John Keells hosts tree planting initiative for World Environment Day 2016

Ahead of World Environment Day (which was commemorated 5 June), John Keells Foundation (JKF) in collaboration with John Keells Group company Tea Smallholder Factories PLC (TSF) and Carbon Consulting Company Ltd. (CCC), organised a tree planting initiative to increase the coverage of vegetation in the Neluwa area. 

More than 17 staff volunteers from various companies of the John Keells Group in Colombo as well as areas close to Neluwa participated in a whole day of tree planting on 3 June in two separate plots near the Neluwa Tea Factory. Two consultants from CCC were also present to tag and record the plants to enable monitoring of the plants and their impact over the years.  This project is estimated to help absorb 600-700 tons of carbon dioxide over a period of 15 years.  

The initiative involved the planting of 50 forest saplings along with 50 fruit saplings as part of John Keells Foundation’s Forestry Project resulted in a total of 3,100 plants distributed among 31 pieces of farmland and covering 15.3 acres since 2014. The project is aimed at active forestation of unutilised tea smallholder land while supporting community livelihoods and income generation opportunities. Plant monitoring and casualty replanting are implemented via Carbon Consulting Company. 

Carbon Consulting Company has reported several benefits to the environment and the community, including improvement of soil quality and soil conservation, increasing the plant cover and enhancing the biodiversity of the reported area. Farmers’ livelihoods are also benefitted through the sale of non-timber forest products such as medicines, fruits, shading materials, livestock feeding, etc. With many of the farmers comprising of women, the project also enables gender empowerment through social and economic independence as they earn an additional income by selling these products. 

The Forestry Project was initiated in June 2014 by John Keells Foundation and Tea Smallholder Factories PLC (TSF) – both subsidiaries of John Keells Holdings PLC (JKH) together with the Carbon Consulting Company Ltd. (CCC). The community based tree planting aims to promote reforestation increasing the coverage of vegetation of selected environs, creating a bio-link between existing forest areas. The project includes community awareness creation, supervision and maintenance of trees planted, as well as community development in the related areas. 

The initiative is implemented in multiple locations within the Galle District comprising Hingalgoda, Neluwa, Kurupanawa and Halvitigala. JKF disburses a monthly stipend to the farmers involved in the project to encourage more tree planting and support their livelihood.

Speaking about the value of the project, D.L.S.P.W Jayawardane, a proprietor of one of the estates who has benefited from the above program said: “This planting program has been very successful because as a smallholder we don’t have an interest to plant forestry trees in our lands. I will be directly benefiting from this and it will be an investment for me in the future. I have never experienced this type of program from other factories. I know John Keells is committed to helping the community rather than pursuing profits. I take this opportunity to thank everyone who participated from John Keells and Neluwa Medagama Tea Factory, for organising this event.”

Other initiatives under John Keells Foundation’s Environment pillar include forest clean ups at the Kanneliya Rainforest and the promotion of conservation and biodiversity through the Nature Field Centre in Rumassala in collaboration with the Central Environment Authority. Wildlife conservation is also an integral part of JKF’s Environment-related Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives including Project Leopard in Yala, Cinnamon Elephant Research in the North Central Province and whale conservation in Trincomalee.

Volunteerism is a core part of the John Keells Group ethos and enables the John Keells Foundation to successfully carry out its CSR. During the last financial year 2015/2016, John Keells Foundation reported more than 624 volunteers in 1611 engagements.