Appointment with Nature

Shrikant Ingalhalikar,the author of Trees of Pune,hosted the walk as he led a group of nature lovers from tree to tree,explaining each one’s common as well as scientific name,nativity,properties and other information. The crowd listened eagerly,taking in all the information and interrupting him with curious questions. “In Marathi,only trees that bear fruit or flower,have medicinal properties or are poisonous,are recognised and named. The others are ignored,” expressed Ingalhalikar. The message given out to the public was that each and every tree has a role to play in the ecological system; a tree that might be of no use to human beings,might be very important for a certain species of insect,bird or animal. Ingalhalikar gave out interesting trivia,like the medicinal properties of the Bauhinia purpurea tree and the fact that the Rudraksha tree is a native of America.

“In our education system,we are not sensitised about the fact that we are sharing our planet with other living beings which are important to maintain the ecological balance. Getting to know the trees around me is like getting to know my neighbours,” said Manisha Gutman, founder of eCoexist that organised the tree walk. “This knowledge is useful while choosing which trees to plant and to determine if they are appropriate for the area or not. It also helps us take better care of the environment,” she added.

Gauri Sunderashan,a resident of Kalyani Nagar,was urged to attend the tree walk by a friend. “I cleared several doubts that I had about the trees around me. It feels good to know more about my environment,” she said. Some Wadia College students also depicted their interest for the environment. They were there to accompany their environmental studies professor,Aarti Mane,who assisted Ingalhalikar for the walk. “We like environmental studies as a subject. We don’t regret waking up early on a holiday to attend this walk. It is more interesting than a lecture,” said Pratik Umrikar,a Std XI Commerce student at Ness Wadia College. There were some international students present too. “I received a flyer about this and tagged the rest of my friends along with me,” smiled Alison Gill,an 18-year-old student from Australia who is in town for a vacation. Students from Costa Rica,Kenya and Canada also participated.