In the early days of Diya’s collaboration with Nizhal, we were involved in tree planting activities in residential areas of Velachery. Our beacon of inspiration was Mr. Pandian, who runs a cycle repair shop in Velachery, and goes tree-planting in his spare time over weekends. His group has been planting trees – 2 or 3 every weekend – for the last couple of years all over Velachery. Joining this group and planting trees every weekend (mostly on request from residents) for a few months, made us realize the need for a more concerted planting effort in Velachery. And thus was born the Velachery Tree Planting Drive.

Our aim was to zero in on a particular place within Velachery and start a focussed programme that would see local residents, civic authorities and other interest groups unite in an effort to green the area. With this in mind, we went about assembling a task force consisting of various entities:

• Nizhal – for general expertise, providing liaison with local authorities and sourcing of saplings
  

• Highways Department – conducting site surveys and providing the required approvals for planting

• Vijayanagar Residents Welfare Association – for monitoring growth of the saplings, ensuring that they would be watered

• Velachery Plus – a neighbourhood newspaper, for local coverage and creating awareness about the project among residents

• Diya – engaging volunteers to do the actual planting, and overall coordination of the project

The planting was carried out in a phased manner over a period of 10-12 weeks, with 2-3 saplings being planted every weekend.

PROTECTING THE SAPLINGS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The highlight of the activity was the innovative “cycle-tyre guards” – a cost-effective measure to protect growing saplings from Velachery’s significant bovine population. It was a technique evolved by Mr. Pandian – it involved creating a barrier out of old, worn-out cycle tyres by piling them up one on top of another, around the planted sapling. The pile of tyres is held in place by three wooden sticks, each about 6 ft in height – each tyre is tied to all three sticks by pieces of strong rope, so the barrier stays in place. Once the tyres are in place, the sapling cannot be seen from the outside – all that is seen is a bunch of cycle tyres piled to a height of about 5 & 1/2 feet. This ensures that stray animals do not devour the plant. Once the sapling spreads its roots and reaches a stage where it cannot be harmed (by humans or by animals), the barrier can be removed. This is done by the people in the neighbourhood who are nurturing and taking care of these plants.