FUR FREE FRIDAY: NOV 28



Lets get ready for Fur Free Friday 2008
ON Nov 28 2008

The abuse and exploitation of non-human animals is pervasive throughout our society. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, in the United States, over 9 billion animals are slaughtered for human consumption every year, approximately 20 million suffer in laboratories, another 5 million are killed for their fur, and countless others are enslaved for entertainment.
Fur Free Friday, the world’s largest and oldest anti-fur demonstration, takes place the day after Thanksgiving every year.
Let's Make a commitment today to take action for the 50 million victims of the fur industry. Imagine how powerful we could be if everyone reading this would just take a few minutes to engage in one action for animals killed for their fur.



http://ga0.org/indefenseofanimals/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=15853635



Which are the Animals killed for fur

The fur industry desperately wants the public to forget that fur-bearing animals are anything more than a coat collar or trim on a handbag. However, fur-bearers are important in their own right, playing essential roles in their ecosystems. Get to know the fascinating species most commonly used by the fur trade.

1.Beavers:Beavers are extremely gentle, family-oriented animals who mate for life and remain life-long friends with their children. The second-largest rodent in the world, beavers can live 19 years, reach 60 pounds, and grow up to 4 feet long. The mink (Mustela vison) is a member of the weasel family, which also includes skunks, otters, and wolverines. They are perhaps best know for their dark brown fur, which turns white at the chin and runs to black at the tips of their tails.

For more information, visit The Humane Society of the United States.

2.Rabbits: Rabbits are extremely social animals, living with their families in underground burrows called warrens. They can hop faster than a cat, human, or white-tailed deer can run. Rabbits love nibbling on alfalfa, timothy hay, apples, carrots, and crisp, green veggies, and they chew vigorously to trim their front teeth, which never stop growing. They communicate through body language, marking their territories like cats by rubbing their chins on twigs, rocks, or other landmarks. People who have adopted domestic rabbits from shelters know that they can be extremely affectionate, snuggling with their human companions and gently nuzzling their necks. Rabbits are sensitive, smart animals with individual personalities, just like dogs and cats. They make lifelong bonds with other rabbits and humans, play with toys, and can even learn to use litterboxes.

For more information, visit The Humane Society of the United States.

3.Foxes:Foxes are intelligent, nocturnal animals who rely on their big bushy tails to spread scent in order to communicate. Instead of being the “chicken thieves” that some farmers claim they are, foxes usually survive by eating fruit, berries, roots, carrion, rats, and slugs. Foxes play an important ecological role, as they “clean” the environment, and their survival often depends upon the amount of available food in their territories. Although they usually live one to two years, foxes have been known to survive nine years if left alone by humans, their sole predator. Female foxes work together to care for their families’ babies, and young foxes ultimately learn how to take care of themselves through play.

For more information, visit The Humane Society of the United States.

4.Minks Sometimes called “marsh otters,” minks love to swim and are often found near water. In the wild, minks are generally territorial and solitary and often travel long distances, sometimes using the dens of other animals as “hotel pit stops.”

For more information, visit The Humane Society of the United States.

5.Chinchillas:Chinchillas are shy, intelligent animals who eat vegetables and fruits and can live up to 15 years in the wild. Social “chatterboxes,” these sensitive, nocturnal animals can spend all night long just talking to one another. Fastidiously clean, they require frequent dust baths to care for their extremely dense fur.

6.Raccoons:Raccoons are fuzzy, beautiful animals with tell-tale black “masks” around their eyes. They can live seven years or longer in the wild. Raccoons are omnivores and eat frogs, fish, eggs, fruits, nuts, insects, and grain, among other things. Although they are primarily nocturnal, raccoons are often seen frolicking during the day when they haven’t detected a human’s presence. They are intelligent animals (often figuring out the most complicated locks) who, sadly, have had to adapt to the loss of their habitat by human development.

For more information, visit The Humane Society of the United States.

