Green Earth Movement
An E-Newsletter for the cause of Environment, Peace, Harmony and Justice.
Remember - “you and I can decide the future”
· JOINTLY GROWING
· Readers’ Letters
· GEM Inspirational series
· Mumbai University’s orchard yield fruit
· New life begins at Sewri bay as young mangroves takes root
· Tourists strew 28 beaches with 1.4L items of garbage in 1 day
· The World’s Worst Pollution Problems: Assessing Health Risks at Hazardous WasteSites
· 'Zombies' protest toxins in waterways
· Pilgrims healthy after Kumbh: study
· Catholics at Kumbh spread peace message
· Dogs kill 31 blackbuck inside Kanpur zoo
· Caritas India calls for comprehensive response on sexual violence /· Church leaders want education on sex to fight violence against women
· My mother cried, she understands power is poison: Rahul Gandhi· Rahul Gandhi's elevation is 'dynastic democracy': BJP
· Priest's sermon referring Rahul Gandhi irks Catholics
· Kerala Imams’ Council holds seminar on prophetic teachings of economic justice
· What it takes being a Muslim? SRK pours his heart out· Pope sees 'portals of truth' in social networks
· Young Catholic turn internet into campaigning tool
· Mumbai: An exciting phase of the SOUL campaigning Save Our Land. Our next plans. Please read.
· Delhi archbishop asks religions to work for peace
· Cana 2013· The dog who goes every day to his dead owner's church
· GEM PLUS – appeal for help
· GEM LAUGH TIME
Thought for the week …“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature -- the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.”
― Rachel Carson
JOINTLY GROWING
Green Souls have put forth a fine example of community farming in Kharghar, says SHILPA SACHDEV
TOI, PROPERTY TIMESA group of avid urban gardeners have come together to set up a community farm in Kharghar. Located within the premises of Tata Hospital, the farm was initiated in June 2011 with the support of St Jude's Shelter Home. Within a span of six months, Green Souls - the
group that manages the show - has put together a successful model of urban farming. They have seen a good harvest and plan to scale up the activities.Talking about the early days, Julius Rego, one of the front-runners from Green Souls says, "We got connected through a common friend and Taiba, who works at St Jude's, offered us to develop an urban farm behind the premises of the centre. The raw material was lying in front of us. We started collecting leaves and twigs to make beds for planting the seeds and saplings."
Bhindi, Corn, Chavli were planted along with a flowering plant to create cross-pollination. Julius adds, "We also planted different herbs like Italian basil, ajwain, spearmint, pudina and Sri Lanka palak. These strong smelling plants help in distracting insects and pests."The group managed to reap an excellent crop for the monsoon. This gave them the encouragement to drive the momentum further. "Within two months, we harvested an abundant crop. Then we created an official group and started to expand. Although the parents and the staff help with watering and overall care but for doing more work, we require more hands," shares Julius.
The Group held its first workshop on "Basics of Growing Your Own Food" towards the end of December. The idea was to get more people to participate and to do that, the Group stationed themselves outside the Central Park to inform people about the workshop. "We had a turnout of 15 people and the majority of the attendees who came for the workshop were the people we chatted up with outside the Central Park, "Julius points out. The workshop explained the people how to do gardening with hands-on experience. "We taught them to make raised beds and plant the saplings with minimum requirement. We taught them to recycle and reuse available resources. Our target is to hold at least one workshop every month."
According to another volunteer Sabita Rajendran, the larger objective of the group is to build a community initiative around urban farming. She says, "People have become so disconnected with nature and especially the food that they are eating. We are targeting children and societies to come in support of urban farming and encouragea dialogue on the subject. In doing so, we also ensure we keep things simple."Julius adds, "Also, with the cost of food going up and to save ourselves from genetically modified food that is impacting our health, we need to build alternatives like urban gardening that will at least take care of the needs of a small group. Today we are in a situation where food crops are being substituted with cash crops, land fertility is on the decline and diseases are on the rise. We must replenish our land and ensure the food we eat is naturally grown and rich in nutrients."
At St Jude's, the farm activities are slowly taking a leap. While radish and basil is ample, there is also palak and chavli growing abundantly. New saplings for brinjal have been recently planted. Even pineapples and potatoes have been planted. The group is slowly expanding as many volunteers from different walks of life have joined the fray. They ensure they at least meet twice in a week and the agenda is decided week on week. Sabita says, "Some of the regular activities we do are plant new saplings, mulch the existing ones and
water them from time to time. The produce has to be protected andharvested. New beds have to be made. We also devise new ideas to make it more interesting and fun. It is an ongoing thing and there is a lot of work to be done."
For those who wish to volunteer with Green Souls, they can freely walk in to the farm. They also conduct workshops that provide a guided approach to anybody who is interested in creating their own urban garden.On a broader perspective, urban farming has become more relevant today and we can start with it right inside our own homes by simply recycling and reusing the resources freely available at our disposal.
QUICKBYTES
A GROUP OF AVID URBAN GARDENERS HAVE COME TOGETHER TO SET UP A COMMUNITY FARM IN NAVI MUMBAI
THEY HAVE REAPED A RICH HARVEST USING AVAILABLE RESOURCES, AND BELIEVE IT IS IMPORTANT TO ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO GROW THEIR OWN FOOD
E-FORWARD - BCSCKALINA
GEM READERS’ LETTERS’
From:
hello sir,
This is to ask about proper forum to raise the issue of illegal constructions in the green zone near rivers in kharghar. Within a month two encroached buildings came up in kharghar sector-12. Which way a complaint can be registered? Can you suggest some?
sincerely,
jose kurian, kharghar
Can anyone help? - Editor
Fwd: The Desi Cow – Almost Extinct
K Singh
Will lead to more abandoned cattle on the streets and more animal cruelty in the coming future
A LONG article; do read when you have the time
Surya
------
http://tehelka.com/the-desi-cow-almost-extinct/?singlepage=1
The Desi Cow – Almost Extinct
India is the world’s largest producer of milk. But in 10 years, we will be forced to start importing it. And the Indian cow will no longer exist.Jay Mazoomdaar investigates a looming disaster ......
