Environmental Endeavours

As the world battles the Coronavirus pandemic, the only source of good news has been the healing of the environment all over the world. From air pollution levels dropping drastically, to clearing rivers, rare species are recovering and being sighted while communities are coming together to help one another. Now more than ever, we have the opportunity to reflect upon our relationship with the planet and how much our everyday activities have been adversely impacting the earth, amid the most powerful possible message that nature can surprise us at any moment, with devastating consequences for every individual. It is a time when the health of the planet and its people has never been more important.

This year holds great promise for environmental change on the back of growing pressure for urgent action. Scientists and environmental activists have been raising the alarm that we are entering into an age of extinction and are at the point where irreversible environmental damage could be wrought. We cannot afford to lose pace nor focus. The challenge of the biodiversity and climate crises will still be there when the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and this newfound inspiration must be carried forward and built upon.

The Foundation of Goodness has also introduced a host of measures and initiatives this year, in order to have a more positive impact on the environment and give it more importance in all our endeavours. One of our earliest initiatives was a recycling drive, where we collected water bottles at the MCC Sports and Udumulla Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centre.  We successfully removed 84KG of plastic bottles (approximately 2520 bottles) from the environment. We aim to have these recycling drives at all our Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centre across the country. In addition to this we also conduct regular beach clean-ups to maintain the pristine Seenigama coastline with the help of our volunteers and students. 

Our oceans were also suffocating with pollution, marring the pristine southern coastline of Sri lanka. Therefore, we introduced Ocean Care, a pioneering initiative by our Dive for Good diving Centre. We have successfully completed two Ocean Care sessions, where our divers scoured the ocean bed and collected nearly 30KG of trash each time. Our goal is to rid the area surrounding our dive centre of all pollution and inspire other centres all over the country to do the same.

We are also proud of our pledge, to plant a 1000 trees this year. We have partnered with THURU, a social initiative to accelerate reforestation all over the country. Our ten Village Heartbeat Empowerment Centres continue to plant trees and maintain beautiful home gardens, adding value and teaching important lessons to our beneficiaries. We also supported the Hameedias’ environmental campaign and planted trees at all our VHE Centres to mark Earth Day 2020.

Every contribution counts towards a cleaner, greener environment, where we breathe clean air, swim in clear oceans and help our biodiversity thrive. We hope to accelerate current initiatives and begin new ones, once the battle with the Coronavirus pandemic is won.