Get In The ZONE To Save OZONE!

“Earth without the ozone layer is like a house without a roof”- We use air conditioners inside our homes to beat the heat outside, but have you ever thought outside those walls? Use of chemical compounds called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), in air conditioners, aerosol spray cans, and industrial cleaning products are the main culprit behind the depletion of the most important layer of the atmosphere, the ozone layer. The ozone layer, a fragile shield of gas, protects the Earth from the harmful portion of the rays of the sun, thus helping preserve life on the planet. This year, on the 16th of September the world celebrates 35 years of global ozone layer protection with the slogan for World Ozone Day, 'Ozone For Life'. One of the most important steps towards protection of the ozone layer is planting more and more trees. Planting trees may be a cost-effective way to reduce ground-level ozone. With the motive of awareness/protection of the ozone layer, the Ignified Youth Social Foundation. a community of young minds as well as a cultural blend of people from different backgrounds, came up with the innovative idea to set a record by tree-planting all around the country on the World Ozone Day, 2020, with the slogan, ‘Let’s Grow Na!’. The activity took place in five states of our nation, viz., Delhi, Rajasthan, Assam, Uttar Pradesh and Meghalaya with recent addition of three new regions, namely, Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir and Haryana. The active members of the IYSF team enthusiastically spread their awareness/protection campaign to all parts of the nation from Jammu and Kashmir in the North to Kerala in the south and from Meghalaya in the east to Gujarat in the west with the help of social media network. More than 500 people participated in the activity and more than 1000 trees were planted in different parts of the country. The team members also visited their nearby slums and orphanages to indulge with kids and teach them about the importance of the ozone layer. The members planted saplings with the kids using unused/recyclable items such as plastic bottles, worn out shoes and broken cans, etc. We need this unity of purpose more than ever, as we seek to address nature loss, climate change and pollution in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The motive of IYSF team behind setting such a record is to show that when people work together, they can fix problems on a national as well as global scale. Rupali Soni, Founder, IYSF