MUMBAI: Taking a small step towards nature conservation, the Times of India Employees Environment Club carried out a tree plantation drive at the Sir J J School of Art campus in Mumbai on Thursday.
Over 30 saplings of indigenous species including neem (Azadirachta indica), amla or Indian gooseberry, mahua(Madhuca longifolia), jackfruit, guava, custard apple, mango, parijatak (coral jasmine), adulsa (Malabar nut), umber Ficus racemosa), kadam (Neolamarckia cadamba), kamandalu (Calabash), jaam (rose apple), bahava (Laburnum) etc were planted in the school campus by about 30 volunteers of the TOI Employees Environment Club.
The 167-year-old Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy School of Art is located along the busy D N Road with the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in the vicinity. “This is a congested area with dense vehicular traffic. In the last few years, a number of trees in and around this area were lost in strong winds and rains. The J J school with its verdant campus is the veritable lung of this area and so we decided to plant new saplings here to maintain and also to increase the tree count in this locality,” said Dharmesh Barai, CEO, TOI Employees Environment Club.
“We chose to plant a variety of native tree species to support the local biodiversity. The saplings of these indigenous plants were sourced from various locations, including Pune, Nashik, Malwan and nurseries in Nerul and Byculla,” Barai added. “We are fully committed to nurturing these saplings until they grow into healthy, robust trees, ensuring their survival and positive contribution to our environment,” he said.
The highlight of the event was felicitation of the gardeners employed at the Sir JJ School of Art-Sanjay Shivram Shewale, Sandeep Lingayat and Ashok Shirke. “The gardeners are the unsung heroes who have been nurturing the tree cover at the J J campus for decades and they have to be applauded for their work,” said Barai.
The event was held under the guidance of Jitendra Pardeshi, superintendent of gardens and tree officer, BMC Mumbai, Vinod Dandge, Deputy director, Sir JJ School of Art, Mumbai and Devasish Mukherjee, GM-BCCL, Finance. Among the dignitaries who attended the event were Vijay Sakpal, professor at Sir JJ School of Art, Mumbai, Sudarshan Aware from BMC A Ward office, Ashwin Jayale, Horticulture, BMC, A Ward, Pravin Mawle, Horticulture, BMC, A Ward, Abhay Dhaygude, GM-BCCL, Human Resources and Dharmesh Sangoi, Assistant Vice President, BCCL Finance.