Cleanliness Drive and Plantation at Ajmal Khan Park, Karol Bagh

FRIENDSHIP DAY PLANTATION!

• Total Volunteers = 25
• Garbage Collected = 5 KG
• Saplings Planted = 20 (amaltas, pilkhan)

A friend in need is a friend indeed. We are all familiar with this old adage. What do we humans need for our survival at the most fundamental level? Oxygen and water. And we all know that trees give us both. How about food? Trees take care of that on a lot of counts too! We know they fulfil our most basic needs. We can conclude that they are our real friends. We do not have an existence without them.

Thus, to celebrate the day in its most fundamental sense, We Mean To Clean (WMTC) volunteers gathered at the famed Ajmal Khan park in Karol Bagh on Sunday morning. We also had the presence of local residents to support us with immense ardor. We began by thanking them for their support and briefing them upon the benefits of native trees. Eventually, we got going with our task of the day.

Thankfully, we already had a few pits dug up to expedite the plantation process. Volunteers as well as the locals cleaned up the pits and nearby area. The collective effort yielded about five kilograms of garbage. And finally, the exuberant group of people began planting amaltas and pilkhan saplings. Most of these saplings were as tall as ten feet! In all, we planted about twenty of them.

As soon as you plant a sapling you must make a promise. A promise to take care of your friend. Quench its thirst by watering it regularly. Pacify its hunger by feeding it regularly with good manure. When you take care of this friend to help it become a fully-grown tree it will become self-sustaining and then you can be rest assured you have entered a friendship of a lifetime!

This fellow is going to take care of you and your family by supplying oxygen and attracting rains to give you water. Moreover, it will sequester carbon to purify the air you breathe. And if you plant trees such as neem, amaltas, arjun etc. you also get a source of medicine. Plant trees such as jamun, mango, shehtoot etc. and you get fruits! They are shelter to many birds and insects. They prevent soil erosion and help increase soil fertility. Can we imagine our lives without these friends who take care of us so well?

At a time when our city’s air and water is facing a severe crisis, we all need to come together to plant as many native trees as possible.

We need everyone to do their bit. Join us and help us in our mission!