EVENT: Samardhan
OBJECTIVE:
As part of a social service, we undertook the responsibility of cleaning a garden and planted saplings. The main objective of this event is to keep our surroundings clean and make up for all those felled trees by planting saplings. This event was conducted in association with an NGO, Jala Poshan.
LOCATION:
Jakkur Lake children’s play area, Jakkur, Bangalore-560064
EVENT DESCRIPTION:
The event started at 7:30 AM. There were 25 volunteers and a few people from the NGO. We had 2 tasks at hand, one to clear the garden and the other was to plant saplings. Some of us had to remove the dried clumps from the vetiver and lemon grass hedge. They were either cut with a sickle or were pulled out by hand. We also had the task of removing a few diseased or otherwise unhealthy trees.
The long branches of the good and healthy trees were cut and would be used as cuttings (generally) or even as plant supports whereas the leaves of these trees were used as mulch. Mulch refers to covering all bare soil with dried/fresh leaves; here the garden is the main priority. While some of us were busy with the cleaning, the rest of us were planting saplings. We planted saplings in both the Earth Garden and the Water Garden. This was done by digging pits 2-3 times the size of the pot in which the plant is kept and filling it with compost, green leaves and soil, then mulching heavily, before watering it. The Earth Garden had saplings of Lime, Aloe Vera, Turmeric, Ginger, Mint, etc., while the Water Garden had saplings of Banana, Papaya, Drumstick, Chikoo, Mango, etc. Some of us even brought our own saplings and planted it there. The NGO workers helped us learn about various plants and tools. The whole group spent a whole 3 hours at the lake and completed the task at hand.
CONCLUSION:
Due to the COVID restrictions, we had limited amount of time to complete our tasks, but the experience was wonderful. Once our tasks were completed, we had a sense of satisfaction seeing a clean garden and new saplings planted. Also, we realized that we must contribute and understand our responsibilities towards the environment and would request everyone to do the same.