7.Coyote The popular name for the coyote comes from the Aztec word coyotl, which can be loosely translated as "trickster." Taxonomy classifies the coyote (Canis latrans) as a close relative of the wolf and the domestic dog. So close, in fact, that it is still a scientific detective story as to how much admixing has occurred between the groups. For more information, visit The Humane Society of the United States.

8.Opossum The opossum (properly, the Virginia opossum—Didelphis virginiana) is the only marsupial found north of Mexico. Marsupials are distinguished by their unique mode of reproduction: the young are born in an almost embryonic form and make their way to the pouch in their mother's abdomen, where they are nourished for what in other mammals would be most of the gestational period. For more information, visit The Humane Society of the United States.


9.Skunk Quick: Think of a skunk. What's the first thing that comes to mind? For many, it's the animal's unmistakable eau de parfum. Which is too bad, because skunk spray has given the wrong impression about these gentle, non-aggressive creatures.

For more information, visit The Humane Society of the United States.

10.Seal : True seals (a group that doesn't include the fur seal) belong to the family Phocidae. Seals lack ear flaps and the ability to rotate their hind flippers forward to walk on land, which sea lions can do. Instead they pull themselves forward by their fore flippers, dragging their hind flippers behind them, with an inchworm-like motion. In the water, however, they are amazingly graceful, using their hind flippers in a sculling motion to propel themselves while steering with their front flippers. Some species are deep divers—the northern elephant seal dives regularly to approximately 2500 feet and stays under routinely for 20-30 minutes per dive. For more information, visit The Humane Society of the United States.

10.Gray Wolf The gray wolf (Canis lupus), also called the timber wolf (along with many other local names), is one of the most widely distributed of all mammals—some say second only to humans. They have adapted to climates as different as deserts, the Arctic tundra, and forests. For more information, visit The Humane Society of the United States.

11.Black Bear American black bears (Ursus americanus) are usually true to their name, but you might spot one who is brown, reddish, yellowish, or even cream-colored. They are the most widely distributed and smallest of the three bears found in North America. The other two, the polar bear and the grizzly bear, are much more restricted in their distribution. For more information, visit The Humane Society of the United States.

12.Sea Otter Sea otters are the smallest of all marine mammals. At birth, they are about 22 inches long and weigh approximately five pounds. Adult males grow to be about 58 inches long and weigh 60Ð85 pounds. Unlike other marine mammals, sea otters do not have a protective layer of blubber to shield them from cold water. To compensate, they have extremely thick fur that traps warm air between hairs and insulates the body.

For more information, visit The Humane Society of the United States.

13.Fur Seal Sea lions and fur seals belong to the family Otariidae. They have ear flaps and can rotate their hind flippers forward, giving them a somewhat ungainly, but very agile, gait on land. These are the "circus seals"—the ones seen in circuses and aquaria—able to stand on their fore flippers and climb stairs. In the water, sea lions and fur seals use their fore flippers to propel themselves, with a wing-like flying motion, using their hind flippers to steer (the exact opposite of true seals). For more information, visit The Humane Society of the United States.

Trapping and Fur Farms

In many cases, individuals who wear fur try to justify their actions by claiming their coat was made from animals killed on a ranch, as opposed to animals that suffered for days in a steel jaw leghold trap (leghold trap). There is a misconception that ranch raised fur is "humane". Unfortunately, there is nothing humane about depriving these animals from their behavioral and physiological needs. Fur farming is nothing more than institutionalized torture.

Death for these animals is a horror story.Fur-farming methods are designed to maximize profits at the expense of the animal's health and comfort. For example,

Foxes are kept in cages up to two feet square with up to four animals per cage.

