Planting Drive for urban forest at the School eco park- class 8

On Friday, 14th July 2017, our school organised a trip for class VIII to the School eco park. We reached our destination by 11:30 am and alighted in a fresh, pollution- free ambience. The showers in the past days had lent a special green to all the foliage and this accompanied by quacking farm ducks and scurrying rabbits made for a perfect setting for an exercise on environment!

We were the lucky class selected to kick off the plantation drive for an urban forest at the park! And we set to work rightaway! Ashoka, Mulberry, Jamun, Grapefruit, Mango, and some shrubs were what we planted that morning. In all wr managed to plant 70 saplings!

We were told that the plants would soon grow into trees since the monsoon had arrived and the soil was nourished and ready. The young forest that would help create would contain 550 trees, which to be planted over the next few days. Our forest would attract butterflies and bees and the trees would bear fruits in a few years! Slowly but steadily we would have a forest of our own and and captive bio diversity too!

We still had some spare time before we were scheduled to board our buses to return, so we decided to stroll around the farm and even play with the farm animals. We were thrilled to have planted so many saplings that would contribute, albeit in a tiny way to bring the much-needed fresh air back to our city. At the farm, the sky was a clean brilliant blue, with some rain clouds at a distance, a soft breeze, the lush grass and the company of our friends, made the setting a memorable one. The tranquility touched each one of us. The birds were chirping and the fresh fragrance of the flora and fauna gave us an unforgettable flavour of Mother Nature, something we have scarcely known in our urban lives.

We were unhappy to leave the farm. Its compelling freshness simply drew us back! Reluctantly, we bid goodbye and departed. It felt a surreal experience. Infact we understood first hand how important it is to keep away distractions like our phones and listen to nature around us.

Our fascination for the farm made us yearn to visit again in the near future.

Aadrita Goswamy, VIII-E.