Yesterday was World Earth Day, an annual opportunity for speech making and political statements.

I am pleased to report that we marked the occasion in a very different, practical and tangible way – the planting of our seventh urban forest in Kathmandu valley. The project is being implemented, as ever, by our local partner social enterprise, Lily’s Leaves, with the enthusiastic support of the local authorities and the close personal interest of the Mayor of Kirtipur, pictured below. He joined the young women (who are deaf) who make up the core workforce of Lily’s Leaves to lend a hand with planting the first saplings, alongside key supporters from the local Division Forest Office and academics from Tribhuvan University.

This activity is the culmination of months of hard work in clearing the landsite, enriching the soil, fencing off this roadside location and of course cultivating the saplings at the new Lily’s Leaves sapling nurseries. When I visited the site in January I was struck by the scale of the undertaking that could only come to reality through the dynamic leadership and passion of the Lily’s Leaves Founder, Lily Katuwal KC. Check out the film below to gain an understanding of what’s involved.

Now, thanks to our highly successful use of The Miyawaki Method rapid-growth reforestation approach that we have been pioneering in Nepal since 2021, we can look forward to a wonderful roadside forest in Kirtipur in just three years. It will be cleaning and cooling the air as we push back against climate change and loss of biodiversity.

The other way that we marked World Earth Day was by launching our Big Give environmental campaign ‘Earth Raise’, that will allow us to fund this and other reforestation projects within Kathmandu valley and in south Nepal. The campaign is off to a very strong start, but we need your support please! You can make a donation now using the button below – a donation that will automatically double in value.

Thank you so much.