...veneration is founded in hard pragmatics.
GEM INSPIRATIONAL SERIES
Mumbai Auto driver's daughter is national topper in CA exams
Mumbai, Jan 22 (Mid-day) : The dream of a lifetime materialised for Prema Jayakumar yesterday, when the 24-year-old topped the nation-wide Chartered Accountancy exam in her first attempt. Prema, whose father drives an auto for a living, is now determined to use the milestone as a stepping-stone towards providing her parents with a life of comfort.
Prema’s four-member family squeezes itself into a 300 sq ft room in S B Khan Chawl, Malad. Beaming over her success after the results were declared yesterday, she said, “The day I start working, I will ensure that my father can rest at home. He has always toiled for my welfare.” Prema, who outshone her peers in academics since her school days, scored a remarkable 607 on 800 in the CA exam.
This is not her first stint on a toppers’ list: she scored 90 per cent in her Third Year B Com exams from the University of Mumbai, standing second. Prema said that she owed a debt of gratitude for the professors at her college and coaching institute, who had worked hard with her. The graduate from Nagindas Khandwala College completed her M Com from the University of Mumbai.
She said, “Fees were never an issue in school or college. In my school days I used to get a scholarship, and the college fees were nominal. My father Jayakumar Perumal is from Tamil Nadu, and has been driving an auto for 20 years. My mother used to work for a private company. She stopped working when I grew up and started earning during my articleship. I also received a scholarship of Rs 40,000 from my coaching institute, so fees were never a source of worry for my parents or me.”
While achieving her own personal goals, Prema has also been a guiding force for her 22-year-old brother Dhanraj, who also cleared his CA exam this year with his sister in his first attempt.
“We registered together with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and appeared for the exam in November 2012. My brother completed his TY B.Com in 2010. But he started studying for the CA exam after his HSC. He managed to gather registration fees for the exam /
by working at a call centre while completing his degree course.”
Prema added, “My father’s income was never fixed. He used to earn around Rs 15,000 every month. We used to earn Rs 5,000 per month during our articleship. My parents didn’t study beyond school, so they are very proud that both their children have opted for higher education.”
After completing her B Com in 2008, Prema appeared for the Common Proficiency Test (CPT) entrance organised by the ICAI in December 2008. In November 2009 she cleared both groups of the Integrated Professional Competence Examination (IPCE) which made her eligible for two-and-a-half years of articleship. The stint made her eligible for her CA final.”
Dhanraj said, “My parents earned well as they both use to work. Money wasn’t an issue as we also started earning when we grew up. Our articleship helped us to pay our registration fees for the CA exam. My sister was so intelligent that she earned her fees from scholarships. We both took leave from our articleships before the exam.
We always studied together as that helped us to discuss our problems with each other. My sister is my inspiration and it is she who helped me to clear the exam. Our neighbours were very supportive and maintained peace when we studied.”
“I have noticed that people fail their CA exams many times. We used to study from 7.30 am till 12 midnight. We used to rest at night. Sleep is very important when you are studying hard the whole day. If the person doesn’t rest adequately then exhaustion will hamper preparations. We used to take a single break for lunch. We used to watch TV for half an hour before going to bed, just to relax,” said Dhanraj.
Mumbai university’s orchard reaps fruits
By Hemali Chhapia, TNN | Jan 20, 2013, 02.13 AM ISTMUMBAI: You can soon go to Mumbai University and, along with a few brochures, pick up some organic fruits for your table. The university is planning to market the produce of its own orchard — more than the size of 10 Oval Maidans — where hundreds of trees are now bearing fruit in a stall outside the gate of its Kalina campus.
While many feel the university authorities are going bananas, one man has already seen this plan fructify. The initiative is borrowed from the success it earned at the Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University, where MU vice-chancellor Rajan Welukar was earlier posted. No sooner had he arrived in Mumbai in 2010, Welukar decided to sow the same idea here.
"I planted about 500 saplings a week after joining Mumbai University as the vice-chancellor. You can see the fruits of that effort now," he told TOI. Close to 200 mango trees of the dwarf variety stand right behind the vice-chancellor's lodge at the southern end of the campus in Santacruz; next to them are about 100 guava trees, many of which are already bearing fruits and 30 amla trees. Coconut palms line the periphery of the 230-acre Kalina campus now; that path along the circumference was earlier barren.
The VC has a personal backyard garden with several varieties of vegetables that are all used in his kitchen. "Everything that is grown on the campus is absolutely organic," Welukar stressed.
The university's campus, which had more flowers blooming earlier, has a larger count of fruit trees now. "The last large drive to plant saplings took place about 20 years ago when I joined this place. They were mostly flowers," said Prakash Ghurav, the university's gardener.
In a few more years, it will be difficult to tell if the university was set up in the middle of an orchard or the trees came up around it. "In about two years, this campus will have close to 2,000 fruit-bearing trees. Not only will there be more oxygen on the campus, but the temperature will come down too," said Welukar.
His earlier project at Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University was on a bigger scale. It allowed him to be a lot more ambitious as the campus area was larger. YCMOU has close to 85,000 trees, of them 5,000 are fruit trees. The Nashik-based university sells fruits and is well-known for freshly squeezed mango juice and confectionery made from amla. They grow cashew, coffee and several other products that allow them to rake in a profit. "Our plan is similar. We want this initiative to be self-sustainable," Welukar said.
New life begins at Sewri bay as young mangroves take root