Call of the conservationists
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As Manaveeyam Road in the city bustles with activity in the evening, the gaze of passersby fall on a lady who unassumingly waters saplings planted on the traffic island.
She is Anishia Jayadev, a nature lover and faculty member of the Institute of Management in Government (IMG). The saplings, that get the much-needed respite from the blazing sun, are the ones she had planted a month ago.
Theruvidam Culture Collective, watering
saplings at Manaveeyam Road. BP Deepu
Setting An Example
At a time when planting of saplings is considered the best photo-opportunity, Anishia and fellow members of her group, Manaveeyam Theruvidam Culture Collective, have gone a step further. They ensure that the saplings that they have planted survive beyond the mere ‘two-column news’ in the next day’s newspaper.
“Usually, we see saplings getting wilted within a few days due to lack of care. By watering and nurturing them on a daily basis, we try to send across a message that a nature lover’s duty only begins with the planting of a sapling,” said K G Suraj, convenor of Manaveeyam Theruvidam Culture Collective.
An Active Group
The collective, comprising art lovers conservationists, has been quite active in the capital’s social and cultural spheres. On March 21, which was observed both as World Poetry Day and World Forest Day, its members gathered at Manaveeyam Road and distributed around 250 saplings among its members and nature lovers.
While most of the saplings were planted in the houses of members, two of them were planted on Manaveyam Road in remembrance of their initiative. Due to paucity of space at the traffic island, the group decided to plant Flaming Mound Spirea which has fiery blooms at the tip and Aryaveppu or Neem tree, which is evergreen, rapidly growing and has broad spreading leaves.
Leading By Example
On days when Anishia or her friends cannot water the plants, children in the vicinity help her out. “The whole idea is to make the community aware of the importance of nature conservation. And when people of a locality begin taking up that task voluntarily, we feel a sense of contentment,” Anishia said. “We regularly post updates about our conservation efforts on Facebook. Photographs of the saplings that we have planted at various places are also shared on Facebook on a regular basis so that the spirit of environment conservation is kept alive among members,” she said.
Apart from conservation, the group is also actively involved in various cultural and social activities. In association with Aksharamonline, the group was recently involved in setting up a street library and reading corner on Manaveeyam Road. Discussions and debates on books and social issues, staging of plays, film shows and cultural activities are also organised by the culture collective.