Plantation Drive-A taste of tree planting

A tree plantation drive was organised by the Hero Honda Group in collaboration with The Times of India on 11 October 2017 at the NDMC Nursery, Chanakyapuri. The purpose of the drive was to educate school students about the importance of growing trees and acquaint them with the various new techniques of nurturing trees 90 students from The Indian School participated in the event.

At the nursery, the students received caps and badges carrying the NDMC logo and the symbol of the TOI Green Drive. The event received the participation of around 1,000 students from 17 schools across Delhi. Some of the schools that were in attendance were Raman Munjal Vidya Mandir, Bluebells International School, Cambridge School, GD Goenka School, The Heritage School and Amity International School among others.

All the students assembled together before a makeshift stage where members of the MCD were gathered.

The students of our School had carried posters made on the topic Conservation of Trees and proudly held them aloft for everyone to see on the occasion.

Mr. Neeraj Kant Sharma, Assistant Director of the Horticulture Department introduced us to the various methods used at the nursery. The most prominent and interesting one was the use of Vermiculite. Vermiculite is a soilless medium which is used as a substitute for soil. It helps sow saplings even during those times of the year when normally it is not possible to do so. It is an extremely useful alternative to natural soil and comprises natural components.

Mr. Sharma then showed us moulds that look like ice trays. There were two kinds of moulds- ones with 20 pockets and others with 100 pockets. He said that the ones with 20 pockets were root trainers and the ones with 100 pockets were seed trainers. He explained the complete process of growing plants, starting from sowing the seeds.

Seeds are best sown in seed trainers and when these mature to the prescribed level, they are transferred to the root trainers. The root trainers (as their name suggests) help the saplings to mature further until they are ready to move again.

We got to know that the plants at the nursery were grown with the help of vermiculite.

Next, we lined up to visit a high-tech nursery on the premises that looked like a greenhouse. It was called so because it housed plants of different kinds that grew under controlled temperatures. Before entering the nursery, all the students of our School assembled for a group photograph with the campaign poster for a backdrop.

Upon entering the nursery, we were shown various plants like the Zed plant and the Calendula. Soon all the students gathered around long tables all of which had seed trainers lined up alongside boxes of seeds. We spent a happy moments sowing seeds in small depression dug in the trainers.

It was soon time to leave, much to our dismay. The experience was both informative and enjoyable. We came back educated and sensitised towards the need of the hour, namely, saving our planet by growing more trees.

Ananya Sundaresan, VII-E.