Saplings Maintenance Drive at Govt Girls School, Kovur, March 7

Wonderful Write-Up from the Participants of Ainthinai - Saplings Maintenance Drive at Govt Girls School, Kovur, March 7

Write-Up from Selvam:

 

It was 5.30 in the morning. The day was fresher than any other. After cleaning myself I had to put all the tender coconut shells, which I arranged the previous night, into a single sack so that I could carry it with less hardship. After half an hour Mr. Sudharsan, from whom I was to get a free lift from, reached my house. With a huge sack, which probably weighed more than me, on my lap we started from my place to reach Porur at 6.30 as planned. When we started, I thought I would drop the obstinate sack, in some point of time,  in the middle of the road before reaching Porur and create few casualties. But all that did not happen with my temporary superhuman capabilities. Once we reached Porur, we gave a call to Mr. Nambi and asked about his whereabouts. Nambi instructed us to come directly to Kovur. We finally reached Government Girls School, Kovur at 7.00 AM. The school ground was barren of trees except for those saplings that Ainthinai team had planted few months back. While we waited for few more to join us we got familiar among ourselves. Then came more people with them sugarcane wastes and wood wastes.

Finally we got ready to do what we came there for. We were instructed by Mr. Mani and Nambi of what to and what not to do for the next 3 hours. Meanwhile, joined with us the lovely school children, who happened to be our morale boosters as well as to be ever accompanying us. The hours that followed for us, especially for those who had proclivity towards spending time with school children, was surreal.  True, spending time with kids deprives us of all our egos, worldly thoughts, shyness and what not! We should learn from them how to live happy and joyous rather than from elders. In turn, Kids too learned lot of things practically that gave them a break from our mundane Indian mug up education system. The time spent for one hour of practical learning was worthier than five hours of theoretical mugging up. Special thanks to Nambi and Mani who took special interest in showing those kids how to plant a sapling and maintain it. We saw that few saplings were eaten by Cows and Goats. Nevertheless, it was not fully dead. We advised kids to take care of them by having a close watch of animals that eat saplings and watering the saplings daily, especially with the summer setting off or all our efforts would be futile in no time. I hope they maintain it regularly. 

Mr. Arun and Nambi please visit the school frequently so as to remind the school children of our work, which will be a morale booster for them, and to watch the growth of the saplings. Also please make sure that the way does not become easier for animals to enter the school. We had put little thorns on the way they enter; still I feel those animals would make their way in one way or the other. Sorry Cows and Goats, we too want you to eat good food but not inside that school.

We along with kids not only planted and maintained saplings but also cleaned the campus of plastic and other wastes as much as we could. We collected 3 big sack of wastage. Pity, we could not dispose of them manually. So much were the garbage. Overall it was a pleasant day. Hope we all continue this work with same vigor forever. Thank you.

Write-Up from Anjali:

Ainthinai!! Google said it meant the poems categorized into five landforms typically called as five "Thinai's" namely Kurinji, Mullai, Marutham, Neithal and Palai. I just don't have much clue about the lines above. The term excited me and I decided to venture out and see what it was about. This was the second time I was participating in an event conducted by CTC. The motive was to understand what Ainthinai program is; I initially thought it might be planting of trees but later I saw the invite mention it as the maintenance of trees planted. It sounded great than planting a tree. The thought that many of us are not aware of how to maintain and protect nature and even themselves triggered in me the need to get educated about those and to share my knowledge with others. 

Early in the morning with a fresh mind and soul, we started to Government Girl's School, Kovur. The school had thirty five saplings which were planted six months back by our group,a few  of which stood as energetic young plants while few other saplings were eaten up by animals. We were given instructions by the coordinators, Nambi and Manikandan before starting the event. The knowledge they shared, developed in us a newly found spirit to work for the cause. A process called ' Mulching' was taught to us which was an interesting topic. We were asked to bring the requirements for the mulching process such as sugarcane waste, tender coconut shell, wood particles etc and the process was really interesting one practically. We also cleared the plastic waste and cleaned up the surroundings. 

How can I miss the lovely girls who enthusiastically worked with us and entertained us with their giggles and sweet talks throughout the event? The headmaster of the school encouraged and supported the students to actively participate in the event. The girls gained knowledge from us as well as implemented it which gave us a feeling of satisfaction and they even promised us that it’s now their responsibility to safeguard the plants and the saplings. The inspirational talk by Dr.Abirami with an example made a good impact on the students mind.

> Her quote was"Small plants are like small babies".
> She then asked do babies know to take care of themselves.
> The girls chorused a loud 'Nooo'
> She said, likewise we have to take care of the saplings and grow them into big trees the same way a baby is nurtured and nourished into an adult.
> The girls cheered with a big round of applause.
> Altogether, it was a wonderful work guys and should continue to do such activities to protect our mother "EARTH".
> Hope to see you all soon.