A fruitful endeavour

Volunteers of NECF plant fruiting trees along the forest edges to stop animals from straying into farm land in search of food

A group of volunteers is engaged in planting saplings of fruit-bearing trees/plants on the foothills of the Western Ghats in the coastal belt during the rainy season from the past four years.

An initiative by Mangaluru-based National Environment Care Foundation (NECF), saplings are planted from June to August every year since 2018 on the fringes of forests mainly for preventing attacks by wild animals on the farmland in the long run and to strengthen the rain forests. The volunteers comprise both college students and activists of the NECF.

Wild animals, including monkeys and boars, target arecanut, coconut, banana, cocoa, and vegetable crops on the farmland located on the fringes of the forest area. Among the reasons attributed for it are shrinking forest area and felling of fruit-bearing trees in the forests by the timber and quarrying mafia.

According to the convener of the NECF Shashidhar Shetty, the volunteers have planted about 5,000 saplings during every rainy season and 75% of them have survived as the volunteers also monitor the survival rate. About 10 Sundays in the three months are used for planting. “We also dig rainwater percolation pits upstream of the saplings planted area for the survival of the plants,” he said.

“About 500 volunteers are engaged in the planting drive every season,” he said and added that the planting on June 5 this year would be done in Moodbidri area. “The saplings are that of Western Ghats species such as jackfruit, wild jackfruit, mango, kokum, jamun, tamarind, water apple, and butter fruit,” Mr. Shetty said.

“We did not relax during the COVID-19 times of 2020 and 2021. Planting was done after obtaining permission from the government authorities,” he said.

From this year, the NECF will rope in members of the Bar associations of Udupi and Mangaluru and the police in the planting drive.