Plant trees, don’t cut them, says class VII student Fatima

“If there are no plants or trees, will we even exist? How will we breathe? How will the birds survive?” — These are the questions raised by Fatima Aishi, a seventh-grade student at Mannarkkad Bheemanad Government UP School in Palakkad.

Fatima wrote a letter to the chairman of the contract company Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society, asking that trees cut down for road development be replaced by new ones. In her letter, she expressed her concern about the large number of shade and fruit-bearing trees that had been cut down for development. She urged that trees be planted and nurtured in place of those cut, or at the very least, the school’s Seed Club should be given the opportunity to plant shade trees.

Fatima’s school is located near the Kumaramputhur-Olippuzha section of the hilly areas, where many trees were cut as part of road widening. Unhappy by this, Fatima wrote the letter. On October 7, National Postal Day, the school provided students the chance to write and post letters.

In her letter, Fatima specifically requested: "Cutting several shade and fruit trees for development is distressing. In place of the trees cut, you yourselves should plant and nurture shade trees. Otherwise, the school’s Seed Club should be provided an opportunity to plant shade trees."

In response, Uralungal chairman Rameshan Paleri wrote: "Thank you for your concern for nature and fellow beings. We will treat your concerns with utmost seriousness. Necessary follow-up actions will be taken. We will also send a representative to the school and provide assistance to plant and nurture the trees."

Fatima is the eldest daughter of M Ali and C Shamna from Alanalloor Kattukulam Muthukutti. Her siblings, Ashmin, Anum, and Azli, are also students of the same school. The school’s Mathrubhumi Seed Club activities are led by teacher and Seed Coordinator Faseeh Rahman, with full cooperation from headmaster Muhammad Ali Chaliyan.