Trees are known for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, thus benefiting the climate. New research shows that they offer one more benefit. Microbes living in tree bark or in the wood itself remove atmospheric methane – a powerful greenhouse gas – on a scale equal to or above that of soil. This makes trees 10% more beneficial for climate overall than previously thought. The methane absorption was strongest in tropical forests, probably because microbes thrive in the warm, wet conditions found there.

Methane is responsible for around 30% of global warming, and emissions are currently rising fast, driven largely by human-related activities.

Until now, soil had been thought of as earth’s only terrestrial sink for methane, as soils are full of bacteria that absorb the gas and break it down for use as energy. But trees may be as important or more so. The study is the first to quantify the volume of atmospheric methane that, on a global scale, trees can remove – 24.6 to 49.9 million tonnes annually.

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A tree inside a book

Trees and books have a sad relationship — one sacrifices itself to make the other bloom. So in order to make a difference, a publisher in Argentina came up with a unique project — Tree Book Tree. It came up with a set of books made of acid-free paper and eco-friendly ink. But that’s not all — each book has jacaranda seeds in it. Read the book, plant it in soil afterwards and watch a tree come to life. Poetic justice!

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One fine sunny morning hundreds of school students turned up at the historic Gandhi Maidan in the heart of Bihar’s capital city, Patna. They removed all the hoardings that were fixed onto the trees. Then they pulled out the 5-6 inch deep nails that had been hammered into the 200 odd trees. The next morning, all the local newspapers carried the story on the first page with photos of the same.

These students call themselves the Tarumitras, i.e., the ‘Friends of Trees’, in Hindi and Sanskrit. To protect and promote a healthy environment, Jesuit priest, Fr Robert Athickal, started the student movement at Patna’s St Xavier’s School in 1988. Students from nearby schools were roped in to join the movement under the leadership of ninth grader, Anindo Banerjee, of Loyola High School, Patna.

Today, the movement has nearly 2,00,000 school and college students in more than 1,000 high schools and colleges in many parts of India.

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There are more trees on earth than stars in our galaxy. NASA believes there could be anywhere from 100 billion to 400 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy. But the number of trees around the world is much higher: 3.04 trillion! Scientists calculated what’s called “tree wealth” based on estimates of the number of trees in every country in the world in relation to factors like the country’s physical size and population. The world’s overall tree leader is Russia with 642 billion trees, followed by Canada (318 billion) and Brazil (302 billion). There are roughly 422 trees for every human on earth.

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Scientists have discovered remnants of the world’s oldest fossil forest — an extensive network of trees around 386 million years old — in a sandstone quarry in Cairo, New York, in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains. The fossil forest would have spread from New York all the way into Pennsylvania and beyond.

The research shows that the forest was home to at least two types of trees: Cladoxylopsids was a primitive tree-fern-like plants, lacked flat green leaves, while Archaeopteris, a conifer-like woody trunk with frond-like branches with green flattened leaves, is related to modern trees. All these trees reproduced using only spores rather than seeds. The team also reported a ‘spectacular’ and extensive network of roots, more than eleven metres in length in some places, belonging to the Archaeopteris trees.

At the time this ancient forest existed, no birds or vertebrates lived on land. Dinosaurs wouldn’t appear for another 150 million years. Instead, the forest was likely home to millipede-like bugs and other insects.

This forest reveals a key milestone in Earth’s climate history. As plants developed thick, carbon-rich wooden roots, they pulled carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, changing the global composition of the planet’s air. Plants themselves became significant carbon sinks.

Researchers believe the forest was eventually wiped out by a flood, due to the presence of fish fossils that were also visible on the surface of the quarry.

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“The people who will not sustain trees, will soon have to live in a world that will not sustain people.”
~ Bryce Nelson

Are you surprised to learn that the prestigious British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) named an old Indian woman as one of the most influential and inspirational women of the world in 2016? Can you believe that in Los Angeles and Oakland (U.S.A.), an environmental organization is named after this illiterate villager? The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, honoured this 108-year-old woman with the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian award, last year. The humble woman, Saalumarada Thimmakka from Karnataka, has merited these and many other awards because she has planted over 8,000 trees!

