World Environment Day is a worldwide reminder that we must protect and keep our environment safe and pollution-free. This year, I thought of involving the well-known NGO Green Ubuntu to help us in the plantation drive, and their young, energetic volunteer Aliza Fatima helped me in organizing an impressive tree-plantation drive to mark the special day. Residents, community leaders, and people who care about the environment got together at C-1 Park SDA. This park is the pride of our entire area and is visited by walkers from Safdarjung Enclave, Green Park, and Hauz Khas. The park has won several awards from SDMC and Delhi Govt. This year too, the award was presented to SDA RWA on World Environment Day by Gopal Rai, Environment Minister. But the real hard work for making this park a landmark of our area goes to Pawan Jain, who has painstakingly worked extremely hard to maintain and nurture this park into a fabulous green space full of huge native trees, fruit trees like mango, jamun, amla, imli. Hundreds of seasonal flowers like dahlia, petunia, roses, motia, geranium, hollyhock, etc., make this park a beauty to behold.
Building a sense of togetherness through community participation: The people in our society responded in large numbers to the plantation drive. Families and especially senior citizens joined hands, which helped build a strong sense of community. The group’s work showed how committed the gathering was to make the environment greener and safer for the present and future generations. A large number of residents from Safdarjung Enclave, Green Park, and SDA joined in the green initiative.
The occasion was to felicitate Pawan Jain and present him the award, so I thought of combining this special day with tree plantation. Pawan Jain got around 80 pits dug for the plantation. On the morning of 11th June, everyone got together in the park at 8 am. The morning walkers also joined in and happily planted saplings in the pits. Rich organic manure was procured by Pawan Jain. The Ashoka tree is significant to our country’s history and culture. It stands for peace, wealth, and growth. By planting these trees, our society honors our rich history and helps keep the environment in balance. The saplings were carefully chosen by considering the local temperature and soil conditions. This ensured they would grow well and live for a long time. The significance of planting only Ashoka tree was that an environment lover named Ashok had passed away in an accident. He used to carry plants with him and planted the seeds/saplings wherever he could find space on the way. His wife has donated these Ashok saplings in his memory.
“Aam Khao Guthli Lagao” is a unique project encouraging people to plant fruit trees. Helpers and residents were given mangoes with “Aam Khao Guthli Lagao” written on them, which means “Eat Mangoes, Plant the Seed.” This action was meant to encourage people in the neighborhood to plant fruit trees and live in a way that is good for the environment. By encouraging people to plant fruit trees, we make our surroundings more beautiful and enjoy the benefits of fresh, healthy food that we grow. It’s a gentle reminder that every single person has the power to help the world in small, everyday ways. After the drive through the garden, the participants were given tea, snacks, and a few minutes to relax and get to know each other better. President C-1, Mr. Sharma, Justice Sodhi, Mr. Chopra
