A mission to 'green' India over the next year

Spurred by the success of Green Kanha, a successful initiative for shaping the micro climate of hundreds of acres of Kanha Shantivanam in Hyderabad, the Heartfulness Institute has started three major initiatives linked to preservation, enrichment and sustenance of ecosystems.

These three initiatives are:

1. Earmark 25 acres of land to create a mini-rainforest in Telangana

2. Commit to plant, adopt and nurture 10 million trees over one year across India

3. Associate with Google India to plant 300 trees in Kanha Shantivanam and spreading the green message on June 5 and 6 as part of World Environment Day.

Kamlesh D Patel of Global Guide of Heartfulness said,"Green Kanha is a result of extraordinary efforts to recharge the dry and barren ecosystem into a flourishing green environment.It is now home to over 1.5 lakh trees,including indigenous andseveral of the IUCN redlisted speciesamongst those being nurtured here.Thishas helped create a positive microclimate in and around Heartfulness region. This transformation encouraged us to do more and we have now embarked on the next mission. Testing the resilience of the rainforest species is an imperative in the current scenario of global climatic change and we are confident that the efforts and methods employed will create a new paradigm."

Over 300 species of typical rainforest trees will be planted in the week these will include several rare, endemic and threatened species like Artocarpus Lakoocha, Artocarpus Hirsutus, Diospyros condoliana among the emergent species, Vateria indica, Garcinia dalbotis from the top canopy, Persia macrantha, Oroxylum indicum from middle canopy, Baliospermum montanum from understorey and Barleria strigose and others from the ground cover. These valuable seedlings and saplings have been procured from M S Swaminathan Research Foundation- Wayanad, Kerala Forest Research Institute, Thrissur, Kerala, Shivaji University-Kolhapur, Foundation for Revitalisation of Rural Health Traditions, Bengaluru, Forest Department of Karnataka and Grameena Krishi Vijnana Kendra, Bengaluru.

Heartfulness trainer and one of the editors 'Rainforest Conservation of India' published by the Wildlife Institute of India, Dr. Ramakantha said "To begin with, we will be developing 8-10 acres of land. The entire area needs to be prepared to receive the rainforest tree species. Special rain-guns that continuously spray water from 50/100 feet will be installed in this area to keep the area moist and all other measures will be taken to create a microclimate for conducive for the growth of some of the delicate species. This is a very arduous task not attempted before in an unconnected ecosystem far away from a rainforest; however, we are taking all necessary steps and we are guided by the power of Heartfulness to make this into a reality."

'Heartfulness Green', a green initiative an extension of the Green Kanha initiative was launched across all Heartfulness Institutes facilities in the country to mark the World Environment Day. This initiative includes plantation of trees in the respective facilities, adopting of roads, lakes, villages towards increasing the green cover. As part of this year's commitment the Institute will plant 10 million trees across its centres.

For the third time in a row, a Google India team from Hyderabad will be participating in a tree plantation drive at Kanha Shantivanam, the global headquarters of Heartfulness Institute.

Google India employees will participate in the drive on 5th and 6th June and will be involved in planting of the saplings from preparing the pits, putting in the nourishment needed, lowering the plants into the pits, watering and covering the pits.

Commenting on the occasion, Ram Vithanala from Google India said "It's a pleasure to be associated with Heartfulness Institute for the last two years and I'm really happy the way the trees planted have been taken care off. We will be looking forward for the event."

Ramakntha said," Googleteams have been participating in the growth of Green Kanha over the last 3 years and have helped spread of the message of green while at the same time understanding the subtleties of tree planting."

Kanha Shantivanam is an important centre of the Mission, situated on the outskirts of Hyderabad in the State of Telangana. The campus is being developed as a resplendent Green Space, hosting a wide variety of herbs, shrubs, and trees as part of the Green Kanha Initiative. More than 150,000 trees have already been planted and 1000 plus trees translocated from various regions.

It is a continuous endeavor of the mission to increase this plantation manifold. Some of the species under threat include plants that are considered sacred and are of immense benefit to human beings and the environment. Under the Green Kanha Initiative, the emphasis is given to such ecologically, economically and socio-culturally important native tree species.

Also, with a vision of Kanha Shantivanam playing the role of an ex-situ conservation centre, rare and threatened plant species are being collected from far and wide places within India, due diligence given to the positive ecological role that they could play in the decades and probably centuries to come.