Monsoon Wooding is hosting another event on Friday, 30th May.
We will screen "Wasted", an award winning short film made by Swechha We For Change, at the Swechha office :3rd floor, B1/46, Malviya Nagar.
All interested, please come to the office at 2 pm.
Following the screening, all volunteers will move to Khan Market to begin our 2nd de-nailing drive.
We hope that it will be as or even more successful than the G.K. drive!
Do come!
The Wooders met at Khan Market on 24 May to garner support for their campaign. We distributed close to 200 saplings. But more importantly we talked to an even larger number of people about Monsoon Wooding and the driving force behind it. In the process we managed to gain an insight about what the citizens of Delhi think about infrastructure developement and the consequent damage to the environment.
While one lady was completely opposed to Delhi Metro and felt that improving the present public transport system would have sufficed to ease traffic problems in Delhi, another gentleman had a completely contrary view. He felt that felling trees was inevitable if we wanted Delhi to be a world class city. Getting to know so many diverging views was quite an experience!
While our volunteers spread around the market distributing saplings and talking to people, Vimlendu Jha (Founder and Executive Director, Swechha) and Sunny Verma (Program Co-ordinator) moved through the market singing songs about change and social responsibility. They attracted a large audience and forced even the most disintersted shoppers to abandon their indifference.
It was a very successful event, covered by NDTV, and we came back home knowing there are lots of kindred wooders loose in the city!
Buoyed by the success of the De-nailing Drive at GK I, the Wooders congregated at the Swechha office on 19 May to discuss the future course of the Monsoon Wooding campaign.
It was decided that the next event will be held at Khan Market on 24 May. Along with de-nailing the trees in the vicinity, the Wooders will also give out approximately 200 saplings of Golden Duranda amongst several other varities of leafy plants.
We also decided the dates for one of the most exciting and interesting activities of Monsoon Wooding 2008 - The Road Campaign! This would entail selling of saplings at major Traffic Signals of Delhi. The Road Campaign will start from 26 May, when the first round of selling 'Trees at Traffic' will go underway . Watch this space for more information on Trees at Traffic.
Wooders With the Saplings
Getting Ready to Sell
De-nailing in progress
Fighting 'Plier' and Nail!
A Tree to Lean on...
Monsoon Wooding launched its first de-nailing drive on the 16th of May, in and around the M block market in GK I.
The objective was twofold: one to remain within the main market, giving out saplings as tokens to spread awareness and the other to move from tree to tree freeing them from nails, wires or barbed fences.
Our first target was a nasty barbed fence wound around several Ashoka trees. The bark of the tree had grown around the wire and it was so entrenched that taking it out took more than an hour. While a group worked on these trees, the rest of us spread out to go further into the residential parts of that area.
We encountered challenges of varying degrees from 6 inch nails to resilient posters, but we received tremendous help from shopkeepers, taxi drivers and auto rickshaw drivers.
We met after our de-nailing efforts in the market's central park and proceeded to give out our token saplings and spread the word. The GK shoppers were very supportive and we were soon out of plants!
It turned out to be an excellent event with a lot of support from volunteers and concerned citizens of Delhi!
Our first General Body Meeting of Monsoon Wooding 2008 was held at the Amphitheater, India Habitat Centre (New Delhi) on 14 May 2008. We had sent invites to people on Facebook and through word of mouth. It was heartening to see that despite the heat, around 25 enthusiastic volunteers turned up to brainstorm on how to initiate the campaign and take it forward.
After everyone introduced themselves, Vimlendu (Founder & Executive Director, Swechha) initiated the discussion by briefing everyone about the salient features and purpose of Monsoon Wooding.
We formed committees to plan and execute the various activities. We also discussed in detail, the first event of Monsoon Wooding 2008 - De-nailing trees around M-Block Market at GK I. This is a very posh and elite shopping area and a favorite hangout for the teenyboppers and college students. We also decided to sell saplings to people at GK I to spread the message of Monsoon Wooding and to raise funds for subsequent events. The meeting concluded on a high note with promises of support and active participation by all those present there.
‘There is so no such thing as a free lunch.’ One of the basic tenets of Economics (implying that there is an opportunity cost attached to everything); this is epitomized in the rapid infrastructure development Delhi is witnessing at the moment. The Delhi Metro, preparations for the Commonwealth Games, construction of flyovers, are a step in the right direction towards making Delhi a world class city. But, this comes at a HUGE cost.
