Van Mahotsav or Forest Festival is an annual tree-planting festival celebrated in the month of July in which thousands of trees are planted all over the country. Van Mahotsav week is celebrated from 1 July to 7 July to spread awareness of forest conservation and to save the environment. Considering the importance of urban forests, we organised a webinar on Miyawaki Urban Forest Techniques along with eminent experts, environmentalists who shared important insights about Miyawaki forest Technique, importance and practical implementation aspects. The miyawaki afforestation method is a unique and innovative way to grow urban forest much faster than a conventional one. We are glad to share that Mr. Pradeep Tripathi, Founder, Green Yatra and Mr. Dipen Jain Founder Forest Creators joined the discussions and Ms. Ekta Kothari Jaju, co-founder SwitchOn foundation moderated the discussion. The event was attended by over 130 youth and citizens. And we are launching the Handbook on “Miyawaki Forest In West Bengal”. This book has compilations from experts across the country who had very successful experiences in setting up Miyawaki Forests. For Miyawaki Forest we need native trees. In our handbook, you can get the details of native trees and from which nursery we can get those native trees in Kolkata.
Urban forests are the green lungs of the cities. And we need lungs in our beloved city Kolkata, “The City Of Joy ”. Due to urbanisation, we have lost lots of natural habitat, biodiversity. According to Mr. Pradeep Tripathi, (Founder, Green Yatra) Kolkata trees cover 23%- 7.3% from the last 20 years. And by 2030 it will be just 3.37%. Our green coverage is 5.5% in the last 20 years. And that’s why pollution is increasing day by day. Because of the air pollution we are losing lifespan, it is also causing 30% premature deaths in India.
In this webinar, Our experts shared about the Miyawaki Method, why it is required and why we should go for it. According to experts It is very much doable and very less maintenance is required. They also discussed timelines, how to do a plantation, the situation in which you are planting, when to deploy labour, the benefits of Miyawaki forest, to know more information about Miyawaki Forest please refer to our handbook on “Miyawaki Forest In West Bengal”. We, The SwitchON Foundation is planning to set up Miyawaki Urban Forests over West Bengal. And for this, we are looking for supporters, partners and funders for collaboration, with whom we can make our West Bengal more green. We also invite volunteers for this project. This is a great chance for all of us to make our earth more greenery. Through this we can bring back our biodiversity, natural habitat.
Urban forestry is the art, science and technology of managing trees and forest resources in and around urban community ecosystems for sociological, economic and aesthetic benefits trees provide for society. Urban forestry is the scrupulous care and management of urban forests, i.e. tree populations in urban settings for the aim of improving the urban environment. The urban forests involve entire cities and their environs and are an environment of trees and related organisms, structures and people. Urban forestry is often defined as the raising and management of trees in and around urban areas. Urban forests are one among those green infrastructures comprising trees which are more known for their intangible benefits than tangible benefits in urban environments.
Urban forestry plays a vital role in addressing environmental engineering problems, including those related to erosion control, noise and air pollution abatement, wastewater management, watershed protection, and glare, reflection, and traffic control . A fully-grown tree can annually absorb up to 150kg of CO2 — one of the most greenhouse gases contributing to global warming. Urban vegetation (trees and other plants) can be used to mitigate extreme storm water runoff events in urban areas and control the urban flood. Urban trees can affect stream flows as well, by their ability to intercept rainfall and affect soil infiltration rates of water. By lowering air temperatures, they reduce microclimatic effects and improve the urban climate. Trees influence thermal comfort, energy use, and air quality by providing shade, transpiring moisture, and reducing wind speeds.
Please click here to download the handbook
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