Minks suffer from close confinement, often developing self-mutilating behaviors. The animals in these concentration camp conditions also exhibit distressed neurotic behaviors such as pacing back and forth in their cages.Under normal circumstances, minks spend about 70 percent of their time in water. But on fur farms, where little water is available, their salivation, respiration, and body temperatures increase to unnatural and painful levels. In 1987, about 450,000 minks died on American fur farms due to heat stress alone.Tail biting is a form of self-mutilation that is common in captive mink populations. Self-mutilation is a hardship for fur farmers because it devalues the animal's fur pelt. Mink are killed after their winter coat reaches prime to cover many of the flaws in the fur.

are kept in tiny, filthy cages, surrounded by their own waste. They spend their entire miserable lives standing on the thin cage wires, never having a chance to dig, jump, or play. The methods of slaughter are inhumane—they are killed by having their necks broken or having their skulls beaten in before being strung up by the legs and having their heads cut off.

PETA investigators witnessed chinchillas who were suffering from painful seizures after being electrocuted or having their necks broken while they were still fully conscious.

And like foxes, raccoons often suffer in steel-jaw leghold traps, where they endure hours of agony before they are killed or chew their own arms or legs off. And like chinchillas, rabbits, and beavers, raccoons are constantly in danger from those who covet their fur.
Animals live in filth on fur farms and are often victims of disease and pests.

For example, fur farm animals are fed meat by-products which are often so grisly that they are unfit even for the pet food industry: calves heads, beef lungs and windpipes, unborn calves, chicken and turkey heads, beef and chicken entrails, cow udders, and fish heads. Bacterial contamination from such a diet threatens the health of the animals--particularly that of newly weaned pups. Contagious diseases--such as viral enteritis and pneumonia--as well as bladder and urinary tract infections are also prevalent on fur farms. Fleas, ticks, lice, and other insects are attracted by the piles of excrement under cages. These piles are often left for months, long enough for insects to infest the animals.
Even death does not come easy on a fur farm.

Ranchers have devised hideous methods of killing--methods which do not "damage" the animals' pelts:
Foxes are killed by anal electrocution--the insertion of a metal rod into the anus.
Some animals are killed in decompression chambers.
Minks and other animals have their necks broken.

The chinchilla industry proudly admits that most chinchillas are killed by neck breaking or electrocution. Many chinchilla farmers hook one metal clamp to the ear, and another to her genitalia to implement the electrocution of this poor creature.

Trapping
Each year approximately 10 million animals are trapped in the wild, so that they can be skinned for fur coats. The primary tools used by fur trappers are the following: leghold trap, the body grip (Conibear) trap, and the wire snare.
Fur trapping is a barbaric activity, done to supply people with an object of vanity, a fur coat. The leghold trap is composed of two metal jaws, powered by high strength springs, which slam shut on an animals paw when triggered. The initial impact of the steel jaws causes injury, but the majority of damage is caused as the animal struggles to break free.
Within the first 30 minutes of capture, a trapped animal can tear her flesh, rip tendons, break bones, and even knock out teeth as she bites the trap to escape.
Some animals will even bite off their own limbs in a desperate attempt to escape. In many cases the animals died from blood loss, infection, and inability to hunt with an amputated limb. Trappers kill animals that are still alive by shooting them in the head, stomping on them, or by beating their skulls in. Some leghold traps are actually set in a way as to kill an animal as opposed to restrain it. These are set in the water and are called "drowning sets." These are mostly reserved for beaver, muskrat, and mink.
The average time length required to actually drown the animals was 9 minutes and thirty seconds. Some beavers would hold on for as long as twenty minutes before their lungs gave out.
The fur industry argues that these "drowning sets" are humane. This only shows that their definition of humane is quite different than that of the rest of society.
Often times the traps will capture an animal other than the one the trapper was targeting. These are often referred to as "trash" animals, and are generally killed and thrown away. Those that are released usually die shortly thereafter from trap inflicted injuries.
The other commonly used fur trap is the snare. This is made of cable, and is shaped like noose. When the animal goes through the noose, she is caught. The more she struggles, the tighter the noose becomes. If the animal is caught around the neck it will eventually strangle her.