Born in a poor family of Hulikal village, Karnataka, in 1911, Thimmakka never went to school, but worked as a quarry labourer from childhood. At the age of 18, she was married to a labourer, Bikkala Chikkyya. After years of marriage, as the couple had no children, they decided to plant banyan trees and raise them as their children.

Since there were no trees on the highway, the couple started planting banyan trees from their village to the adjacent Kudoor village. Besides watering them every day after their usual work, they also protected them from animals by fencing them with thorny bushes.

In the first year they planted ten trees, second year 15 trees, and in the third year 20 trees. Thus they planted 385 banyan trees along the 4 km highway, and continued planting other trees as well, till the number of trees they planted crossed 8,000.

Though her husband passed away in 1991, Thimmakka did not stop her mission. Even when the monsoon washed away her mud house, with the help of some well-wishers she raised it up. While she survived on a widow’s pension of Rs 75 from the government, she never halted her work. Today, she lives with her foster son Umesh. As rows of trees are called Saalumadara in Kannada, she came to be nicknamed that way.

Thimmakka is also actively involved in state and national environmental protection, and circulates messages of afforestation. When some 70-year-ld trees were to be chopped down to widen the highway, due to her appeal to the then Chief Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy, they were spared. She also built a rainwater storage tank for the annual function in her village, and set up a trust to build a hospital in her husband’s memory.

In spite of her financial crunch, she continues to serve as a model for uneducated village women as to how they can serve society. While receiving the Padma Shri Award, she touched the head of the President and blessed him. Thimmakka is also the recipient of numerous awards from the government like the National Citizen Award, Indira Ratna Puraskar, the Green Mother Award, and Karnataka government’s Rajyothsaya Puraskar.

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In an effort to save local plant species around Vijayawada, the Department of Botany at the Siddhartha College of Arts and Science tagged trees in the college grounds with QR (Quick Response) codes that give students information about the tree — from its scientific name to its medicinal value. Students only need to scan the code using their smartphones.

“Students now do not have the time to learn about the things around them via books. To keep up with the digital trend, we collected the database of all the trees in the college and assigned QR codes to them, making it easier for everybody to learn about a plant or a tree at the tip of their fingers,” said Ch. Srinivas Reddy, Head of Department, Botany.

The department has also brought in a few trees found mainly in the forests of the region, like the Gloriosa superba, and the Gyrocarpus americanus (or Nalla Poniki), used to make the famous Kondapalli toys.

“The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) categorizes the status of every plant species every year. If we mention the status in the QR code, whether a species is vulnerable, endangered or nearing extinction, we hope it will encourage people to grow more of these trees and conserve them,” says Srinivas.

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My name is Red!

When you see a name like that you know that this is going to be an interesting tree. The Dragon’s Blood Tree got its name from its bright red sap, made up of a cocktail of chemicals. This sap was used as a colourant in the mummification process, and today, even as a natural remedy for gastrointestinal troubles. The tree has an interesting back story. About 500 years ago, there was a flightless bird species that ate the fruits of this tree. It helped disperse the seeds and kept the population of the tree stable. After the bird went extinct, the tree also went into decline.

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“He that planteth a tree is a servant of God, he provideth a kindness for many generations, and faces that he hath not seen shall bless him.”
— Henry Van Dyke

He is a man on mission to plant trees and bring back the green cover. Wherever he sees a barren spot, he takes seeds from his pocket and plants them there. People say he has planted over one crore trees. He recollects that as a child he saw his mother saving the seeds of ribbed gourd for the next planting season. He learnt his first lesson from her. He says, “Seed is the secret of evolution. God has given life to it and it proves to the world its existence by giving birth to a plant which is wedded to soil, during the monsoon. The plant withstands several onslaughts by the humans around her, and finally to grow into a mighty tree and saves the same people who tormented her. Not satisfied with just her own survival, she strews seeds on the ground to create the future generation and continue with her good work.”

Meet Daripalli Ramaiah of Khammam district in Telangana. People know him as Chettla Ramaiah, where Chettu means ‘tree’. Riding a cycle, holding the handle with one hand and sprinkling seeds on the sides of the road is how he goes about his mission of greening. “Of all the species that consider the earth as their home, the most exalted is the human being. He supposedly has intellect, can think, can do and can get things done. Nature has bestowed her choicest blessings on this form of life. Therefore, we have a duty towards Nature. Protect nature; protect everything created by God, for posterity,” says Ramaiah. What does he get in return? Satisfaction, contentment and sublime peace on seeing the saplings taking root to later stand erect as mighty trees.

