Earth Day Network announces an initiative that awards Star Villages

October 26, 2019: Earth Day Network, the international environmental NGO that began with the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970 and today engages with over 50,000 organizations in some 190 countries, announces the launch of its Earth Day India Star Village initiative.  The initiative will recognise village communities across the country that work to keep their village eco-friendly. Earth Day Network, Country Director, Karuna Singh says. “Keeping in mind that India has over 6,00,000 villages, that rural populations are very vulnerable to climate change and that good work is done in the villages to help protect the environment, we launch this initiative.  EDN will announce a new Earth Day Network Star Village every month, and showcase their remarkable efforts that can be easily replicated by other villages as well. Piplantri indeed leads the way by planting Trees for the Earth.” The first Earth Day Network Star Village is Piplantri, in Rajsamand district of Rajasthan.  The village is commended for their decision to plant 111 trees every time a girl child is born.  The community carefully nurtures the trees and also the girl child that their village is blessed with.  This is all thanks to the exemplary vision of Shri Shyam Sunder Paliwal, social campaigner who has also served as the sarpanch of Piplantri village.  “In the 15 years that we have implemented tree planting on the birth of a girl child, the green cover in our village has grown manifold,” he proudly says. Please see the Video link to the first Earth Day Network Star Village Piplantri, Rajasthan. Over the next few months, we will announce other villages that have given up chemical pesticides, developed unique water-harvesting systems, protected species, saved precious natural resources, implemented effective waste management techniques and switched to greener energy.