Sadaqat Ahsan is our Global UGRAD alumnus (Spring 2022). He was placed at the university in New Jersey which is also known as the “Garden State,” due to its large number of trees and natural gardens. During his exchange journey, Sadaqat got a wonderful opportunity to volunteer with Jersey Cares at Liberty State Park which provides the best view of ‘The Statue of Liberty and New York City’s miraculous skyline. Sadaqat took part in supporting various gardening projects including weeding, mulching, clean-up, removing invasive botanical species, and planting. It was one of the best learning experiences as he clearly observed the importance of plantations in fighting against climate change such as a large number of trees playing an effective role to cope with greenhouse emissions around large in the U.S. After that instant realization, he pitched this idea of plantation to his welfare team in Pakistan who then planted the first urban forest in Hyderabad City with the collaboration of local authorities. “Not just that, I am also planning to create more small urban forests and finding appropriate locations, which will help my city Hyderabad to become less affected by global warming,” shared Ahsan. Indeed, his volunteering experience in the U.S. played a major role in enhancing his vision for fighting Climate change.
