What would happen if all the trees were destroyed?

We love trees and the fauna associated with trees. But there are some self-centred individuals who find trees full of leafy trash and insects.

"What difference will a tree sapling will make?", is what few say.

Well... We are not merely planting a tree-sapling. We believe, we are planting a hope...as I said in the beginning of this initiative.

And here is an eye-opener !

If all the forests were destroyed the world would practically be destroyed because if there are no trees there will be no humans and no humans is no world.

The removal of all the trees on earth would be a disaster. Whole ecosystems would collapse and many, many species of animals would disappear for lack of food, shelter, cover, nest sites and a host of other critical elements to their existence. Certainly other plants (mostly invasive weeds) would fill in behind the trees, but if the trees go, life as we know it will disappear and something else will have to take its place.

Trees carry out a very important function. They remove Carbon dioxide from the air when they grow! If trees are destroyed, then eventually there would be less plants to trap this CO2 in their growth. Without trees, the CO2 level would rise very quickly and as CO2 is a green-house gas then the temperature on Earth would rise as well leading to super global warming! CO2 is also acidic and the amount of CO2 in the ocean would also rise making the oceans acidify and killing many if not most of the animal species and plant species in the oceans of the world. The main concern with Climate Change is the melting of polar ice caps. This would release huge amounts of water into the worlds oceans raising sea levels & coastal flooding but most importantly totally changing the worlds weather system by increasing the amount of water in the atmosphere as well leading to extreme weather conditions. Signs of this are already happening due to the release of CO2 from industries. If the Arctic ice cap melts at a continuing rate then a period of global warming will lead to a very quick change to global freezing. The snow would reflect the sun's rays away. There you go... After a brief period of global warming ruining the animal species then we would very quickly revert to a period of rapid cooling and maybe even an ice age..!

We can avoid this... by simple act of planting a tree and reducing the usage of wood. Single native tree...if planted by each one, there will be hope for our existence on the planet & our future. Trees are living solutions for our people in need of food, water, clean air and environment protection in the face of increasing climatic instability!

Today is 9th anniversary of Gifting Trees. May there be green everywhere in urban settlements. 
Let there be Native trees...everywhere!

Have You started segregating your waste?!

Ever since the segregation of Solid Waste at source has been made mandatory, there is a state of anxiety among the citizens of Nashik. Few believes the idea is good for environment. Few didn't give it a damn. Others started segregating the waste as not doing so may invite a penalty. But soon, more & more people started segregating their waste as Nashik Municipal Corporation started collecting fine from residential as well as commercial complexes.

Why this agitation and panic faces all around? Is it that difficult to segregate the solid waste, which actually is a resource?? And that's too for our own sake & future??? Not at all!

Remember 3 years back, on 5th anniversary of Gifting Trees..., We have discussed about the amount of waste going to local dumping yard?! It is time to act on it...if You don't want get penalized. :-)

Well... Segregation of Waste is very simple to do. I have already mentioned it in my previous articles about Composting techniques. One have to store Wet Waste like Vegetables residues, discarded food, egg shells, tea powder etc in Green Container. Dry Waste like newspaper, plastic, bottles, metal scrap, old clothes & footwear etc should go into Blue container. For other Dangerous Waste like Pesticide or colour bins, Electronic waste, CFLs, Tubes, Blade & Needles etc must go into Red container. Used Sanitary napkins & Diapers can also go into the Red one.

The Corporation is working hard on spreading the awareness and necessity of segregation at source.

It is due the interest taken by Nashik Municipal Corporation in this issue, Now people are asking & enquiring about the ways to segregate and recycle waste. Isn't it a good sign?! Oh yes, IT IS..!

Yes...there are still few people, who find excuses to do it, who complains about Garbage Van workers that they carry our segregated waste into the single container. Well, that is not the reason for You to avoid the segregation. Forget about the environment, This very simple step is necessary for our future generations. It is the time to act...

Toady is 5th May! Eight years went by, and here We are celebrating the anniversary of Gifting Trees again! :) Last year, We have planted 63 saplings of native trees and am happy to tell you that majority of them are flourishing well..! 

Every Day is Environment Day!!!

A tree-lover needs no occasion for tree plantation. This 31st May, my father, Dr Prashant Phalak retired from his services. As per his wish, he wanted to plant 58 trees on his retirement. This idea was so fascinating that his office colleagues and staff also decided to volunteer for the same.

Early morning of 31/05/2017, we all with the Native saplings, reached the venue, which was a Municipal Corporation space reserved for senior citizen. Slowly people started gathering and soon, members of Senior Citizen Club joined us too. They all were inquisitive about the saplings' name and growing techniques.

So, around 63 saplings were planted by a group of 18 self-motivated tree lovers. The home grown saplings of Banyan, Peepal, Mango, Pongam tree, Jackfruit, Red Silk-Cotton tree, Arjun, Mahua, Indian Tulip, Indian Cherry, Jamun, Wild Date Palm, Curry Leaf, Indian Cork tree, Tamarind, Drumstick tree etc. were planted in the soil. We usually plant a sapling with a plastic bottle which is cut from base, obviously to facilitate the watering process. This method helps a lot in summer as you just need to pour water into the bottle and over the period of time, water slowly percolates near roots of the saplings. I have learned and adapted these new methods because We are not interested in mere Plantation. Hence we need to think about the nurturing of the saplings also. Each & every planted sapling will be looked after.

Here are the snapshots of the event...

This event inspired few of the members and they also wished to plant few Native trees. Some of them visited my small nursery where I grow my own saplings and learned some of the seed germination and plantation techniques. So astonished to see the trees we have planted so far, Dr Deshmukh and Dr Jadhav decided to plant few saplings near their office premises. My father not only donated 40 saplings to them, but happily helped them to plant the saplings on occasion of World Environment Day. What a day!

5th June is not just a tree plantation day. Let us hope & try to look after the planted saplings till next Environment Day. But as said earlier, it is very easy to plant a sapling, but a way more difficult to nurture it! Hopefully, We all will look after the saplings and see them grow into trees..! :)