Grand Tribute to these 5 Noteworthy Environmentalists

‘We need to return some balance to our planet, so that our planet and all those who inhabit it can coexist in peace.’

The brilliance of nature is being devoured each day. We misuse the water resources, we dirty our environment,and we are cutting the trees mindlessly to construct concrete jungles. These destructive and careless actions are destroying the natural reservoirs and going by this pace, the day is not far when we all will be facing an empty, hollow mass, instead of our beautiful planet full of life.

And so, to save our planet Earth, World Earth Day and World Environment Day were chosen to make genuine efforts that can put a stop on destruction and help to save the magnificence of the planet.

This Environment Day, let us pay a grand tribute to these 5 remarkable environmentalists who are making huge efforts to save the planet.

1. ‘Eco Baba’ single handedly cleans river in Punjab

In 2000, Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal, popularly known as 'Eco Baba', along with a large number of volunteers, decided to clean the river bed of Kali Bein, a tributary of the Beas River which flows through Punjab. Not only did they clean it up and rejuvenate some parts of the river which had been dry for many years, but the team also worked hard to beautify the banks by planting trees.

Eco Baba (Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal) cleaning river : A remarkable environmentalist

2. 12 Year Old’s Tiger Preservation saga

This 12 Year Old Schoolboy is representing the Indian preserving community in true sense with his efforts towards tiger preservation to save this beautiful animal species from going extinct. With his three friends Madhav has set up a small group called "Kids for Tigers" which is active in hundreds of schools across the nation. The team collected an enormous sum of INR 5,00,000/- by writing poems, singing on the streets and selling merchandise.

Madhav of group (Kids for Tigers)  : A noteworthy environmentalist

3. Save Mahan Forests Movement

After a four-year long struggle, several arrests and lawsuits and the resilience of the forest community and Mahan Sangharsh Samiti, in March 2015, the Coal Ministry confirmed that the Mahan coal block will not be put up for auction. One of Greenpeace India's most challenging fights, this is a landmark victory. The fight to save Mahan is one of India's most significant environmental movements of the century!

Womens protesting during Save Mahan Forests Movement

4. Bus Conductor Planted 38,000 trees

We have to learn from this bus conductor working for Coimbatore Transport Corporation. Without knowing how to read and write, Yoganathan has single-handedly planted 38,000 trees in past 26 years. And that is not all. He goes on a step further to teach the students across Tamil Nadu, about importance of environmental conservation.

Yoganathan - A conducter in Coimbatore transport corporation while Planting tree

5. School Teacher implemented Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting

An inspiring teacher from Shri Ram School, in New Delhi, she took the initiative to implement rooftop rainwater harvesting in the school. Following the example, today more than 2000 schools are harvesting rainwater and saving tones of resources.

If they can, so can each one of us! And the list must go on.

Childrens of Shri Ram School with their inspiring teacher who implemented rooftop rainwater harvesting

Today, it is our turn to return the favor to the Mother Earth!

Small steps such as planting trees, inhibiting the deforestation, limiting the use of vehicles to reduce air pollution, enhancing the energy conservation through reducing the unnecessary use of electricity, saying no to plastic bags are the few ways you can use to preserve the natural environment.