It was an early December morning but there was no nip in the air. In fact, it was downright hot and uncomfortable sitting in the open. All the more reason to hold a tree plantation ceremony to help mitigate global warming.
On December 2, Feel Green, an environmental group, adopted Green Verge 7, near Tank 4 in New Town. And Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) sponsored 1,000 saplings to be planted there in the Miyawaki method.
This is a method developed by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki. “It recommends dense plantation that is especially suited for urban areas. Plants of different heights are sowed in close proximity instead of the 10ft distance maintained in other manmade forests. This makes the saplings grow fast to compete for the light,” said Suhrid Chandra, secretary of Feel Green.
The 0.6 acre plot will have 1,000 plants of 25 native species. There are canopy trees like mango and arjun, shrubs like kanchan and karabi and medium-sized and tall trees like neem and amla.
The group has ample experience in Miyawaki forests, having grown six of them since their first in Green Verge 8, near Owl Junction, in 2021. “These forests grow 10 times faster than usual forests, release 10 times more oxygen, and absorb more carbon,” said Chandra.
Nature talk
The plantation ceremony was attended by officials from ONGC and New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA), that had put the green verge up for adoption.
“Global warming is a natural phenomenon but should take millions of years. It’s dangerous how fast it’s taking place now because of human interference,” said executive director ONGC, D.C. Pant. “Our organisation deals primarily with fossil fuels like oil and gas, and we have been
traditionally blamed for exploiting nature. But we are also developing renewable energy sources like solar and wind.”
A board at the entrance of the green verge, announcing plans for the Miyawaki forest Brinda Sarkar
Nirupam Banerjee, ONGC group general manager, added that they are targeting to be net-zero by 2038. This means striking a balance between the greenhouse gases they emit and the amount they remove from the atmosphere by way of eco-friendly measures.
Debashis Sen, chairman of NKDA, waxed eloquent about the green steps taken in the smart city. “There are more than 40 such green verges in New Town that have been adopted by various groups. One is a bamboo garden as bamboo produces more oxygen, another is a medicinal plant garden initiated by doctors. Solid waste is recycled to produce methane, wastewater is treated and used to water plants at Eco Park and green verges, we have a zero shop selling upcycled gifts. We generate solar electricity, use electric buses and talks are also on to consider the use of hydrogen buses,” he said.