Green Savers leverages green spaces in Bangladesh to improve public health and food security, fight against climate change in the world’s most densely populated country, and inspire younger generations to view urban gardening as a tool for socio-economic progress. Working with schools, volunteers, local authorities, and local and international organizations, it created a diverse partnership model to expand green spaces in the country. Green Savers is a non-profit that derives revenue from providing gardening services. The organization created several virtual platforms to increase access to urban gardening services as well. Its mobile app allows customers to contact local experts trained in technical and leadership skills with questions about their gardens. To make information more accessible to the general public, the organization creates online materials at low or no cost with information about starting personal urban gardens and the importance of green spaces. They also offer individuals and businesses the opportunity to sponsor tree growth, and collaborate on environmentally sustainable projects through Green Savers’ Corporate Social Responsibility initiative. Through local projects and staff training, Green Savers fosters leadership development and entrepreneurial skills among children and adults across the country while drawing attention to the benefits of environmental sustainability to improve livelihoods at the local level.
Theory of Change
Creating urban green spaces while educating the public about their benefits can improve public health and food security, fight against climate change, and advance socio-economic equity at the local level.
Activities
Customers can access a variety of services to start and maintain green spaces throughout the city, from landscaping design and irrigation to indoor and outdoor gardening. It also locates, prepares, and cultivates plots of land for planting trees on behalf of sponsors. In addition to supporting individual gardens, Green Savers collaborates on several projects in Bangladesh, such as an initiative with an organization in Dhaka to deliver and install hydroponic gardens that grow fresh produce without the use of pesticides. Other projects include award-winning Oxygen Banks where students raise money for rooftop gardens in schools, an Urban Lab Garden to teach students about preservation and sustainability, and a citizen-led tree-planting drive called Treelionaire that has mobilized 27 hubs across South Asia to plant more than 10,000 trees in the region so far. Green Savers also participates in climate activism. For example, it partnered with Save the Children to organize a strike among school children in 2019 to urge policy makers in Bangladesh to address climate change. Other partners have included the World Economic Forum and Bangladesh’s Department of Environment.
Results
Green Savers has worked with over 200 schools, 5000+ homes and over 30 local and international organizations to fight climate change and create a greener urban ecosystem. Since its establishment in 2010, the organization has planted over 1.5 million trees across Bangladesh that release approximately 484 tons of oxygen every day. Its mobile app has been installed over 5,000 times. Its Oxygen Banks have been implemented by the government in all 64 districts of Bangladesh. For its work across the country, Green Savers has received awards and recognition from local and national governments, international organizations, and the United Nations.
