A Class Five Student with a Mission to Plant 1,000 Trees and Help Beat Plastic Pollution with Save Earth Society

In a quiet corner of Shasongacha village in Cumilla, lives a little girl with a giant dream. Her name is Sumaiya, a Class Five student at the local government primary school. Her father, a hardworking farmer, tills the land every day to provide for his family. But it is Sumaiya who dreams of cultivating more than crops—she dreams of planting 1,000 trees, saving the planet, and becoming a “pillar” of the Earth.

At just 10 years old, Sumaiya has already become a symbol of hope in her village. Inspired by the Save Earth Society’s “Beat Plastic” campaign, she’s taken a stand against plastic waste and climate change. Her mission, though simple, speaks volumes: "I want to plant trees, stop plastic, and help the Earth breathe.”

The Plastic Crisis: Why Sumaiya’s Dream Matters

Plastic pollution is one of Bangladesh’s most urgent environmental threats. According to the World Bank (2021), only 37.2% of plastic waste is recycled in Dhaka, with most single-use plastics clogging drains, polluting rivers, and threatening wildlife. Across Bangladesh, the per capita plastic consumption in urban areas has tripled from 3 kg in 2005 to 9 kg in 2020 (LightCastle Partners, 2022). In Dhaka alone, people consume 22.25 kg of plastic per person per year, the highest in the country.

These numbers are not just statistics—they are lived realities in communities like Shasongacha, where open burning of waste is common, and plastic litters the fields and canals. Children like Sumaiya often play in spaces filled with discarded wrappers and polythene bags.

That’s where Save Earth Society’s mission comes in.

Save Earth Society: Rooting Activism in Everyday Life

Founded by environmentalist Md Mahamudul Hasan, Save Earth Society is a Cumilla-based organisation working at the intersection of environmental action, youth empowerment, and community development. Their flagship initiative, “Beat Plastic”, aims to:

• Reduce plastic use in rural and urban settings
• Promote eco-friendly alternatives like jute and cloth bags
• Conduct awareness drives in schools and marketplaces
• Facilitate community recycling hubs and green entrepreneur training

Sumaiya first heard of the campaign during a school awareness session led by Save Earth Society volunteers. She returned home that day and told her father, “Plastic hurts the trees, the cows, and the birds. I want to stop it.”

A Tree for Every Plastic Bag

Sumaiya’s personal pledge—to plant 1,000 trees in her lifetime—is her way of countering plastic’s harm. She believes every tree she plants will stand as a counter to the waste that threatens her future. And she isn’t alone.

Through the Save Earth Society’s EcoCarry Bangladesh project, Sumaiya and her classmates received jute bags and saplings during a school campaign last year. Since then, she’s planted 14 trees around her school and 6 near her home.

Sumaiya’s actions may seem small, but they align with larger, global climate strategies. Research shows that trees help absorb carbon emissions, improve air quality, and prevent heat islands in rural and urban areas (Garai, 2025). Combining afforestation with plastic reduction is a powerful climate action.

The Role of Education in Environmental Action

Education is a key tool in transforming environmental awareness into behaviour change. UNESCO’s Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) emphasises student-centred learning, community engagement, and real-world problem solving (UNESCO, 2020). Save Earth Society integrates these values into its school programmes by:

• Teaching the environmental impact of plastic
• Engaging students in hands-on eco-activities
• Encouraging local innovation, such as jute-based crafts and composting

For Sumaiya, the classroom became more than a place to learn—it became a platform to act.

Plastic Pollution and Rural Resilience

Plastic pollution is often perceived as an urban problem, but rural areas face growing challenges. With increasing consumerism, plastic packaging has penetrated remote areas without corresponding waste management systems. In villages like Shasongacha, the consequences include:

• Contaminated soil and water
• Plastic ingestion by livestock
• Increased flooding due to clogged drains

In these contexts, community-led, child-driven campaigns like Sumaiya’s are not just symbolic—they are necessary. According to Garai (2025), environmental resilience in rural Bangladesh depends on grassroots leadership and local adaptation strategies.

Small Hands, Big Change: The Impact of Sumaiya’s Story

Sumaiya’s initiative has already inspired 10 other students in her school to join her in tree planting. Her teacher, Ms Sharmeen, is now working with Save Earth Society to introduce a “Green Class” programme focused on environmental learning and weekly eco-actions.

Her father has offered a corner of his farmland to be turned into a student tree nursery. This space will grow native species like neem, jackfruit, and guava trees—plants with environmental and nutritional benefits.

This domino effect of change illustrates how child-led initiatives can fuel sustainable transformation.

A Future Rooted in Action

With support from Save Earth Society and community members, Sumaiya’s dream of 1,000 trees is slowly becoming reality. The next steps involve:

• Partnering with local NGOs for seed and sapling supply
• Creating a village-level eco-club for student environmentalists
• Documenting each tree with a tag that tells its story and planter

These efforts not only mitigate climate impacts but build social capital, intergenerational dialogue, and shared ownership of environmental wellbeing.

The Earth’s Pillars Are Growing

Sumaiya calls her trees “pillars” that will stand with the Earth, hold it up, and protect it from harm. In a world overwhelmed by pollution and inaction, her simple dream is a blueprint for hope.

Her story, magnified by the work of Save Earth Society, proves that real change starts with young hands and pure hearts—in the fields of Cumilla, in the halls of a village school, and in the quiet defiance of one little girl determined to make the world green again.

📚 References (APA Style)

Garai, J. (2025). Impacts of Climate Change and Environmental Degradation on Indigenous People in Bangladesh: An Ethnographic Study. Wild, 2(2), 13. https://doi.org/10.3390/wild2020013

LightCastle Partners. (2022). Bangladesh Plastic Industry – Towards Sustainability. Retrieved from https://www.lightcastlebd.com

UNESCO. (2020). Education for Sustainable Development: A Roadmap. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. https://unesdoc.unesco.org

World Bank. (2021). Towards a Multisectoral Action Plan for Sustainable Plastic Management in Bangladesh. https://documents.worldbank.org