The Van Mahotsav 2022 celebrations organised by the Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding (IFGTB), Coimbatore, stressed on the need to plant more indigenous trees and to conserve them.
IFGTB director C. Kunhikannan inaugurated the celebrations and released an awareness poster for students. He said trees provide a canopy and a habitat for many species of wildlife, from birds and insects, to bats and squirrels. “Humans are dependent on trees for their needs. Van Mahotsav should be utilised in a creative way. The need of the hour is that all the destruction caused by humans can only be balanced by planting a greater number of trees,” he said.
Kannan C.S. Warrier, Scientist F and coordinator ENVIS, highlighted long-term and short-term, social, communal, environmental and economic benefits of trees and urged all to plant more indigenous trees and safeguard them.
Saplings of indigenous medicinal and timber tree species such as Ficus racemosa, Pithecellobium dulce, Trewia nudiflora, Albizia lebbeck and Terminalia arjuna were planted in the IFGTB botanical garden by officers, staff members and final year undergraduate students from the Nirmala College for Women, Dr. N.G.P Arts and Science College and Hindusthan College of Arts and Science.
‘Plant a tree sapling photography challenge’, organised as part of Van Mahotsav, witnessed the participation of people from different walks of life across India. S. Vigneswaran, Senior Programme Officer, IFGTB, also spoke.
