Young Geckos help restore forest near Sinharaja

Students from The Overseas School of Colombo roll up their sleeves to revive degraded land near Sri Lanka's most iconic rainforest, proving that action speaks louder than awareness.

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While many spent Valentine's Day exchanging cards and candy, a group of young students from The Overseas School of Colombo (OSC) chose to show their love a little differently - by getting their hands dirty in the name of the planet.

On 14 February, 19 OSC learners, including 12 members of the school's Gecko Young Reporters group, ventured into the rainforest borderlands just a few kilometres from the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Sinharaja Forest Reserve.

Their mission: to support an ambitious ecological restoration effort led by the Cinnamon Rainforest Restoration Project, focused on bringing native biodiversity back to a 59-acre plot once ravaged by commercial pine planting and invasive species.