Ever
imagined a city set to transform itself from being the IT Hub to be known as
the O2 hub?
50
thousand tress planted by Tree Public Foundation this July makes it a reality
to believe.
TREE PUBLIC FOUNDATION (TPF), A Pune-based Environment NGO with its goal to save the green
acres and to enhance the oxygen levels, completed planting 50,000 on Aug 2nd 2013 thereby making Pune an O2 hub a reality .
The NGO is now
determined to take a telescopic jump in increasing the green canopy cover to
enhance the oxygen level further, regulate the temperature variations and work
towards providing a healthy tomorrow and intend to create large green patches
which can truly act as ‘lungs of the city’ within the city.
As
a part of our PPP model, (Public Private Participation) we were gracefully
supported by enthusiastic organizations like The Indian Army , Cantonment
Board, 700 volunteers from various colleges , 2800 children from 10 schools, the
management & employees of Premier Ltd, Persistent foundation, Lalchand
Hirachand Trust, I Build Foundation, Tata Motors and Cummins with their
employees came forward. The plantation was carried out mostly in the areas of
Aundh, Pimple Saudagar Yerwada, Talegao and Nagar road. Celebrities like Dr. Mohan Agashe, Saksham
Kulkarni, Bhushan Pradhan to name a few, actively joined hands to support the
cause.
Importance of the Initiative:
Ø
Increasing the oxygen levels of Pune - Trees are the most important element in our nature system
, it’s very important for us to start acting upon this natural resource, as our
basic requirement of oxygen is derived from trees, It is very
important for all of us to breath healthy & healthy trees are our only
companion in this journey. Large sustainable tree plantation & green cover
is very crucial to increase the healthy oxygen level inside the city limit.
Ø
Reducing the temperature variation level drastically - There are simple reason why we like prabhat road , bmcc
road or koregaon park because it has got more tree cover and 1 to 2 degree
temperature difference. Temperature combat is again a huge challenge that only
trees can resolve. The only way we could combat the temperature rise, is by
planting right kind of trees that will have large green canopy and provide
shade.
Ø
Retaining the ground water levels & soil conservation - Trees play a very crucial role in soil conservation &
retaining the soil, what happened in Uttarakhand was also a clear example of
deterioration of forest & tree cover, due to less availability of tree
cover the soil was loose. the water that came gushing the mountains carried the
loose soil along and covered the entire city. This could have been avoided to
an extent if there were enough trees. The loose soil is a major concern for all
of us today living in cities. As loose soil settles to the basin of river &
dams, increase the level of water creating floods situations every year.
Ø Ø Increasing
the Biodiversity & Birds migration
– Pune is also known for palying a good host for the migratory birds.
Unfortunately little has been done to retain the native birds within the City.
TPF chooses trees that are preferred by these native birds to build their
shelters.
Efforts
taken by Tree Public & Technical analysis of the project
Ø Various
technical factors like soil testing, moister level, reap-ability were
done.
Ø Ground
water level analysis, pest in the area were studied month before planting.
Ø Appropriate
natural fertilizers, manures were put before plantation
Ø Trees
planted were chosen from the Western Ghats native which have best survival
ability in the prevailing soil condition.
Ø With
the help of our volunteers & other teams plantation effort was carried out.
Ø Contingency
back up for water supply is also maintained for these planted trees.
Ø Tree
public with its local volunteer’s team will now maintain these trees for next 2
years as well.
Tree public now plans to plant over 1 lac trees by
August 2014
We look forward for and invite
corporate and individuals to play a pivotal role in supporting this noble cause
and help achieve the landmark target of 1 lac trees jointly and continue increasing
the O2 levels of Pune city.
