CHENNAI : Cycling through the scarcely spread greenery on the streets of the city across seasons, and hiking on lush green hilltops, the members of the city-based Chennai Trekking Club, as part of their green initiative started Ainthinai, an environmental organisation to increase the green cover. After a hiatus, the team recently conducted a plantation drive near the Saidapet Metro Station. But that is not enough, they say, as they rear to do more.
This volunteer-driven group believes that the world is not an inherited property from the ancestors as a legacy, not a possession of the present living beings but borrowed from future generations to create a better place for them to live in. “The journey has been amazing. The Covid years played their bit. But, the beauty of this group is that all the volunteers have a similar thought process which helps achieve the goal,” says Ashwin Kumar, a member of Ainthinai.
Nurture the nature
Established in 2012, the number of volunteers has swollen to a thousand, post floods in 2015. With them, the organisation has been conducting beach and lake cleaning drives, and environmental awareness campaigns teaming up with schools and other non-governmental organisations. The team has planted pungai (Indian Beech Tree), vagai (Syrissa Tree), poovarasu (Portia Tree), banyan tree, manjal sarakondrai (Golden shower Tree), and iluppai (Madhuca longifolia) among others in and around Chennai, visibly in RA Puram, Ennore, Royapuram, and Saidapet, using traditional and modern practices.
Selecting the saplings involves a checklist. “We are choosy that way. We plant only those plants that do not become a casualty in a cyclone,” he says. The checklist includes avoiding ornamental plants, being drought-resistant, and retaining stagnant water. The motive behind this is not to create a jungle but to be surrounded by greenery.
Explaining the plantation procedure, Ashwin says, “The traditional technique of pothu is practiced, where a strong branch from a well-grown tree is planted on the ground. This method is used to grow plants like a fence, where the cattle graze the plants without entering the core area.” Modern ways popularised in the urban lifestyle like Miyawaki, a Japanese process to create dense forests with native plants are also in use. “Miyawaki is a one time investment process where we dig the soil three feet deep and loosen it. The seeds of different species are sowed in close proximity, and then covered it with red soil,” he adds.
One for the environment
Their in-house nursery established in 2016, which is set in Ponmar, Medavakkam, supplied the saplings. Previously, the Forest department supported the organisation by selling saplings at `10. The funds are publicly raised through donations. The plantation drives are usually carried out during the pre-monsoon period (starting June) when people raise a request. This involvement of residents reflects their keen interest in the plantation activity and its maintenance.
Post-pandemic the requests have come down and the group is now focussing on increasing that. Working throughout the year, the group also holds an annual Green Day either in August or September, wherein mass plantations in large open lands are conducted. These months are chosen because the south-west monsoon ends and there is a window for the northeast monsoon to set in, and it is one of the best times for planting. “Our last one was in 2019 at Mambakkam. Here, on a large parcel of land under the village forestry, we created a green space near the lake,” he says.
The last three years have been a dull period for all the green activities. However, moving ahead, the members of the organisation request the citizens to come forward to indulge in and work for the cause.
Reach out to the team @ainthinai on Facebook