Pune is one of the fastest growing cities in India, soon to be a smart city. Initially, Pune city was famous for the green content. But, with the rapid growth and development the city is losing the city is tilting from green to grey. To fight and overcome this increased amount of pollution, TERRE has developed an Urban Forestry at Warje, which is one of the flagship projects of TERRE in the year 2015.
Warje is a small area located near Pune. Warje Urabn Forestry is the first ever urban forestry project in Maharashtra. Before developing it into forestry, it was around 16 hectares of barren land hill area of Forest Department and it caused many encroachments by slums and builders. To equalize the pollution with the clean air, TERRE came up with this initiative, Urban Forestry, where they used the land by Forest Department to convert it into Forestry.
In collaborations with TATA Motors and Persistent Foundations as CSR Partners, TERRE has planted around 9500 plants with the height of 6-8 feet and now has transformed into trees with the height of 9-10 feet. In the past 2-3 years the forestry has grown widely and has enriched the biodiversity of the area. The plantation includes around 23 indigenous plants species namely Banyan, Peepal, Sonchafa, Apta, Neem, Kanchan, Golden Banboos, Badam, Kaat, Amla, Umbar etc. Also, visitors have found around 29 local bird species, 15 butterfly species, 10 reptile species and 3 mammal species. The enthusiastic employees from both the organizations often visit the site for volunteering work. Also some other organizations and localites from Warje frequently gather and perform volunteering work. Also, inside the forestry, there is a provision of 2 huge water resources which are filled in rainy days and later the water is used for plants.
In Warje Urban Forestry, there is a provision to adopt a specific plant in your name. Till date, many nature loving people have adopted plants in the memory of their loved ones. This activity is being carried out annually.
"Nature has given many things to humans to make summers bearable. Fruits that keep the body cool, trees that provide plenty of shade. But the animals and birds around us suffer a lot from the heat of the sun. We should fulfill our responsibility of providing them with water and shade. We should also protect the branches of trees and keep water in the windows. Only then the animals and birds will remain healthy. Let's reduce the temperature of the earth. Let's conserve the trees..!!"
TERRE Policy Centre organized a tree distribution drive in Dandeli, Karnataka, where they distribute...