Women on Wings’ aim to compensate its carbon footprint took another step when the social enterprise planted saplings in Delhi. The sapling planting drive was done in association with Insurance and risk management firm AXA XL and Give Me Trees Trust and is part of a much larger project known as ARANYA – a biodiversity park near Chattarpur, Delhi.
Creating a greener future
A team of Women on Wings comprising of Shilpa Mittal Singh, Jt. MD, Awinashi Singh, Platform Manager, and Seema Dawar, Communications, went along with an AXA XL team in a winter morning to physically plant some trees, maintaining all COVID-19 protocols. A total of 180 trees have been sponsored by Women on Wings. Shilpa Mittal Singh, Jt MD at Women on Wings: “The planting of the trees was fun and so fulfilling. It is important to create a protected space where nature can thrive. The area is already looking so beautiful. Women on Wings is very proud to partner with AXA XL in this biodiversity park project.”
Sustainable development
Insurance and risk management firm AXA XL in India partners with Give Me Trees Trust to realize an ambitious three year project to plant 30,000 trees and create a biodiversity park of over 15 acres in Delhi. A healthy biodiversity helps to breakdown and absorb pollution and provide resilience to climate change. The new park in Delhi is expected to release 2,400,000 kgs of Oxygen per year, with the fledgling forest becoming self-sufficient in 2022. Additionally, a healthy biodiversity manages ground water levels, prevents flash flooding and enriches the quality of the soil. Despite the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, already 5,000 trees have been planted for the ARANYA biodiversity park.
Compensating global footprint
The two partners in the ARANYA biodiversity project warmly welcome other parties to participate in the realization of the park. Women on Wings joined the ARANYA project because of its objectives and its location in the south of Delhi, close to the city of Gurgaon which is the location from where the Women on Wings team operates its work from. Women on Wings’ ambition to co-create one million jobs for women in rural India is inevitably coupled with travelling to work with the social enterprises that generate work for women in rural India. Earlier in 2020, Women on Wings supported in the creation of a mango tree orchard at the campus of its business partner Sahaj, an organization for women’s development in Gujarat. This not only creates a greener future, it will also lead to income for rural women since mango fruit is a cash crop.
Image: Women on Wings’ team members Shilpa Mittal Singh and Seema Dawar with Give Me Trees Trust team
