Mr & Miss England show support for One Million Tree Stories project

Monday, 21 September 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

With the objective of ensuring that Sri Lanka’s future generations will have a tourism industry, Rotary District 3220 Sri Lanka partnered Sri Lanka Tourism, HNB and M Cash to launch a program entitled ‘One Million Tree Stories’, which will see one million trees being planted.

Miss England Natasha Hemmings and Mr. England Chris Bramell, who visited Sri Lanka, planted the 500,000th and 500,001st tree at the Sri Lanka Tourism premises, offsetting their carbon footprint in the country.

The One Million Tree Stories project, carefully planned and audited by Rotary, has 16 specific nurseries dedicated to propagating specific tree types like Meewara, Kumbuk, Madan and Kohomba in Ibbagamuwa, Kurunegala. This is done in partnership with the Department of Irrigation, Agrarian Services Development, the Divisional Secretaries of the area and the people of Ibbagamuwa as a best practice, said the Project Implementing Chairman of Rotary Dion Schorman.

“The theme ‘One Million Tree Stories’ is based on the consumer insight that there is an emotional bond between a person and a tree either at home, office, school or recreational area and we want people to share their Tree Story before being part of the program,” said Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Chairman Dr. Rohantha Athukorala.

“As we celebrate ‘World Tourism Day’, unless together the stakeholders partner this project and supports environmental sustainability, it will have adverse impact to the tourism industry in the future.

Given that 77% of tourists say at the airport exit survey conducted in 2014 that they were delighted with the Sri Lankan experience while 22% say they were satisfied, we appeal to them to sponsor a tree at $1 at the Bandaranaike International Airport at the HNB branch or any other 250 HNB branches across the country. Or they can visit the Rotary tree website and pay online which in fact can be done by every tourist who has come to Sri Lanka in the past,” said Athukorala.

“Sri Lanka Tourism will collaborate with industry partners SLAITO, THASL, ASMET, the City Hoteliers Association, the National Tourist Guide Lecturers Association and other parties involved in the tourism sector where we will bring together hoteliers, travel operators, the guides, restaurants and other service providers to link to this project under one cause for the country. In the phase two, carbon certification will be done where 100,000 carbon credits will be available to strategic partners that will feature more carbon neutral hotels and Carbon neutral travel agencies,” he added.

More details about the project are available on the ‘One Million Tree Stories’ website (http://www.rotarytree.com), which was launched in February by Miss World Rolene Strauss.