World Environment Day is celebrated annually on 5 June and is the United Nations’ principal vehicle for encouraging awareness and action for the protection of the environment.
Today, on this occasion, Indian Masterminds sheds light on 2014-batch IPS officer of Haryana cadre, Dr. Anshu Singla’s conservation work for the protection of the environment and nature, about which she shared exclusive details with us.
DUTY TOWARD THE ENVIRONMENT
Ms. Singla believes that we, humans, take so much from nature and environment throughout our lives, so it is our duty to give back to mother nature in any possible way that we can.
The officer has been working for the environment from the very beginning. One thing that she makes sure to do is to involve all the new trainees under her in planting new saplings.
“Whenever the training period starts, I make sure to ask all the trainees under me to plant one sapling each. So, if there are 50 people, there will be 50 trees; 100 people, 100 trees, and so on. In that way, we develop a small park in the first few months,” shared the officer.
CREATES JUNGLES
Eventually, Ms. Singla realized that just planting trees is not sufficient and she should find a way to make them self-sustainable. Therefore, she developed the idea to form an entire jungle instead of small parks.
“One has to take care of a plant or a small tree diligently throughout its life, but in the case of a jungle, you just have to nurture it in the beginning for a while, then it starts growing and surviving on its own. No one is required to take care of it at all times,” she told Indian Masterminds.
When the officer faced an acute shortage of oxygen during the Covid crisis while posted in Faridabad, she decided to develop a jungle through the Miyawaki technique of creating man-made forests. She not only developed a jungle with around 5000 trees but also motivated the people to do the same.
“We developed forests in the police line and wherever we could find good land area. The beauty of it is that it has birthed a complete ecosystem now. And it is beautiful to see them grow,” she said happily.
PLANTS TREES WHEREVER SHE GOES
When the officer was transferred to Kurukshetra and received her new posting as the Superintendent of Police there, she got invited as a Chief Motivator to an educational institution. She gave a beautiful speech at the event and motivated everyone present there to plant trees.
“On the same day, all of us present there planted over 500 trees together in the police line. I am happy that I could motivate so many people into doing something so noble,” she said.
DISTRIBUTES CLAY BOWLS
The officer is as sympathetic towards animals and birds as she is towards plants and trees. With soaring temperatures and mercury hitting as high as 49-50 degrees on the Celsius scale, several stray animals and birds die of dehydration because of no access to water.
“To avoid this catastrophe, we came up with the idea of distributing clay bowls to traffic personnel who are always on the road and can place the bowls at a convenient location and fill it with water for animals and birds to drink from,” she said.
MOTHER NATURE’S DAY
Ms. Singla got in touch with several schools in her area, who were glad to accommodate her idea of celebrating ‘Mother’s Day’ as ‘Mother Nature’s Day.’ On the special occasion of Mother’s Day, when she was invited by the schools as Chief Guest, she shared her idea, and everyone was more than happy to take it up.
“More than 1000 students volunteered for the purpose. I distributed claw bowls to them, and on their way home from school, they placed the bowls near their residential areas and promised to fill them up with water, every few hours, for the strays. My idea was that the environment gets help, students actively participate in society building, and there is environmental sensitization from a young age,” shared Ms. Singla.
CLAY BOTTLES FOR EVERYONE
Similarly, the officer distributed clay bottles among people to make them understand its varied advantages.
Clay bottles have several advantages such as providing basic and important minerals to the water stored in them, reducing the load on the environment, and keeping the water cool at even high temperatures.
“We distributed the bottles among all the police and traffic personnel so that they remain hydrated, and the message of environment conservation reaches one and all. I want police to be environment friendly,” she said.
She visits schools frequently to make students understand the importance of using eco-friendly materials. She even requests everyone to gift each other saplings or eco-friendly items such as clay bowls and bottles, instead of flower bouquets at events.
TAKES CARE OF STRAY ANIMALS
To avoid the stray animal and human conflict, the officer has adopted a stray dog’s family of four and nurtures them. She is also involved in sterilising stray dogs and vaccinating them, to prevent overpopulation and harmful diseases.
“We have also put reflector collars on cows and street dogs so that it is visible from far ahead and thus prevent accidents and animal mortality,” she shared.
ENCOURAGES RECYCLING
A very important request that Ms. Singla brings forward is for everyone to sign organ donation forms today so that their remains can be used to help a person in need, after their departure. She says, “Once the human body dies, it is either buried or cremated. Along with a person, their perfectly functioning organs turn into ashes too, which could have provided life to another person in need otherwise. By agreeing to donate your organs after your demise, you are not only saving someone else’s life, but you may also keep a part of yourself alive to be remembered in the years to come.”
Apart from this, the officer inspires everyone to donate their old clothes after washing them properly to the ones in need. She has collaborated with various organisations that help her with this project.
She also encourages people to avoid using single-use plastic and instead go for eco-friendly objects and upcycle whenever they can.
