Nature, Art & Culture

Answering the Earth's Call
The preservation of our natural resources for the next generation has become a top priority not just for those in the environmental movement but for the corporate sector and for the larger public. Natural resources are to be exploited for the benefit of humankind but they should be exploited in a manner that is sustainable and allows for renewal where this is possible. Preserving our physical environment is an important aspect any modern company's strategic plan.

SLT has focused on developing a spirit of environmental consciousness among the country's youth. We will be able to preserve our natural riches for the next generation only if the values of nature conservation and protecting our bio diversity can be internalised among the younger generation. SLT has been supporting a number of initiatives in this area with this objective in view.

Last year SLT supported three exhibitions organised by the Young Zoologists' Association (YZA) of Sri Lanka. These were the 12th Annual Photographic Exhibition held at the Alliance Francaise, the 9th Annual Art Exhibition held at the British Council and the Mihimadala Exhibition held at the National Zoo last year.

YZA is a non-government, non-profitable, voluntary youth organisation whose mission is to create a love and concern for nature among young people.

SLT continued with Nature for its popular calendar. Our 2004 calendar chose as its theme 'Earth is calling'. The objective of this calendar project was to take an object that has a daily use and to convert this into a message of environmental preservation. The calendar's visuals and captions project an image of a love for nature and her riches. Last year SLT highlighted Sri Lanka's endemic birds in its calendar, again with the objective of fostering a love for our fauna and flora. SLT homepage hosts e-greeting cards, calendar wallpapers and screensavers developed based on visuals of the calendar.

These initiatives are only a very early part of a broader plan to focus on environmental consciousness. We hope that through efforts of this kind society will forge a healthy and productive relationship with the physical environment: a relationship that will focus on preservation and conservation and on sustainable exploitation. It is a relationship that should focus on 'giving back' as much as 'taking out'.