of.
In these trying times mostly the youth have taken the matter in their hands to help aware people and do their bit. One of them is a Bhubaneswar based undergrad student Simran Chhotray, who has opened her organization, ‘Guardians of Greenery’ to aware people of the impending doom on our planet. Simran is one of the few people who devote ample amount of time to themselves and are always seen around with their nose deep into a book. When asked to describe herself briefly, she said, “I mostly like to spend time reading books and staying at home because I get uncomfortable around people. My life has always revolved around books, poetry, and art until now.”
Being around nature has always been something that brings eternal solace to her. “Since my childhood, I was always surrounded by plants and trees due to my father who looks after them with the utmost care and affection. In a way, I have grown up with Mother Nature and this is something which will always form an important aspect about me,” she shared.
On her decision of suddenly starting an organization all by herself, she said, “During the last few months I started reading tons of articles about the way things have been conspiring on Earth. It used to make me uneasy to think about the way people were deteriorating the very nature which I grew up with. At the end of the day, I didn’t want to be someone who is quite conscious of the situation but still cannot do anything about it; thereby making me come up with this idea.” “Even though I was quite skeptical about the whole thing, I wanted to be someone to bring a change or at least try to. This is the minimum I can do for the precious environment I have been a part of till now,” she added.
Simran received an overwhelming response from people who were interested in this particular cause. She was almost taken by surprise when she realized that so many people want to bring a change too, just like her. “For someone prone to numerous panic attacks when surrounded by a lot of people, carrying forth with this organization was a huge deal. There were always a lot of events to be conducted and interactions involving a huge crowd. This did take a toll on me initially but I didn’t want my fear to take over my courage,” she mentioned.
Guardians of greenery or GoG Bhubaneswar has been continuously organizing events in places where they can get a huge number of people. They also take up plantation drives in certain societies and slums, in turn, interacting with the people about the importance of plants and trees. Simran also talks at length about the full-fledged planning of several events. Meticulous planning helps in the long run, and she says, “Whenever we visit a place for the execution of an event, we divide groups. The discussion group is the one wherein the members go around discussing the needful and the feedback group tries to take suggestions and feedback from the people present there. On one hand, the members of the cleaning group make sure to clean the place where the event was conducted, while on the other hand, the donation group members try to make people donate for this cause.”
Simran continues to talk about the main goal that she has envisioned for herself. She says, “I want to make this a better place for everyone to live in. I dream of a utopia where people don’t intend to violate the nature that surrounds them. Through this organization, I want to educate people about the environmental issues as well as make them work towards it with the same courage and determination that I possess.”
Guardians of Greenery has faced many hurdles along the way when it first started. The lack of support from a lot of people as well as not getting enough scope were a few of the major reasons. A lot of their events had to be canceled amidst the pandemic, but the members are willing enough to come through all of this with their sheer will power to make a difference.