A group of 11 teenagers sell potted plants and plan plantation drive in the city to revive a dying earth Every once in a while Niharika R Sinha,Yash Salonki and Neel Salonki sit together for brain storming sessions of the Green Hope Organisation (GHO). Discussions typically revolve around the plight of the eco system,plantation drives,animal sustenance and so forth. It doesnt take much to catch the pulse and figure that they are zealous environmentalists,with a long-term vision. The only bit that does take a while to sink in is that they are 14 and 15-year-old ninth graders. And lest anyone think they are the only ones,the three emphasise that they are a team of 11 like-minded friends who form the core of GHO. Their vision is to save the world,plant by plant. Their plan of action is meticulous grow plants at home,sell them at reasonable prizes and donate profits to existing organizations that are committed to similar goals. GHO was formed in October last year but we had been planning for it a couple of months in advance, says Neel,a student of Vibgyor High School,NIBM Road. Learning about the environment and what man was doing to it in their subject Environment Management was the trigger for forming the organization. We were studying about the dying earth in class but doing nothing. It was disturbing and we got talking about what we could do to make some difference, says Niharika. Yash,who has also developed the groups logo,fills in that the idea germinated among a group of classmates who would generally sit together during free periods and discuss cool things they had seen on Discovery Channel or inventions or anything that was going on around the world. The other core members are Aayushi Adettiwar,Gauresh Ramakrishna,Akshata Iyer,Varun Desai,Serena Abraham,Mint Pandey,Mrunmayee Deoras,Karina Chada and Riya Maan. But when the group floated the idea among parents,teachers and classmates,there was a lot of skepticism. Teachers told us to focus on our studies instead of following whims. But our parents were quite encouraging, says Neel. So,they just went ahead as per plan and in December had their first endeavour,when the school principal offered to donate a stall at the school fair for the organization. We made Rs 10,000 that day from selling a variety of potted plants. None of the plants was more than Rs 100, says Niharika. The group has decided to split the money and donate a part to Vanrai,an NGO involved in afforestation. The remaining they intend to keep as investments for the future. As kids we have limitations in the things we can do. Thats where Vanrai comes in because they have the time and the resources to work for the environment in a way we cannot, says Yash. They are gearing up for a tree plantation drive in the sidewalks of a stretch in Koregaon Park. A family friend of our core member Karina offered to fund the drive and handle all the official procedures. We have permission from the ward officer to use land but are waiting to know the exact location, says Neel. The teenagers have researched and decided to plant laburnum,forest flame,rain trees and gulmohars for their beauty and environmental efficiency. Meanwhile,GHO is also writing a petition to Pune Municipal Corporations town planning officer regarding the Draft Development Plan.