Facts about the Fur Trade

Statistics:

Each year the fur industry kills over 50 million animals for fashion, not including rabbits (no reliable data on rabbits killed worldwide for fur is available).
Number of Animals to Make a Fur Coat:

12-15 lynx10-15 wolves or coyotes

15-20 foxes

60-80 minks

27-30 racoons

10-12 beavers

60-100 squirrels

Canadian Seal HuntCanada's annual commercial seal hunt is the largest slaughter of marine mammals on the planet. Over 300,000 harp and hooded seals are killed for their pelts each year, with many skinned alive, according to independent veterinary reports. The last time this many seals were killed—in the 1950s and 1960s—the harp seal population was reduced by as much as two-thirds. In 2005, 98.5% of the seals killed were just two months of age or younger. At the time of slaughter, many had not yet eaten their first solid meal or taken their first swim. They literally had no escape from the "hunters." Further Information:www.humanesociety.org/protectsealswww.boycott-canada.comwww.stopthesealhunt.ca

Newborn and Fetal Karakul LambsGarments made from the pelts of newborn karakul lambs—often referred to as "Persian lamb," "karakul," and "astrakhan,"—are a staple of the fur fashion world. So too are garments made of fetal karakul lambs (known as "broadtail"), which the fur industry claims are crafted from animals born prematurely due to accident or exposure. In March 2000, investigators with The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) toured a karakul sheep farm near Bukhara, in the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan, and found that pregnant ewes are in fact routinely slaughtered for these fetal pelts. Graphic videotape shot at the farm shows a pregnant ewe held down, her throat slit and her stomach slashed wide so that a worker could remove the developing fetus—the "raw material" for coats, vests, and other broadtail fashions. What's more, contrary to the industry's claims that karakul lamb fur is merely a byproduct of meat production, HSUS investigators videotaped newborn lambs displayed as "samples" of pelt colors before being sent to their death. The pelts were saved, the tiny carcasses discarded as trash. Further Information: See the video or read the report on The Humane Society of the United States' investigation into karakul lamb fur production

Library

http://www.infurmation.com/library.php

consumer information
http://www.infurmation.com/consumer.php


last article
http://www.infurmation.com/pledge.php

Petiiton

https://community.hsus.org/campaign/furfreepledge_jay

references

http://www.friendsofanimals.org/programs/fur/trapping-of-animals.html

http://www.mercyforanimals.org/fur_farms.asp

http://www.nycanimalrights.com/Fur.htm
http://www.infurmation.com/animals.php
www.furisdead.com/animals.asp

http://www.animalliberationfront.com/Practical/Fishing--Hunting/Fur--Trapping/Anti-furPosters2.htm

http://www.infurmation.com/library.php

http://www.furkills.org/fff2008/index.html

http://www.petaliterature.com/products.asp?dept=38&pagenumber=2&sort_on=&sort_by=






