The sprawling Vikrama Simhapuri University used to be barren with very little green cover in the past for various reasons, including inadequate water supply.
But now it provides the right ambiance for the students to pursue their studies with a good cover of native tree species thanks to adoption of afforestation technique popularised by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki.
In collaboration with the Forest Department, the VSU went for high density plantation to grow as many as 145 saplings in 10 metre long and 2 metre wide area taking a leaf out of the plant ecologist who pioneered the urban afforestation concept as cities and towns increasingly turned concrete jungles.
The trees developed in the campus checks air pollution and also acts as sound barrier so that the students can concentrate on their studies.
‘Local species’
“We made it a point to select local species of trees which can thrive well in the campus,” VSU Vice-Chancellor Prof. R. Sudarsana Rao says. In the past too tree plantation had been taken from time to time in the campus and elsewhere. But now the university is determined to ensure that at least 85 to 90% of the trees planted survive, said the V-C who took the lead to organise the students into VSU Students Green Club and encouraged them to adopt the trees and take with them a lasting memory of contributing their mite to fight against global warming.
The social forestry wing of the Forest Department has provided the all needed support to grow trees, natural oxygen cylinders by sinking two borewells in the campus and planting the saplings through farm workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme(MG-NREGS).
“So far the Japanese technique has been used to grow over 96,000 trees in just eight acres of land by partnering with educational institutions,” said Divisional Forest Officer(Social Forestry) S. Ravishankar said. “We are determined to make Nellore city a better place to live in by facilitating planting of 2.26 lakh saplings in 19 acres of land,” he added.
