Only One Earth

Three words, but lot of meaning.

Only one earth- the theme of World Environment Day 2022. It focuses on living sustainably in harmony with Nature. Ghumakkad would like to add our age old saying from the Upanishad in Sanskrit वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम 'Vasudhaiv Kutukbakam' meaning 'The whole world is one family'. The message is the same. As we care for the family, we must care for the world. But as mankind, do we really care? Or, are we degrading the environment beyond restoration? 

On this World Environment Day, we are posing more questions through our pictures below.

Will the butterflies enthrall us in the morning?

Reimagine, Recreate, Restore

This was the theme of the Environment Day 2021. Through our story Reimagine Recreate Restore, we had shared some positive stories and steps to save the environment. An example is the successful recreation and adoption of the nesting sites by Spot-Billed Pelicans in Kolleru Lake, Andhra Pradesh which has shrunk almost 50% in last 30 years. See the pictures of the nesting platforms in the middle of the lake below.

Interested readers may browse the story to do a fact-check and perhaps make some more practical suggestions beyond lofty slogans and hyperbole. There are many more live examples of successful restoration of the environment in the story.

Each one of us can make a difference. Small steps like keeping the surroundings clean and green, no plastics, home composting etc will go a long way. Just do it!

Let us remember that 'Environment is an asset we have borrowed from our children. We have no right to degrade it.' Ghumakkad had said this the first time in 1995 while setting up Prakriti an Environment Club at College of Defence Management, Secunderabad. It continues to hold valid even after 27 years!

Let us hand over the environment to our children in a better shape. One step at a time like the snail- let's do it! We end with few lines by Akanksha our daughter about the Snail:

The climb may be tough

But it will all be worth it

When you give it your best

With true grit

Happy Environment Day 2022 and beyond.

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ World Environment Day/ 5th June 2022

#worldenvironmentday #onlyoneearth #worldisonefamily #onestepatatime #letsdoit #everypersonmakesadifference #reimagine #recreate #restore #nature #ghumakkadharsh #ghumakkadhb #environment #preservation #ecology #borrowedasset #environmentday2022

Naturopathy for Nature

'The earth is healing'. We heard this sentence repeatedly in the first few months of the pandemic in 2020. How did the earth heal itself? Did we hurt the earth? Yes, we humans did for decades by deforestation, by polluting our rivers and lakes, by using plastics and disposing it irresponsibly. But during the pandemic, same humans started behaving more responsibly. No travel, no flights, no cars, no buses for months together. As a result, less noise, less pollution, clean air. Plants, trees, animals, birds, insects- everybody felt healthier. The Earth did heal.

Similarly, Ghumakkad has coined a phrase 'Naturopathy for Nature'. What does it mean? Cure the Nature using Nature's resources. It is like a recursive function definition. Factorial (N) equals NxFactorial(N-1). How can we cure Nature by Nature?

Simple. No rocket science or resources needed. Am sharing few examples of Nature preservation undertaken by me during last 50 years or so. I must admit that I am neither a botanist nor an agriculture scientist. Just a Nature admirer who is concerned about environment degradation caused by human greed.

• Recharge the soil by inter cropping. You may browse the example of Mexican Lilac in our earlier story. 
• Keep the house cool by spreading a layer of coconut leaves on the roof. Use of air conditioners causes global warming.
• Using the bark of a tree as rat poison. Browse the details of the tree here.
• Termite prevention by planting a specific bush along the periphery of your home garden. Pencil Cactus is a common plant. See the picture below.

• Fencing of a farm using dried thorny branches of locally available trees like Babul. Those of us who have travelled across Rajasthan and Haryana would have observed bare Babul trees in winter. The farmers prune the thorny branches and use it for fencing their farm land. The leaves are used as fodder for the sheep and goats. Perfect example of Nature preservation. No metal fencing or cement walls!

• Using fallen leaves to make natural compost and use it to recharge the soil and act as manure instead of chemical fertilisers which are harmful. All natural forests thrive on fallen leaves as manure.
• Rodent prevention by placing thorny branches instead of using chemical pesticides. KBG-50 quizzed you with a picture of a Gazania flower surrounded with thorns.

KBG-50 saw enthusiastic response with several readers giving the correct answer. We use dry thorny branches to protect flower beds or plants from rodents or squirrels as was shown in the quiz picture. In agricultural fields, dried up branches are used for fencing. 

We congratulate the winners. Once again, all women! It shows that women are more concerned about Nature and the Environment. Come on men folk, prove this hypothesis wrong in coming KBG quizzes!

Thanks for your continued support to Kaun Banega Ghumakkad. Special thanks to Dr Chitra Shanker for her research guidance and support.

Unless we all come together to preserve Nature, we may lose its glory. See the questions being raised in pictures below:

If we continue our irresponsible actions towards environment, there is little hope. See the picture blow.

We end with a PQ- picturesque quote about trees.

Hope 2021 will not be as stressful! Stay connected, stay safe.

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 20th Jan 2021.

#nature #naturepreservation #homegardening #virtualgarden #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #KBG #kaunbanegaghumakkad #onlinecontest #powerofobservation #lockdownfunathome #beatthecorona #lockdown #stayhomestaysafe  #funwithflowers #learningfromgardening #naturelovers #gazania #curingthenature

World Environment Day 2017

Another 5th June.
Another World Environment Day.
Press clips, speeches, Government sponsored advertisements (ads), CSR ads, social media footage, tweets.
It ends there.
USA quits Paris meet on environment. Nothing happens.
Proves the point.
Mankind is paying lip service to the cause of environment.

Our previous stories can be accessed at the links below:
Chennai floods are man made
Shrinking of Kolleru Lake in Andhra Pradesh (see the maps therein)

We continue to destroy lakes and ponds and encroach river banks and green zones!
Shame.

Ghumakkad has selected three pictures taken during 2017 and poses questions to each one of us.

What can we do? What can I do?

Ghumakkad firmly believes that every person's effort counts in preservation of the environment. Be it keeping your surroundings clean and green, or vermi-composting your kitchen waste, or avoiding the use of plastics, or using solar energy at home (for cooking, heating the water or generating electricity or recharging cell phones etc)-- each one of us can make a difference! 
Therefore, let us not wait for somebody else to improve the environment, let us do it ourselves-- however small our effort be.

Some of you may have acted on our previous appeals:
Keep surroundings clean
What every person can do? 

Remember, every person counts in this ongoing battle!

Happy Environment Day!

   Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ 5th June 2017