Tree planting in Delhi

Afterall,
there is a reason
in every season
to have planted
a tree
in the season
before.......
Plant trees for life.......

At last my prayers have been heard.

I had been seraching for some NGO that undertook greening Delhi since long. From Kalpavriksh, Toxic Links, Trees for Delhi ...my search has ended with "WE THE CHANGE" NGO of Kamalendu Jha.-- THe CNN "Be the CHange" guy from India. He  started a Monsoon Wooding drive in Delhi since last year. I have signed up as a volunteer and am waiting to get a call from them.

17.7.08
No call as yet. Neither from " We the CHange" nor from MC Mehta's NGO. Nothing 
By the way many cities ,especially Bangalore , Pondicherry etc are busy covering themselves up regularly since long. Delhi unfortunately continues to bare itself.

6.10.08

It has been two months since I wrote the above. Thankfully I could not stop at merely Google searching for somebody but have actually planted five Gulmohur trees in sector 36 Noida near our house, thanks to Vasudha Mehta's  (of WIldlife SOS) encouragement . It is not an easy job but the satisfaction that it brings is immense. THe most important thing that I learnt from this exercise was that I did not need any NGO's support or backing to plant any trees anywhere.I just had to find a suitable vacant space that could nurture a tree and then go ahead.

The steps are:

1. Select any place that can hold up and nurture a tree eg a roadside, an empty park area etc.

2. Go to a nursery or to any big petrol pump near you and buy a tree or get it free from the pump. Ideally the taller the plant say 3 to 5 feet , the better it is.Also buy some manure. One sack is enough for five trees.

3. Any Govt DDA park autnority near your house will gladly give you any number of tree guards. THey feel very happy to meet planting people and go out of their way to help you.

4. Get someone to dig a pit for your tree, about two feet deep and a foot wide. Put manure in it.

5. Plant your tree.

6. Put the tree guard over it

7. Water it.

THe fledgeling tree will shed all its original leaves for once despite the rainy season. But regular watering shows encouraging results.

 THe WWF India was carrying out a tree planting drive and I went to look them up .as I had a lofty plan of putting around 50 to 100 trees in a bare patch.  THey promised a lot iitially but cannot do much apart from giving you good trees to plant and dig for yourself. Let us see when do I manage to plant more trees.

I would love to hear of other people planting too. ANd a number of youngsters are doing it. We will exchange AUTOGRAPHS.

7.10.08

BY the way a Tree Helpline has been launched in Delhi to report cutting down of or choking of or putting hoardings and ads on tree trunks etc.

Phone number: 3378513) It is a single window to lodge all complaints regarding threats to Delhi trees. ...

15.1.09

It has been six months since i put them in soil . My trees are doing fine except that two out of five have died.But that is normal .They had been transplanted quite big. The other three can manage on their own come drought or sunshine.

2.8.09

IT has been a year since I last planted and I am going to plant a few more this year. Maybe 20 to 25 trees. I have identified the sites, all close to home and will go about it tomorrow.

Its September 09 now and I am glad that I did put about 70 trees in the earth this monsoon.Of the 25 saplings that I put near my house five have perished. BUt I am glad that I put 45 more. I would like to tell you that the task was quite easy.THere are so many people that are there to help you. Of course I had taken our Residents Welfare Association people into confidence and had taken permission from the Noida Authority guys in our areas.THey were just too willing to have somebody ELSE plant trees for them.