By Bimal Chandra Roy
“Dear friend, you are the only truly self-reliant living being, you produce your own food. Many creatures live on what you give, yet humans often forget to show gratitude.”
These words about trees were written by social worker Gazi Shahadat Hossain Badal in a Messenger group on 28 February 2026.
Badal is a dedicated citizen from Manikganj who has been working with BARCIK for more than a decade. Earlier, he served as a Union Parishad member and worked as an Amin (land surveyor), helping local people resolve land disputes and raising awareness about social issues and citizens’ rights.
In the past, Badal was involved in the tree business, which required cutting trees. Over time, he became uncomfortable with this work and decided to focus instead on planting and protecting trees. Since then, he has been actively promoting tree plantation in his community.
Each year, he plants and distributes around 2,000 saplings, including mango, jackfruit, mahogany, wood apple, hog plum, olive, bael, and guava. These trees are planted in homesteads across several villages and in local primary and secondary schools with the participation of students.
Badal has also planted numerous palm and date seeds along village roads, many of which are now growing and bearing fruit. Seeing these trees flourish brings him great satisfaction.
To promote biodiversity, he established a small nursery at his home where he produces indigenous tree saplings that are rarely available in commercial nurseries.
With support from a few local citizens, Badal continues his efforts to plant more native and endangered tree species, contributing to environmental protection and community awareness.
