TREE FOR ALL

Professor Chandra Krishnamurthy, avid environmentalist and Vice Chancellor of SNDT University, thought a few months ago that it would be a good idea to inspire students of the university's constituent and affiliated colleges and post-graduate departments to plant a tree each. Today she waits for the seeds planted in these young minds to bear fruit in the form of 70,000 trees throughout the country, within campuses and without them, by the end of August.

What prompted the idea?

Much awareness is being spread about the environment and global warming via many platforms. I want to translate awareness into action. What better medium for this than the vast student body of our university? Even if each student plants one tree, there will be a noticeable difference. Also, what better way to instill awareness amongst youth than to make each one develop a relationship with a tree?

What will ensure the tree's maintenance after being planted?

The tree will bear the student's name for the years that such student looks after it (with the help of an NSS project-in-charge and teacher). The student will be marked on the condition of the tree. If the condition is not up to the mark, a detailed report will have to be prepared as to what went wrong. This will lead to a far more complex understanding of environment. When one student passes out, the tree will be put in the charge of another, and the nameplate changed.

What made so many students volunteer?

There is the incentive of marks, given for extracurriculars as per the National Social Service (NSS) grades. But also calling to them was an issue as threatening as oxygen depletion in the city or town where they lived. Then there is the sentimental value of having planted and looked after a tree you can visit later with your children and grandchildren. Finally the credit for the execution of this idea goes to the NSS coordinators, campus-in-charges of each college and other university faculty and staff who stoked the spirit of the students and supported it.

How were the trees to be planted, and the areas they were to be planted in, chosen?

We cannot afford to buy trees, so the kind of tree depends on funds we received or trees donated to us. Then we relied on information gathered by the NSS as to what tree to plant where. We associated ourselves with local government bodies to plant trees in rural areas, public gardens, railway stations and even road dividers. In Pune district, for instance, we planted Lakshmi Taru, which maintains enriches soil and is essential for farmers whose land loses fertility due to crop rotation. In Juhu, Mumbai, we planted Bakul, which has fragrant flowers and lives for around 300 years without weakening the foundation of any construction nearby. We're speaking to Raj Bhavan to plant fruit bearing trees in a portion of the gardens, which will attract birds. In sections of rural Maharashtra we're planting Aarita, whose seed is used in the manufacture of soap, because the locals are keen for such. Many such trees may be cultivated and maintained because their fruit provide a livelihood to someone. If a more extensive survey of what tree is needed where is conducted for us, we will go by that as well.