My Tree-A Step Towards a Greener Earth

 

On Saturday morning, students of ESS subject from the Senior School took a green step. The ESS students from Grade 11th and 12th accompanied by their ESS teacher, Mr. Guru Charan Kumar and two dorm parents, Ms Malucha and Mr Lloyd went to the Aravali Biodiversity Park for MyTree Forest project.
​
This plantation is started by NGO called Manav Ekta Mission(MEM) and this is being one of the many activities that have been undertaken by this NGO after the Walk of Hope 2015-16.

To this effect MEM has initiated the  MyTree project across the country. The MyTree initiative seeks to fulfil Manav Ekta Mission’s aim of promoting sustainable living by encouraging planting and sustaining of trees. MyTree is inspired by the Sanskrit word – Maitri – meaning amity. This MyTree initiative promotes Maitri by encouraging an individual/community-led partnership to plant trees—a human alliance that ensures a sustainable relationship with nature. It’s a sustainable living project and we are getting an opportunity to do something in our neighbourhood. It will be great to plant trees and give back to the nature.

MyTree has kicked off at various places in India - Palakkad, Coimbatore, Bangalore, Guna, Jalandhar to name a few. Since this is the right season for planting, we are doing it at Gurgaon now in the Aravali Biodiversity park.

The Aravalli Biodiversity Park is located on the South Central Ridge in the spurs of the Aravallis in the National Capital Territory of Delhi and spreads over an area of 692 acres. The landscape is undulating with gentle slopes and dotted with numerous morrum and clay mined pits of different sizes, depths and shapes. The Ridge is said to be the green lungs for the city and protects Delhi from the hot winds of the deserts of Rajasthan to the west. The land, on which Aravali Biodiversity Park is being developed, was devoid of natural growth of forest due to extensive mining of the area.

The park, earlier a mining and industrial dump has been completely transformed from what it was a decade earlier. Now, one of Gurgaon’s largest green area, it has had over 75,000 tree saplings planted by ecologically conscious inhabitants in the past 6 years. The park authorities are expecting 11,000 more saplings to be planted this year.

After reaching the park, the students were informed about the history and vision associated with the park. To reach the planting site, they participated in a kilometre-long hike which was extremely pleasant as the weather was quite kind today after the heavy rain of the past week. The students of the Senior school also learned by demonstration the nitty-gritties of planting a sapling. Expert gardeners were present to guide and help the students. Students each planted a sapling or two. These saplings were indigenous to the Aravali range and grew well in the rocky bed soil.

There was much satisfaction and happiness after the trees were planted and the returning hike back to the gates of the parks was filled with much laughter.
Planting a tree is a simple task yet, the students got much happiness from it.
Plant a tree, save a life.

Text: Aahana B. Shrivastava, Grade 12

Editing: Jaya Sharma
Photographs: Armaan Ranger, Arman Beri, Mehul Agrawa,Grade 11  & K. Guru charna kumar
Graphic Design: K. Guru Charan kumar