No Cakes! No Parties! 3 Girls Went Green in Celebrating their Birthdays
Mangaluru: Cute One! Sweet Sixteen! Sweet Seventeen! – this is how cute baby Yadhvika, age one, daughter of Ganesh Poojary and Dakshatha; K Varsha Nayak, age 16, daughter of Haridas Nayak and Veena Nayak; and Shraddha S age 17, daughter of Santhosh Kumar and Sindhu S Kumar, celebrated their ‘Cute One’, ‘Sweet Sixteen’ and ‘Sweet Seventeen’ birthdays respectively in a unique and environmental style by planting saplings in a open plantation field behind their respective homes. These girls were joined by their parents, grandparents, relatives and friends in celebrating their happy occasion and received blessings from all of them. I was very much touched by this unique way of celebrating the birthday, bringing awareness about environment and greenery. You Go Girls!
The main man behind this initiative is 71-year-old environmentalist Krishnappa K, who happens to the grandpa of Shraddha, and also the neighbor of other two girls. Krishnappa is very much determined to make Mangaluru a “Green City”, by sacrificing his time and energy for the betterment of the environment. Hailing from Channarayapatna, but presently residing in KHB Colony-Bondel here, he has planted various fruits bearing plants behind his house. He is very much involved in environmental projects like Vanamohtsava and other projects related to environment and greenery- and is closely associated with the Forest Dept, and other organizations and actively involves in their Swachh Bharath and other environmental programmes.
We all know how trees help Earth in purifying the air and absorbing the carbon from the atmosphere. Trees are vital. As the most crucial component of our ecosystem, they give us oxygen, store carbon, stabilize the soil, worldconserve water, ameliorate the climate and give life to the world’s wildlife. They also provide us with the materials for tools and shelter.
We all must plant trees on every possible occasion. Why not celebrate birthdays by planting birthday tree and see your birthday tree growing as you grow. Imagine if each of us plants a tree on our birthday, the world will have at least 7.8 billion trees soon.
While we celebrate many days like Environment Day, Earth day, Water day, No Tobacco Day, Car-Free day, International Youth Day etc- and we try to be part of them, besides these important days, everyone has their own very special day- that is our Birthdays. As a responsible inhabitant of this planet, I feel that everyone should celebrate their birthdays in a eco-friendly way-just like what these three girls did. Planting saplings/trees on your birthday is the best way to have a greener celebration on special days like birthdays, anniversaries and other happy occasions.
We all know that global warming is at its peak and is showing its worst consequences in the form of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, droughts etc -It has reached such a alarming state that we don’t have time to think- but its about time that we need to act NOW. Trees are the lifelines or lungs of the Earth. They are the best creation of God and provide benefits not only for the environment but also for humans. Trees are one of the most efficient ways to combat climate change and global warming. It would be a big positive move towards environmental protection if we all start planting Birthday trees/Anniversary Trees and help promote this idea till it becomes the most trending thing.
The world’s population is reaching far above 7 billion. Imagine if each of us planted a tree/sapling on our birthday alone, this world would make the Earth much greener and purer with 7 billion plus trees in a year. And if parents or married couples or grandparents also do the same on their wedding anniversaries as well, it would be the icing on the cake! Imagine if parents planted a tree when their new child is born, and took his/her photo with the tree every year on his/her birthday-this way parents would watch the tree growing with their child and would build a green future- just the parents of these three girls did today, even though couple of them have already in their teens.
I wish people would start this tradition and make this world a much better and greener place to live for all of us. Change has to begin from us, so whoever is reading this article, make it a practice to plant a tree for your next birthday and spread the word around till 7 billion plus people of this world have at least one tree each. Let’s think of environment and plant trees ourselves and encourage others too to do so. The state of environment we are in today it’s only the trees that can help us come out of this situation.
It was fun to watch the two girls, Varsha and Shraddha bantered as they dug and planted, stopping briefly to critically assess the depth of their planting hole before digging some more. Before long, both their ‘birthday trees’ ( Nerale aka Jambulu) were planted to their immense satisfaction, with the help of Krishnappa. “We’re so proud of these saplings that we just planted!” said both the girls while carrying a watering can over, giving the little saplings its first drink of water in their new home. Once all the three saplings were planted by the three girls ( Baby Yadhvika with the help of her mother planted a mango sapling) – with jokes and promises that they would return to visit ‘their’ trees, they posed for group photos with their near and dear ones, followed by distribution of birthday goodies.
Krishnappa also recited some slogans/verses pertaining to environment, where all the guests repeated after him. It was indeed a unique way of birthday celebration that I had witnessed in a long time. And supporting Krishnappa’s love for trees, I can say that trees are more significant than many of us might imagine. They commemorate births and lives lived. They beautify slums, farms and grand avenues. They provide shade, oxygen, and delight. They cool the Earth. Countless more will provide food for people, in rural areas and cities alike. Many will produce wood and natural oils for building and for fuel. Yet others will be used to create medicines to heal the human body and essential oils to ease the soul. All will draw carbon dioxide from the air, leaving us a little less vulnerable to the threats posed by climate change.
Like what Krishnappa says “Whatever we do to Nature is ultimately something that we are doing to our own deepest selves.”, – We the citizens should appreciate and support Krishnappa’s fight to save trees/plants so that we can have a “Greener Mangaluru” rather than a city filled with concrete structures. Long Live Krishnappa K and his work in bringing awareness about environment- and also for his initiative in having these three girls celebrate their birthdays in a ‘Greener Way’? Belated Happy Birthday wishes from Team Mangalorean!
Also Read Related Articles Below:
Mangaluru: The ‘Evergreen Man’! Environmentalist Krishnappa determined to Paint the City Green
Mangaluru: Saplings Galore!1600 Saplings Offered Free during ‘Green Mangaluru Campaign’ by KACES
Mangaluru: ‘Vanamahotsava’- The Festival of Tree Planting Celebrated at Mount Carmel School
Old-Timers Mark ‘Vanamahotsava’ at Vishwas Trust
Got Neem! MCCS distributes 514 Neem Saplings
Amala Bharatam Campaign for Swachh Bharath-Mangaluru
Congratulations Alfie, for bringing out such a article. Normally media goes by TRP and will promote only those articles which give them mileage. Mr Krishnappa is doing a wonderful job, by educating young ones on environmental issues and practicing what he is preaching. My best wishes to the birthday girls for taking up the issue of Mother Earth and trying to return something back to this humanity at this very young age. God bless you all
It gives me hope when I see youth involved in protecting and respecting our environment. In addition to trees, there is another way to help fight climate change – stop eating meat. Enormous amount of energy, water and grain are spent just to raise animals/birds for food. If you are serious about environment protection, take the first step towards quitting meat consumption.