Tree gazing (verb): an activity
one indulges in while being driven around the roads of Delhi in a car, auto
rickshaw or bus.
From the onset I must confess to
have personally partaken in the above-mentioned indulgence from time to time.
It’s an immensely satisfying pursuit providing incalculable joy and welcome
distraction from all the cars occupying the scenery.
It’s fairly simple, while being
driven around the traffic lights of Delhi we attempt to gaze at trees. While
gazing one gets to admire the myriad colors begging to be noticed and
scrutinize the different parts like leaves, flowers and fruits on display. Often
one discovers something truly fascinating and might like to know the name and
characteristics of a new find. Here books come in handy and you can keep
yourself competitive with their help.
At this point you might be
wondering if this is relevant. If any of this does really have any connection
to Delhi Seed Bank Project.
You are partially correct but I
deemed it necessary to explain the genesis of the project through a sport not
being promoted anywhere else. Also, it does have a very germane connection to
the Seed Bank.
This sport has steered us towards
the natural history of Delhi and it’s been a nourishing experience. Trees have
been planted in Delhi by every administration worth its name. The history
stretches all the way from prehistory to our times. Some have planted for
religious purposes, some for defending the city, some for bringing back
memories of cities they left. British colonial rulers planted the trees we
mostly see around New Delhi roads because they were evergreen. Considerable
resources were summoned to plant trees that could provide shade all year round.
Out of this there have been some notable successes like Neem (Azadirachta indica), which have adapted
quite well to Delhi.
Out of all the complex historical
inlays a grim portrait was appearing.
Where were the native trees of
Delhi?
Delhi is situated where Aravalli
range meets the Yamuna river basin. If we classify natural occurring vegetation
found in Delhi forest as native trees, then we encounter a whole set of new
trees. These trees having adapted to the climate and soil conditions present in
Delhi and need little or no care. There is inherent evolutionary knowledge in these
trees, which makes them suitable for growing without external inputs. Their
adaptions make them better prepared for hot Delhi summers and dry monsoons.
All this does not mean these
trees are thorny, woody or unattractive. On the contrary, these are some of the
most striking trees to be found in Delhi. The list is replete with fruiting and
flowering trees. This list of natives encompasses the mighty Pilkhan (Ficusvirens), sacred Barna (Crataevaadansonii), fruiting Peelu (Savadorapersica), flowering Palash (Buteamonosperma), musical Siris (Albiziaamara) and medicinal Babool (Acacia nilotica).
These trees and many in this
category are noteworthy species with immense bio-diversity value. Not just for us
as Delhi citizens but other organisms that we share this city with. Many birds
and butterflies depend on these trees and have co-evolved to create a mosaic of
life forms we call Delhi.
The grim situation mentioned earlier
is pertaining to these trees. These trees are hardly sighted on our Tree gazing
drives. They rarely occur in our public gardens and are increasingly being
pushed out of Delhi ridge too. In fact there are only a handful of mature Peelu (Salvadora persica) specimens in obscure location
around Delhi. These naturally growing, specially adapted, climatically suited
native trees of Delhi are disappearing at a very fast rate. These trees are a
part of our natural heritage and outside of few institutes no one seems to care
about them. There is no nursery in Delhi specifically growing these trees or
distributing saplings for use of general public.
The Delhi Seed Bank Project
aims to bring collaborative agencies together in crafting creative
facilitation’s in order to fill this gap. Our holistic approach to
re-introducing these trees back to Delhi will include seed collection walks,
nursery management training, gardening workshops, school and college awareness
campaigns, forest plantation drives and tree adoptions.
Over the course of 18 months a
native plant nursery has been established. Here samplings are prepared from the
seeds collected during nature walks open to public. Through these walks we will
explore these forgotten trees in all the green zones of Delhi. The model
nursery is designed as a meeting place for all the garden clubs of Delhi. It
will also serve as a venue for nursery management training and gardening/
capacity building workshops. Last but not the least, the nursery will provide
young trees that will be planted in various sites around Delhi.
The process will be
video-documented and will be readily available for instruction, research and
duplication to make it easier to replicate such models at different locations.
Guides and instructional manuals will be produced for schools and colleges.
This knowledge database will serve as blueprint, which can be added to prepare
many programs and sites for various seminars and campaigns around the city.
The model nursery will be
situated at Conservation Education Centre
BNHS-Delhi (Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary). With
support of Forest Department, Government of NCT of Delhi and other like-minded government
agencies like Delhi Jal Board, NDMC, DDA and MCD, we will forge a partnership
incorporating citizen groups and students in collaborative projects resulting
in small green interventions. These interventions will result in increased
green cover in Delhi, less resources will be required to maintain this green
cover and hopefully native trees of Delhi can stage a comeback.
Written by:
Sohail Madan
Centre Head
Conservation Education Centre
You may reach him: cecbnhsdelhi@gmail.com
