INTRODUCTION

Trees are vital. They give us oxygen, store carbon, stabilize the soil and give life to the world’s wildlife. They also provide us with materials for tools and shelter. The canopies of trees act as physical filters trapping dust and absorbing pollutants from the air. Each individual tree removes up to 1.7 kilos of pollutants every year. They also provide shades from solo radiation and most of the trees have medicinal properties. Research show that within minutes of being surrounded by trees and green space, your blood pressure drops, your heart rate slows and your stress level come down. But at present deforestation and forest degradation is high with the forest being used to meet growing demand of biomass energy and unplanned expansion of agricultural and settlement area due to increasing population and weak governance. As a result, deforestation has become one of the most serious environmental issues in Sri Lanka. The country loses an average of 26,800 ha of forest per year. This
amounts to an average annual deforestation rate of 1.14% . This has caused many environmental implications. Aside from the environmental implications, deforestation in Sri Lanka has caused flooding, landslides and soil erosion from exposure of the deforested areas. It is also the primary threat to the survival of Sri Lanka’s bio- diversity. Sri Lanka has 751 known species of amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles of which 21.7% are endemic, and over 3314 species of vascular plants, of which 26.9% are endemic. Although laws and regulations have been enacted in recent times to address most of these issues, the views of the relevant implementing agencies are not always adequately consulted during major development initiatives. Having understood that deforestation affects the sustainability of the environment on a global scale with more detrimental effects on developing countries, We, Lyceum International School Kurunegala, Sri Lanka, initiated our project, Dream To Save the World, based on “life on land sustainable development goal. Our team with the dream to save the green, launched a huge project to plant 100,000 trees around the world. We started this project in October,2020 and it was the peak time of Covid -19 pandemic in Sri Lanka. Launching a global project was a real challenge for us. We managed to use the virtual platform to overcome the challenge. We lounged a virtual project which was a huge success. Planning and sketching the project while adhering to all the safety measures was a great experience we gained through our hard work as Global Social Leaders.

OUR AIMS

Aims are the tools which lead us to achieve our dreams. It shows someone’s determination. As a team ‘Dream to save the Green’ introduced few aims. Our aims mainly based on educating local and international communities on the importance of sustainable living and the true vision of life on land.

To provide proper guidance of growing ecologically friendly plants which can provide multi access to have a healthy life on land.

– To encourage younger generation to reduce using non disposable products which cause harmful impacts on environment.

– To disseminate the awareness on protecting the environment among the school students in order to establish sustainable life on earth.

– To regulate the habit of planting endemic trees among the school students.

– To inform the local community about the importance of trees.

– To raise awareness about harmful effects of clearing forests for development projects.

– To identify the socioeconomic effects of deforestation.