Environment pollution; Gandhi and the environment

I ordered these two TERI  Publications and finished reading them both in about a weeks' time. But this was probably among the longer weeks of my life- the books did not make a good reading.

My intention in buying the books was to get some new information- after all these books are published by TERI.

'Environment pollution' is a high school level book. It is the kind of book that lazy students read for their exams. It is written is typical , unimaginative text book style and has barely enough information.

'Gandhi and the environment' is a totally unnecessary as a book, for the amount of stuff that is presented in it now. All the information could have been condensed into a 600 word essay and displayed on the the TERI website. The last few chapters completely lack any substance- it appears that the authors were given to fill a certain number of pages and they blindly followed the brief. My feeling is that this is a good idea and title- someone with energy, enthusiasm and respect for readers needs to be engaged to extensively rework the book. I am sure there is enough material. Gandhi's thoughts are important- they can inform, inspire and make us feel proud.

TERI needs to really get its books reviewed and try to sell good quality material.

I have some more books to read- will post the reviews when done

DO YOUR OWN TREE SURVEY

Recently we have been reading about the tree census being conducted by the MCGM. So let us find out more.

What is a tree census or survey?

Tree census means simply counting trees. In a survey, we would also like to find out other interesting data- like where are the trees, what are the types of trees, what are problems faced by trees, etc.

Why should we do it?

It is important to know about the quantity and quality of tree cover. Serial surveys tell us if trees are increasing or decreasing. We can know the distribution of species. Data about health of trees helps to detect epidemics and other challenges. So tree survey is the basis for planning tree- plantation, tree maintainence systems

How is it done?

First one should define 'tree', 'shrub' etc. A tree is usually a plant more than 6 feet in height. Then the tree is located, counted and described in forms- when done manually. Some form of coding is required to make it easy to enter and analyse data. This time MCGM is using GIS- I dont know exactly how they do it.

Then data is tabulated and analysed

MY OWN TREE SURVEY- HOW? WHY?

Yes, you can choose your Society/ street or garden to do your own tree survey.

If possible take a youngster along- it is a great way to spend quality time with them. You will need to set aside 1-2 hours of the forenoon. Be equipped with a writing pad, survey sheet and a field guide such as 'Trees of Bombay" (BNHS). Just fill up the survey form. After checking for completeness, take the data home and upload results to your blog.

Other than the benefit of teaching our offspring about trees and bonding with them- doing your own tree survey helps you to keep a watch on the trees in your locality by establishing a baseline. And you can also detect any fraud or error by MCGM- look what happened with the DP!

Best wishes for your tree survey! It will be a great way to spend a morning!

TREE SURVEY FORM

Date- Area surveyed-
No	Species code	Status code- use as many codes as needed	Remarks
1
2
3
4
Total	A B C F G J M L P T

CODES- suggested

Species/ name	Code
Mango	M
Jamun	J
Peepal	P
Banyan	B
Audumbar	A
Palash- Flame of forest	F
Coconut	C
Nilmohur	N
Gulmohur	G
Sonmohur	S
Bahava- Golden Laburnum	L
Tamarind	T

Status	Code
Dead/ Unhealthy	1
Nailed	2
Cemented	3
Garbage	4
Hacked	5
Healthy	6
Protected	7

KHANDYA ALA........ANOTHER BIRD IN PARLE

White- breasted Kingfisher or Khandya

Like all Parlekar mothers, I was up at 5am cooking for my son's lunch-box.....and I could not believe my ears- a Khandya was calling. Although I could hear the call loud and clear- I dismissed it as being very unlikely and got on with my task.

Next day I heard the call again. This time I decided to investigate and there it was- a beautiful specimen sitting on the wire opposite Pethe building on Chittaranjan road. Calling loudly. I showed it to my husband and the sighting was confirmed. Actually I had spotted this bird at same site many years ago.....since forgotten. 

So Parlekars- we can one more species to our family.

But now I am curious as well as worried. Where does this individual live? Is it alone? How can we ensure its safety? Folks, this is surely PARLE's endangered individual- and I dont know what we should do next.

CRUELTY TO TREES

Dr Bose of Kolkata did a famous experiment proving plants to be sensitive to how they are treated. So a plant treated well grows better and remains healthier. We have lot of movements preventing cruelty against animals and humans; what about plants?

Trees and plants are utterly defenceless against cruelty because they cannot make a noise or move from their place. So plants continue to be easy targets and Parlekars need to become conscious of the harm these lovely mute citizens of Parle have been facing. Parlekars have raised their voice against disturbing roots of trees by excessive digging, tarring and cementing around them- so municipality has starting taking steps to prevent these problems. But subtle forms of injury are continuing.

To prevent tree- fall and branch- fall, in the coming months, trees will have to endure massive pruning. I hope this will be done scientifically so that it serves the purpose but does not kill the tree. Besides this, the practice of chopping trees to make hoardings and shop windows more visible must be stopped immediately. An example is the jewellery shop opposite Babasaheb Gawde Hospital on M G Road- they have chopped the tree and it will surely die shortly.

Many advertisements and hoardings are nailed or stapled to trees. This causes injury to the tree. Imagine, if someone nails or staples a person’s body- how will he feel? Trees feel the same way. And this is not only about feelings. Trees absorb nutrients and water through their roots and these are conducted throughout the tree by structures called xylem (water) and phloem (nutrients). These are vertically linear spongy structures- almost like the jelly- filled cables of the telephone department. And they are situated closer to the circumference of the tree. When a nail is driven in, these structures get damaged, form scars and the water-nutrient supply gets disrupted. Secondly every plant/ tree has a cover or bark which is meant to protect it from infection and dehydration. The nail- track provides a route for germs to enter the tree structure and destroy it. Thus a ‘small’ nail can damage a large tree. I was appalled to see that BMC has nailed a notice on one of the trees on MG Road. (An excellent description of this process can be found it the BNHS quarterly Hornbill of Dec 2014.)

Some establishments- notably those on Hanuman Road and opposite 'Tea Villa' trees have been wrapped in fairy lights. I think the purpose is to decorate with fancy lighting to attract customers. But the tree gets affected due to the heat and electricity from wires. Plus there will be nails and wires used to tether the lights to trees.

Trees and plants should be treated as ‘Parlekars’ on par with humans and animals. And we need to protect them because they cannot protect themselves. First, no hoardings/ advertisements should be permitted on trees. Municipality should erect special poles on which these can be put up. And fines should be levied on anybody found sticking or poking trees.