51A- TO MAKE VETAL HILL CLEAN & GREEN

We conducted our first cleanliness drive on 1^st January 2017 at Vetal Hill, Pune. After our first activity we realized that such one time activities are not enough. So we decided to conduct at least one activity per month.

With the help of social media we shared message about activity & appealed to the people to participate in our activity. We got very good response for activity. Until now more than 150 people have participated in activity & gave their contribution in conservation of Mother Earth.

    We have collected around 2200 Kg garbage from Vetal Hill in 2 years. It consist 791 kg of liquor bottles. While collecting garbage we segregated it into 3 categories- i) Liquor bottles & glass material ii) Plastic waste iii) other than plastic & glass material. We send plastic waste to Rudra Environmental Solutions for recycling. We gave liquor bottles to Bhangar shop for recycling & other remaining waste goes to Garbage Container of Municipality.

    Along with cleanliness activity we conducted tree plantation on Vetal hill. As we did not have much knowledge about the plants which should be planted, preparation for plantation etc, Prof. S.D. Mahajan guided us in this work. He told us that we should plant native species & also explained their importance for ecology.

   In 2017, we planted 50 native plants (All names of plants which we planted are mentioned in (Schedule I). We dug pits, filled it with dry leaves & organic fertilizers. On 13th August we conducted tree plantation activity. More than 60 enthusiastic volunteers participated.

    By planting trees our task was not completed as mere tree plantation is not enough. It requires regular nurturing for good survival rate.

    In 2018, again we planted 100 native plants. Presently we are nurturing around 140 plants on Vetal Hill.

I observed & experienced many things from cleanliness & tree nurturing activities.

Some Observations from Tree plantation & nurturing activity-

General-

• It is always said that tree plantation should take place during monsoon season. I think this is partially correct. It is good if sapling is planted in monsoon, but if planted in any other season, it does not affect plant’s health & its survival, if due care & nurturing is ensured.
• Survival & growth of plant depends on various factors such as nature & tendency of sapling itself, location, quality of soil, availability of water, resistance (wind, sunlight, competition) etc.
• If small saplings are directly planted on hill it requires much care & protection.
• It is advisable to grow small saplings at home for 7-8 months and then plant it on the hill or any appropriate place. This will increase the resistance capacity & chances of survival of the plant. It also requires less protection.
• Tree plantation & nurturing doesn’t give instant results, it requires lot of patience.
• People are generally interested only in Tree plantation activity but not so much in its nurturing activity. But the bright side is, people are at least becoming aware about plantation. We will try to spread more awareness about Tree nurturing.

Before Plantation-

• At least one month before plantation pits should be ready with dry leaves & fertilizer. It create conducive environment which helps plant to sustain on its own.
• A distance between 2 pits should be 10 mtr.
• Height of pit should be 1 -1.5 ft & size depends on sapling.

After plantation-

• Immediately after end of monsoon it is good to start nurturing of planted trees.
• To avoid effects of forest fire on plants it is most important to remove dried grass after monsoon & fire lines should be created to protect plants.
• If plant is properly planted in pit & it burns due to forest fire it takes some time for recovery. It requires regular watering at least 2 times in a week.
• Normally, in winter 700ml-1Ltr water to any plant in a week is sufficient except those plants which require more water. (Schedule IV & V) & in summer it requires 2 liters in a week.
• To avoid evaporation, mulching with grass & dry leaves is important.

Observations from Swachhata Activity-

• Importance of segregation of garbage at source.
• Importance of work & efforts of the people who collect garbage from our home. Such people play an important role in society to keep our environment clean.
• While collecting garbage we should set aside our comfort zone.
• I am sure that those who participated in cleanliness activity will not throw garbage elsewhere. Because they have experienced what other people feel if someone creates garbage anywhere.

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Similar Article – #TreeNurturing To read this article click here