29, 360 trees have been felled so far to make way for the Delhi Metro. 7, 508 are about to meet the same fate. Delhi’s green cover is 10.2%, way below the minimum requirement of 33%. There is only one tree left for every 350 people in Delhi.
In an attempt to restore Delhi’s green cover, Monsoon Wooding was launched in 2005 by Sweccha-We for Change foundation. It aims to bring together volunteers who wish to see Delhi’s tree cover expand and to give them a platform to realize their plans.
Because we also want trees in our world class city.
Our course of action is outlined by the 3 P’s:
PLANT – anywhere, everywhere!
PROTECT – trees that have been reduced to billboards.
PROMOTE – tree welfare, because knowledge is power!
Through our initiatives we plan to achieve the following –
1. Planting a target number of trees to make up for those lost in the name of development.
2. Saving existing trees from dying out and ensuring their protection.
3. Sensitizing the youth and the rest of the civil society of Delhi about the seriousness of Delhi’s depleting green cover.
4. Building a huge network of young volunteers who are ready to come forward and participate in similar environmental campaigns as and when the need arises.
5. Attracting the State’s attention towards the efforts of young people and convincing it to take necessary steps to create a greener Delhi.
2. Saving existing trees from dying out and ensuring their protection.
3. Sensitizing the youth and the rest of the civil society of Delhi about the seriousness of Delhi’s depleting green cover.
4. Building a huge network of young volunteers who are ready to come forward and participate in similar environmental campaigns as and when the need arises.
5. Attracting the State’s attention towards the efforts of young people and convincing it to take necessary steps to create a greener Delhi.
Getting Involved:
There are several ways in which you can help make Delhi a little greener!
What YOU can do everyday
1. Planting and nurturing a tree requires about a minute a day and a mug of water, plant a new one!
2. Adopt a tree and save it from damage such as nailing, tiling and concretization around its bark.
3. Tell us of areas where trees are under duress and help restore the damage by funding a tree plantation.
4. Be aware and spread awareness!
2. Adopt a tree and save it from damage such as nailing, tiling and concretization around its bark.
3. Tell us of areas where trees are under duress and help restore the damage by funding a tree plantation.
4. Be aware and spread awareness!
What we can do together – Volunteering
1. Saving trees
Nailing trees harms trees in more than one way. Nails harm tissues that are responsible for transporting water and nutrients. They also open up wounds that are extremely susceptible to pests. Also, copper from the nail gets converted to copper sulphate which is extremely poisonous for the tree.
You will find many such trees in commercial areas like GK and Green Park where advertisements have been hung from trees. We plan to go and denail such trees and in the process spread awareness about this issue.
2. Planting trees.
To make up for the shocking number of trees that have been cut down, we plan to carry out the following:
1. Plantation Drives: In the Delhi Ridge, in school and college campuses, in local parks, etc. In short, anywhere and everywhere
2. Creation of Model Parks: Most localities in Delhi have neglected playgrounds and land lying waste. We will transform them into lush & innerving centers of greenery.
3. Creation of Oxygen Belts: Rubbish Heaps are an eyesore. So, to remedy that we will garner large numbers and convert these into thriving oxygen belts.
Nailing trees harms trees in more than one way. Nails harm tissues that are responsible for transporting water and nutrients. They also open up wounds that are extremely susceptible to pests. Also, copper from the nail gets converted to copper sulphate which is extremely poisonous for the tree.
You will find many such trees in commercial areas like GK and Green Park where advertisements have been hung from trees. We plan to go and denail such trees and in the process spread awareness about this issue.
2. Planting trees.
To make up for the shocking number of trees that have been cut down, we plan to carry out the following:
1. Plantation Drives: In the Delhi Ridge, in school and college campuses, in local parks, etc. In short, anywhere and everywhere
2. Creation of Model Parks: Most localities in Delhi have neglected playgrounds and land lying waste. We will transform them into lush & innerving centers of greenery.
3. Creation of Oxygen Belts: Rubbish Heaps are an eyesore. So, to remedy that we will garner large numbers and convert these into thriving oxygen belts.
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