A picture speaks a thousand words. After the famous Earthrise photograph taken during the Apollo 8 mission in 1968, Artemis II on April 6 has taken another picture of the planet from space. The difference between the pictures says it all.
Fifty-eight years and several climate and environmental accords later, Earth is a bleaker picture of what was then a bright blue diamond among all of space’s magnificence.
There are many hearts that ache at the changes on Earth caused by human activities that have also led to its warming, shown best in the picture of the Antarctic Peninsula that now has 28,000 sq.km less of ice shelf than in the 1968 picture.
Some of these Earth-loving hearts have been trying in their own way to stand up for the planet, and heal it to health in the ways they can. Here are some examples:
Rowing for the river
On a quiet stretch of the Edayakunnam river, an unusual ‘watercraft’ cuts through water that’s often choked with plastic junk. A small boat made of discarded bottles.
At its helm is 64-year-old Sumathi Kumaran, who rows, pauses, and diligently gathers the waste ruining the once-pristine waterbody. Her effort serves as a reminder that even the smallest acts, repeated with resolve, can set off ripples of change.
A member of the Haritha Karma Sena, clearing waste is not new to her. She has been doing it for years. In fact, even before the Haritha Karma Sena was formally launched as part of the state’s waste management system under local self-governments.
Her day begins with a handcart. She goes from house to house collecting plastic waste. “I earn around Rs 50 per household, sometimes a little more,” she says.
She segregates the waste into reusable and non-reusable plastic, helps transport it, and checks its weight before it is sent away.
The idea of the boat came during a Clean Kerala Company’s Republic Day competition in 2024. Participants were asked to create something using discarded materials.
Sumathi had long been interested in such work. “I had earlier made decorative items like flowers and butterflies from discarded plastic and X-ray films,” she smiles.
Thus, she took up the challenge. “My first attempt to build a boat failed. Made with mineral water bottles, it collapsed under my weight,” she says.
She tried again using sturdier bottles, including discarded glass ones.
“About 100 bottles were arranged in three layers, secured with cello tape and supported with thermocol,” says Sumathi.
The total cost, she recalls, was about Rs 80. “I won the third prize — Rs 1,001,” she proudly says.
On January 26, 2024, she made her first outing on the boat. “That’s when it struck me how polluted the river was,” says Sumathi. “The water used to be so clear in my childhood.”
Since then, river-cleaning has become part of her daily work. She rows through the water, collecting plastic waste.
The scrap she collects is sold. “But I donate the money to charity. I already get paid for my work. This is my service to Mother Nature,” says Sumathi.
A single parent, Sumathi says she raised her children through years of hardship. “I used to toil to earn Rs 25 a day as a construction helper. Today, I get up to Rs 25,000 a month, depending on the workload,” she says.
Despite health issues like bone thinning, her boat mission will continue like a daily ritual. What drives her is simple: the hope that her actions will make others think twice before polluting her beloved river.
Taking a ‘green stand’
In a city often described as a concrete jungle, small efforts go a big way in creating little eco-friendly islands. One such spot is near the autorickshaw stand in Menaka.
A sprawling mango tree offers much-needed shade and a calming effect during intense summers, all thanks to a group of autorickshaw drivers. Interestingly, many of the old-timers here start their day after “saying hello” to the tree.
“We have been planting trees at auto-stands across Kochi. We have been doing this since the late 1980s. It would be difficult to say how many trees we have planted till now,” says Kabeer P I, an autorickshaw driver and union leader at the stand that’s lined with plant pots. What motivates him is his love for plants and trees, and the lack of space at his own home to grow them. “I live in Kothamangalam. I get saplings from the panchayat,” he says.
“It is not just mango trees, we have planted many varieties of plants across the city. Some perish, others flourish.” Kabeer points out that most public spaces in the city lack adequate shade. “We are just doing our bit to provide some respite,” he says.
He adds that maintaining the plants can be challenging, especially when there is water scarcity during summers. “But we try our best. It’s become a habit now,” Kabeer smiles.
Boatman’s garden
He is a boat driver by profession and a gardener by passion. A few years ago, during breaks between trips, Sadath Ali began planting in a vacant patch near the Ernakulam boat jetty. Today, it has flourished into a small but lush garden.
The space catches the eye of people passing by. Some stop to check out the plants, some click photos.
Appearing a tad sheepish, he says: “I don’t think it is such a big deal.” The idea of attention, or even appreciation, doesn’t sit comfortably with him.
He doesn’t see his efforts as something that needs to be highlighted.
“There is nothing to glorify, like how some social media influencers have portrayed. I have been doing this because I love plants. It’s nice to see some greenery around, right? That’s all,” he says, keeping it simple.
There is no larger plan behind the garden, he says. “Occasionally, people familiar with the space take a sapling or leave one behind. It happens quietly, without much discussion,” he says.
Sadath stresses that he does not seek any financial support. “I do it because I can. If not me, someone else,” he says.
Even as he plays it down, one can only hope Sadath’s efforts continue to inspire that “someone else.”
The ‘Mangrove Man’
T P Murukesan, aka ‘Mangrove Man’, grew up witnessing the harsh conditions in which people in his coastal hometown Vypeen lived.
“The backwaters may be a world-famous tourist attraction now, but those who live there face a difficult reality — tidal flooding,” he says.
To tackle this, he took on a mission to save and replant the mangrove forests, which act as a natural deterrent to flooding. “I started this in 2013 by setting up a nursery at home. Since then, I have planted over four lakh saplings,” he says.
Today, he also supplies seeds to NGOs and government organisations like the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation and CMFRI.
Murukesan does this entirely out of his own will and largely bears the financial burden himself. “There has been no help from the government till now, though some nature-lovers support my work financially when I reach out to them,” he says.
His family is his mission crew. They begin by planting seeds during the summer. “After germination, we plant the saplings in three months. It is time-consuming, and I cannot do any other work during this time,” says Murukesan.
“These mangroves are vital. I have to keep doing this for generations to come, probably till my last day.”
His biggest goal is to spread awareness and create an impact especially on schoolchildren.