Passionate about his mission, Ramaiah has collected native seeds such as Bael (Bilva), Peepal (Bauhinia Racemosa), Kadamba (Nanclea Cadamba), Nidra Ganneru (Albezia Soman), Kanuga (Pongamia), Neem (Azadirechta Indica), Erra Chandanam (Red Sanders), and many more, and chose the canal banks from Khammam, Palleguda Bridge and started greening the four kilometre stretch on both sides of the path. He has raised plants on every piece of barren land, which have now become huge trees saluting him with all their humility. He planted trees in the local library premises and the local temple. He knows the history of almost every tree there. He recollects with satisfaction how he requested an MLA to plant a tree. He makes it a point to request any dignitary visiting his area to plant a tree. This nature lover also paints on the walls of the villages slogans and messages in Telugu about the environment and the need for trees. His slogan is “Vrikshio Rakshati Rakshitah” which means, “If you save the trees, they will save you”.

“One who smears sacred ash is a priest, one who wears Khaki is a policeman and one who adorns a green scarf is Ramaiah,” is his reply to his critics who feel that he is wasting his time.

Ramaiah doesn’t just plant trees, he also knows their uses. This profound knowledge was acquired by reading old books purchased from second-hand bookshops; it makes him a walking encyclopaedia on plants.

Lack of money does not deter him from pursuing his passion. A relative who knew the commercial value of certain trees advised him to cut and sell the red sanders trees in his courtyard. Ramaiah replied that he was developing a seed bank for posterity and his trees would only help in producing more trees. “I do not believe in people who cut trees but prostrate before a stone. For me, Nature is God and God is Nature.”
Ramaiah collects seeds every season, raises a nursery of red sanders plants and distributes them for free. He takes whatever money people give for his plants and uses it to raise more plants.

Ramaiah also became a sculptor by accident. When he was chased by children while on his cycle, he fell and sustained a fracture. This immobilized him for a few months. His undying spirit told him that while his legs are immobile, his hands were free. He learnt sculpting with the help of nails and hammers. He painted and sculpted stones with slogans and images of leaves, plants and trees.

Breaking the shells of teak seeds was painful and time-consuming for Ramaiah. So he made a seat for his wife using a bag of the seeds. Her constant movements while sitting on the bag and cooking before the fire, helped break the shells, making his task easier. This shows us how involved Ramaiah is in his task. His wife has played an important role on his journey, standing by his side through thick and thin and helping him fulfil his passion. Ramaiah has developed his own green philosophy: “Instead of giving a fruit to children, give them a plant. Let them nurture the plant into a tree and enjoy its fruits forever. This way, they learn to love nature. Today’s children are tomorrow’s citizens. Similarly, today’s plants are tomorrow’s trees.”

Ramaiah is highly honoured in his area. He adorns himself with crowns and scarves with slogans on them and parades around on his cycle like an emperor. Those who heckled him once adore him now. He has spent his entire life greening the land like a soldier who spends his life protecting his motherland.

Ramaiah was the recipient of the Padma Shri Award in 2017 for his invaluable contribution to extending tree cover. The administration has been paying the environmental activist 1,500 a month to support his mission. Officials, he claims, have promised to enhance it, but it has not materialized so far. A nursery to support his mission is what he dreams of.

There are many people who have done their jobs with passion, but Ramaiah chose his passion as his unpaid job. There may not be another Ramaiah when it comes to raising trees. He is a model of humility and devotion to work and an inspiration to many.

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66 million — the number of trees planted in 12 hours in Madhya Pradesh.

More than 1.5 million people helped plant the 66,750,000 tree saplings which featured over 20 different species.

In total, 24 districts of the Narmada river basin were chosen for the planting, to increase the likelihood of survival for the trees.

The goal was to raise awareness and help India achieve its environmental objectives.

As part of the Paris Agreement, India pledged to increase forest cover to 95 million hectares by 2030.

Kerala has planted more than 10 million trees in a single day, and Maharashtra will plant 40 million trees in a reforestation campaign.

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