PDG Rtn.Ramesh Chander visits our Pali Bani afforestation site

Pali Bani afforestation site of RCGC's Rotary Shanti Van was inspected by PDG Rtn.Ramesh Chander of Rotary District 3011 on Thursday, 24th December, 2015.

PDG Rtn.Ramesh Chander, members of RCGC, Rotary Interact Club members of Xion International Convent School at Government Girls' School, village Pali, Faridabad

The students of Rotary Interact Club of RCGC at Xion International Convent School, Gurgaon presented a nukkad natak or street play on the importance of conservation of nature to the students of government boys' and girls' schools of village Pali, Faridabad.

Students of Xion School performing street play

Street play on nature in progress

Later, PDG Rtn.Ramesh Chander, Rotary Interact Club members of Xion School visited the afforestation site of Pali Bani.

PDG, Rtn.Ramesh Chander with volunteers of Save Aravali, our partners in implementation of this project.

Students of Xion School and PDG Ramesh Chander at the water tank.

Students take a stroll in the project site

Members of RCGC and students at the water fall site

Nursery of native Aravalli species

One of the challenges to afforestation in the Aravallis is finding native, Aravalli plant species.  Forest department of Haryana is cooperative but they too have very limited stocks and we end up with banyan, neem, etc., which are more urban, avenue trees and ill suited for afforestation.

Under these circumstances Rotary Shanti Van has decided to setup its own nursery for raising native Aravalli species at Pali Bani project site to support afforestation.  There are believed to be about 150 native Aravalli species.

Mahua/ Mahuwa (Madhuka Longifolia)

The green house will be ready in a couple of weeks.

Active planting of seeds should commence by January-February 2016.

In the next two to three years we expect the nursery to be well established and support our afforestation efforts.

One patch of our forest has been attacked by neel gai/ langoors

Neel gai/ langoors have vandalised a part of the forest at Pali Bani.  We had erected a keekar fence long back.  There was no protection for individual trees/ plants.

There was no attack during monsoon season - may be the animals had plenty of food, and now that winter has set in, they food supplies might have diminished, forcing them to our forest.

Today we have taken the steps of reinforcing/ expanding the patch fence.  We have erected the first individual tree fence using the thorny weed, vilayati keekar.

This process will be continued till all the trees are individually protected.

This is a major task, though!

RCGC's flagship project, Rotary Shanti Van's "Pali Bani Afforestation-cum-Resstoration" inaugurated by District Governor

Recognising that the Pali Bani Afforestation Project is unique and deserves attention, our project was inaugurated by our District Governor, 2015-16, Rtn.Sudhir Mangla, RI District 3011, inaugurated the project on 20th September 2015.

Members of Rotary Club of Gurgaon Cosmopolitan, presidents of several Faridabad based clubs based the occasion.  DRFC Rtn.Dr.Sushil Khurana, AG Rtn.O.P.Pahwa and DD-Admin, Rtn.Vivek Jain also graced the occasion.

The program started by offer of prayers to the presiding deities Shiva and Hanuman, and followed by tour of the site, inauguration of the water tank, etc.