A call from one of the residents residing right next to the Forest area, was all that was needed to trigger off series of concerns, already felt but never addressed as an individual or as a community. Maybe it was the layman's fear of dealing with the unapproachable Foresters, the vested interests of the powers that be & the political interests revolving around such issues.
 |
| Valleys where simple check bunds can be built to hold water |
The pea fowls are a threatened lot & the deer population is fast diminishing, almost non-existant in this fragment.
The whole Forest area is an open-to-all ground for hunting, burning, burying, tree felling & GARBAGE/ DEBRIS DUMPS .
 |
| Our Little thinkers at work :) |
Something had to be done & done fast!
 |
| Rain water draining out ....Lots of scope for Rain Water Harvesting within the forest !! |
What better way than an awareness drive & an event to motivate the citizens around this??
As always .... A thought forms .... & nature conspires !!!
In this case, it was a positive & proactive one... a planting awareness drive !
So, after a series of calls & transfers on the line, to the Forest offices... off we went to meet the Divisional Chief Conservator of Forest (DCF), Urban. We were in for a pleasant surprise ! Didn't expect him to be so co-operative. He in fact, asked us to help them bring in corporate funds to speeden up the process of fencing up the area, afforestation & for watch & Guard. They were quite open to the idea of citizen participation in afforestation & watching/guarding of the area.
Then started the hunt for funding, unfortunately corporates had their own protocols to follow & it may take more than a couple of months for it to realise. But that would rob us off of the rainy days.
Thus started the scuttling around for individual funds. It did take quite a few.... "Not my concern", "Govt funds are aplenty", "why me? when the powers that be are swindling away on allocated funds". But we did find citizens, concerned enough about the bio-diversity, the much needed lung space, the much more needed water retention area & ofcourse the lovely pea fowls, rarely spotted but making their presence felt through their cries all over. Rabbits scurrying about in search of food.
We also found that the existing plantations were not catering to the flighty creatures. So, Fruiting & pollution countering plants like peepal, Banyan, Nerale, Goni, & other ficus species had to be brought into the planting scheme.
It seemed like an uphill task for the team members trying to bring in resources like volunteers, implements to scoop in earth & co-ordinating the event. Firstly, we had never worked with the Forest department and didn't know how welcome our drive to plant in one of the fragments would be.
But co-operate, they definitely did, & went all the way to get the pitting done for us. Kapil. Sharma of saytrees.org helped us out by bringing in 200+ volunteers & make it a great success!
And after all the apprehensions & last minute running around to get the final arrangements done..... there lands ..... Mr. Annaiah, ( IFS, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests & Administrator Bhadra Command Area Development Authority, Shimoga ), who turned out to be the star attraction !!! He coloured the event RED, or rather GREEN :) by his talks on Forest facts like area figures, encroachments, tree species, ownership of citizens, laws to be adhered to but loosely done so far!!!
The crowd went wild on his guided trek around the Forest area. The energy was undoubtedly
HIGH !!!!
The little ones tried to do their bit by trying to reverse the after effects of whatever blunders we adults have committed & left them HIGH & DRY!
They even carried water all over the place !
There ... finally the department supplied us with about 600+ saplings & the 300+ volunteers had a fun-filled, high energy activity after all. A day well-spent & worth all the efforts. But we also understand ... NOW starts the actual commitment !!! & the onus lies on the community built around the forest....
For those who missed out on the event can still make it in small batches to plant more tree saplings, & help us build check bunds along the small valleys created, so that the animals don't have to suffer during the hotter days. In the bargain, we could do our bit in increasing the water table in the area.
Signing off with a heart-felt thanks to all who participated & an appeal to concerned citizens to support in watch/guard the little left Forests we are lucky to have around us! :))
And not to forget, little 12 yr old Dhruva. Prasad in helping us capture these lovely moments on camera !
For those who missed out on the event can still make it in small batches to plant more tree saplings, & help us build check bunds along the small valleys created, so that the animals don't have to suffer during the hotter days. In the bargain, we could do our bit in increasing the water table in the area.
Signing off with a heart-felt thanks to all who participated & an appeal to concerned citizens to support in watch/guard the little left Forests we are lucky to have around us! :))
And not to forget, little 12 yr old Dhruva. Prasad in helping us capture these lovely moments on camera !
