The act of planting a tree and taking care of its growth establishes an inner connection with nature.— Sri M
Launched in 2016 by Sri M under the aegis of the Manav Ekta Mission, the MyTree initiative envisions a flourishing community movement encompassing individual homes, urban and peri-urban areas, and rural and natural landscapes. The ever-widening canopy of this initiative encompasses plantation drives, the creation of urban dense forests, sensitization campaigns through the MyTree Academy Workshops, and popular programs such as Each One, Plant Two and I Grow My Greens.
Sowing the seeds of maitri
Drawing from the Sanskrit term maitri meaning amity and harmonious coexistence with plants and trees, MyTree sows the seeds of the concept of interspecies friendship clearly during the MyTree Academy Workshops.
Facilitated by volunteers trained in a well-defined paradigm, these workshops reach out to school children from diverse backgrounds, college students, and adults, sensitizing them to the entire process of planting and establishing a profound and lasting connection with trees through scientific, hands-on activities.
A typical MyTree Academy Workshop begins with a fundamental question:
Have you ever wanted to make friends with a tree?
Sometimes an outright ‘No’ or just a forthright ‘Never thought of it that way’ or stumped silence and sheepish smiles reveal the truth that this question doesn’t usually figure in most minds.
Planting the seeds of change in their perspective, MyTree volunteers engage the participants to understand the physiological reactions of plants to sensorial stimuli: light, sound, and touch. Leading them onto understanding the sensitive nature of plants, the volunteers steer the workshop towards nurturing plants and trees in this spirit of maitri. Each tree is a universe unto itself, nurturing innumerable species within its ecosystem and continuing to support life on the planet through the oxygen cycle.
Scientific experiments and educational films further substantiate the learning acquired over the session, striking an emotional chord in young minds and moving them to pledge wholeheartedly to nurturing at least one tree. The workshop convinces the children that trees are selfless sevaks of Mother Nature and play a greater role in our survival than we realize. Without a mutually sustainable maitri with trees, we may be compelled to depend on artificial sources of oxygen in the near future.
Nature and nurture
A step-by-step guide to planting ushers in the experiential part of the workshop. The children are encouraged to sow chilli, fenugreek, spinach, and tomato seeds in repurposed milk sachets as part of the I Grow My Greens initiative at home. Seedling trays help the children plant seeds during the workshop at school and help them monitor the growth of the seedlings on a daily basis. Additionally, the children are also introduced to techniques such as mulching and soil-less planting. Initiated into growing their own food, they learn that they can lead a sustainable lifestyle and invest in their health with organic alternatives.
The journey continues
MyTree volunteers proudly recount experiences of young participants who having attended the MyTree Academy Workshops at a formative age have transformed into MyTree volunteers in their own right, learning to spread the joy of caring for their own saplings, facilitating such sensitization sessions for their camarades in other educational institutions, and influencing their families and communities to participate in collective environmental stewardship and civic responsibility.
With over 9,000 students sensitized through more than 70 MyTree Academy Workshops held across the country, the journey of the MyTree volunteers continues, one sapling, one heart at a time.
Join us in our mission to care for our trees and spread Sri M’s vision of maitri.
Please contribute to the MyTree initiative via this link or this link.
If you want to be a MyTree volunteer or have a Mytree Academy workshop at your institution, please write to us at connect@satsang-foundation.org.
