Environment lovers plant 1,000 palmyra tree seeds in Aarey

It was a fun event that got a bunch of Mumbaikars out in masks to do their bit for the environment. Last weekend, a group of them met up at Aarey to plant 1,000 palmyra tree seeds there – in what could be one of the biggest plantations in Mumbai. It is expected to continue this weekend, too.
‘This is probably a palmyra tree plantation record of sorts in Mumbai city’
Speaking about this, Sanjiv Valsan, who has been part of the green movement at Aarey for long now, says, “Initially, the plan was to plant some 300 palmyra seeds, but when we went looking for planting sites with the Adivasi farmers, they showed us some very good sites on the peripheries of their farms, and seeing their enthusiasm we got extra charged up and decided to do a mega plantation.” There's another reason why we decided to go full throttle and plant 1000.“This is probably a palmyra tree plantation record of sorts in Mumbai city, since in recent times tree cutting has finished off a big part of our biodiversity,” states Sanjiv. So why palmyra? Adds Rev. Godson Samuel, one of the key members of the drive, “Palmyra takes 12 years to bear fruit, but once it does, it goes on to live for 120 years and provide fruits, sugar, organic medicinal jaggery, neera, eco-friendly craft and construction materials, economic support to rural and tribal communities, and recharges ground water even in degraded areas with its deep tap roots. It also supports wild birds, pollinators and animals in Aarey. All this while simultaneously reducing poverty in an eco-friendly way.”
Quite a challenge
Planting this many trees without calling a huge number of volunteers on account of the pandemic was an interesting challenge. Informs Sanjiv, “It definitely was, but we couldn't resist something this temptingly impossible! Around 40 of us made it there, maintained social distancing and wore masks, and got a good physical workout. It's all about being well organised, and our team has a really positive collective vibe and a genuine love for Aarey forest, which makes anything possible, including saving Aarey- the forest which gives us the air we breathe and prevents the city from submerging or turning into a toxic heat island. Since the monsoon began, we've been planting native trees in Aarey every Sunday and helping the adivasi indigenous farmers tackle their lockdown issues by gifting them seeds and fruiting tree saplings and getting city people from our social circles to buy their farm fresh veggies every Sunday and form an urban-tribal connect with the original indigenous people of Mumbai. We'll soon also begin sending volunteers to their farms to help them scale up their operations, while the volunteers too can learn organic farming. Pedlagao is all about a win-win for everyone. We save ourselves and the city by planting trees and feel great while we're at it because Aarey is that kind of place! It's got a certain kind of special magic found in very few places in the world.”