BTC GO Green – JarakBande Reserved Forest-29 August 2015 Saturday

BTC GO Green – JarakBande Reserved Forest-29 August 2015 Saturday

“The Trees were GODS First Temples”. I hope more people understood this and believed that we need them more on this earth to make it better place to live.

Today was one such day where I happened to see a crowd of more than 500 people of all age, joining hands to help a deforested place get its green cover back. BTC has always been doing this with “Say Trees” an NGO that arranges Aforestation drives. And this time it was at Jarakbande Reserved Forest, Near FRLHT, North Bangalore.

Location: This place is somewhere near Yelakana and it takes almost an hour to reach this place from Hebbal. This is a reserved forest and yes it is totally under forest guard and much government taken initiative to bring up the green cover on this land. The closest landmark is IAim Health Center.

How we reached there.

For any BTC social cause the group divides its task and that helps us to commute and coordinate well. The participants who have their own vehicle ( Car & Bikes) pick up other participants and from common pickup points and reach the destination. This really helps as the public transport to a remote place is sometimes available. We were divided as per our location and vehicle and was asked to reach hebbal station by 7:30 am. Padma picked me, vaishali and omisha and Dev. We all together were almost 40 members from BTC . and from hebbal we left to the destination.

The JarakBande Reserved Forest:

As in my knowledge says trees wants this place to be reclaimed to a tree park. We reached this place by 8:45 am and at the entrance, I saw many groups that belonged to Says tree, HP & other Corporates Employees and school and college staff and students. It was overwhelming to see that a crowd in age, gender and nationality. I saw kids as young as 4 years who had come along with their parents. Then there was others who had been in their early 50’s and also a few foreign nationals as well. We first had our BTC introduction round and then Kamalesh gave us the insight of how do we plant the saplings. He explained in detail that what we need to do and how are these saplings going to be planted. Most of us are unaware of this and we think it’s, simple. Yes it is easy but with need to take lot of care. The best instruction was, properly plant the sapling and avoid competition. We also had a small round of instruction shared by the member of Says Tree regarding the process for planting trees and the DO’s and Don’t’s.

No of Trees to be planted.

Well the target was 2500 Saplings across 300 acres of land. When we stood across I could see empty land and surrounded by Eucalyptus tree. It was indeed evident that this natural forest was hacked and the tree cut for planting the Eucalyptus tree that once was a high income source for its oil. Well good that there is a reversal process and that initiative has been started to build up this forest again with human hands.

We started our day of planting at 9:30 am. We were provided with all necessary tools and materials– Spade, Saplings, Manure, support stick and threads. The pit was already dug and all we need to do is tear of the sapling properly and place it, manure it and support the sapling with stick and cover it with mud and make a proper bund. The only worry was the sun was smiling little more. J We were assigned a plot marked between a purple and red flag say a area of 3 acres or more with around 300 saplings. But then there was so much enthusiasm that it made us all do this task step by step.  And this we could do only by each other’s help. Some cut the covers, some arrange the stick, some tied it, some covered the soil and some collected the plastic covers, we all just did whatever had to be done.

When you pull out the sapling out of the plastic wrap to be planted and place it on soil, the responsibility of handling it delicately comes automatically. I could see my co members who drive at 100 km /hr going slow on each and every sapling. Our hands that usually are on gadgets felt had a new experience to feel the soil texture. It was really down to earth moment in real sense.

It was good work with lots of fun around. BTC organizer Kamalesh, Virander, Chaitanya, Monisha, Padma,Hiren kept volunteering to see things are well carried out. I could see these college students along with their teachers so much active and along with it they were having fun. We also had our lighter moments sharing jokes, posing for camera, watching the fighter planes cross your head (this place is close to Jalahahalli Air Base).

The area assigned to us,was completed well in time and then we took the initiative to even complete where it could not be completed.

It was around 2 pm that we left but few BTCian’s Nidhi, Austin, Hiren, Sagar, kamalesh remain behind to complete the remaining work. They went and checked and checked each and every sapling and redid the once that was not planted. That was more commendable. Evening when I read my organiser mail that the place where we BTCian’s had planted the sapling had the least number of rework to be done and that we all completed the work properly was a reason to smile again.

 “If you have a garden and a library , you have got everything you have” , I read it in a newspaper somewhere in my college time and that actually changed when I started putting my home cupboard with books and my doorstep with pots of small show plants.  From my books I gained knowledge and those door step plant made me responsible to see that I coexist with my nature. Today I have both my garden, farm and library and with that I have a responsibility that I need to be protecting the first  life on earth called “Trees”

Stand on an arid land on a blazing sun without even a cap and you will know what life without tree is and how a tree withstand all this to give us a life in shade and shelter. We all want shelter on this earth, we all want home on this earth, but we don’t want to count trees as our family. Isn’t the tree the first life on earth? So stand up and take step however small it is to make each and every city on this earth as green as possible.

I am sure that these saplings that we planted will grow into a huge canopy. It would be green again and there would be life again. Thanks to all the volunteers ( Padma, Anent, Austin, Sameer, virander, Chaitanya, Abdul, Anup, Kiran,Narendran,Gurusharan)  who helped each other with commuting and helping around. Thanks to the organizer who have always diverted the trekkers to the noble cause.

Lucy Larcom has rightly said “One who plants tree, plants a hope”. Today I have planted a HOPE. Have You? ..

Written By          : Sunita Nair

Organized By      : Kamalesh RS

Members Count   : 30+

Date of event      : 29th Aug 2015

Place                  : at Jarakbande Reserved Forest, Near FRLHT, North Bangalore.

Pictures             : BTC album1, BTC Album2