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It can take 40 or more animals to make a fur coat, but only one person to make a difference. Here are some easy ways to stop the suffering that animals endure for fur and fur trim.
1. Take the Fur-Free Pledge
Help save mink, foxes, rabbits, and other furbearers from suffering in the name of "fashion" by signing the fur-free pledge. You'll join more than 76,000 people who have already taken the pledge.
2. Check Out Department Stores
Department stores are the largest retail outlets for fur apparel. Many sell fur, especially fur-trimmed items, in the same departments as synthetic fur. We believe most customers would prefer to purchase faux fur over animal fur, but sometimes they just don't know if that bit of fur trim is real or not. It simply isn't labeled. And with today's technology, synthetic fur looks and feels surprisingly real.
Visit your local department stores and see what kind of fur products they are selling, how they are labeled, and what the salespeople know about their products. Voice your objections to the sales clerk or store manager. Write, email or call department stores, such as Neiman Marcus, that sell real fur and fur trim and ask them to go fur free.
Alert shoppers to the fact that the stores at which they shop may be contributing to the suffering of animals. Pass out brochures describing the inherent cruelty of the fur industry. Order free posters and brochures online. If you are interested in organizing a demonstration, contact us at furfree@hsus.org.
3. Ask Questions
Ask your friends and family what they know about the furry trim on their jacket. Is it real or fake? Do they even know? Many people assume that if they didn't pay hundreds of dollars for the coat, the trim must be synthetic. This is not always true. They may have purchased animal fur without even knowing it.
Did you see fur-like apparel on a TV show or in a movie? Wondering if it is real or fake? Contact the studio to find out. Let studio executives know that viewers are monitoring the use of animal fur. Ask that a disclaimer be added to the credits stating that only synthetic fur was used.
4. Support Anti-Trapping Legislation
Ask your U.S. Senators and Representative to co-sponsor legislation banning the steel-jaw leghold trap in the United States and to ban commercial and recreational trapping on national wildlife refuges and other public lands.
Learn the current status of anti-trapping and other fur-related legislation by visiting The HSUS Government Affairs Section.
5. Celebrate Fur Free Holidays in Your Own Community
The day after Thanksgiving is one of the largest shopping days of the year. This is a perfect opportunity to urge consumers not to buy fur products, and "Fur-Free Friday" events take place in many cities. Join our online community for notices about these events in your area and other issues of interest.
Wish your neighbors a Fur Free Holiday with a festive yard sign. November is an ideal time to convert political candidates' yard signs into a seasonal greeting of compassion and goodwill toward all. Just tack an anti-fur poster over the sign.
6. Speak Out
Feel tongue-tied when it comes to voicing your concerns about the cruelty of the fur industry? The HSUS has made activism easier with I'm not a coat anti-fur cards that you can distribute to fur-clad members of the public. The cards put a spotlight on the sheer number of animals killed for each coat, while reminding people of a fur coat's original owner. Click here to order a supply of free cards to promote compassion in fashion.
Contact your local radio station and ask to be a guest on the talk or community service show. Urge listeners to have a Fur Free Holiday and a fur free millennium.
7. Write Letters
Compose and send letters and opinion editorials to your local paper explaining why it is important to be fur free. And write to them when you read fur fashion articles or see fur advertisements, too.
8. Post Billboards
Post a fur-free billboard in your community. The HSUS will supply the billboard; all you have to do is cover the cost of having it posted. Contact us for more information.
9. Involve Your Community
Team up with local wildlife rehabilitators to collect old fur garments. Many people have unwanted fur coats, hats, wraps, etc. Offer them the opportunity to donate the fur to use as bedding to comfort orphaned and injured wildlife. (If you don't know a rehabilitator in your area, inquire with your local humane society, animal control agency, or veterinarian or click here.)
Give copies of The HSUS's Trapping Case Report form to your local veterinarians and animal shelters. Ask them to keep it on file in the event that a trapping victim is brought to them. The information we collect from these forms helps us to enact bans on cruel and indiscriminate traps.
10. Publicize Your Efforts
Don't forget to draw attention to all of your events and activities. Send out press releases and follow up with phone calls. Ask local media outlets to give you public service time to announce your events.

Be the change

Many among us are not aware that the planet as we know it, is in grave danger. We act like aliens on our own planet. We have traded the wealth of nature for material wealth. Forests are now the furniture in our living room and animals are now our food, clothes and entertainment. We do not acknowledge the fact that we are responsible for global warming, and even if we do, we rarely carry out actions for mitigation of the effects.
This planet is our home, and not just our home, but to all those creatures who have lived here since life began 3 billion years ago. This air we breath, the water we drink and everything on this planet is the common heritage of all life. Human activities have threatened the survival of the biosphere and future generations to come. As we speak, many species of wildlife are getting extinct.
There is lot we can do to make a difference. Everything counts, the big things...the little things...... those that require plenty as well as those requiring very little investment of money, knowledge or time. Something is better than nothing. Let's do one thing every month for our one and only planet.....our only home......Let us change for better and lets inspire others to change towards a greener thinking and lifestyle.

You can click below links for more information:

Clean up campaign

Date:-01 Nov 2008
Venue:-Ramagondanahalli


On the occasion of Kannada Rajyothsava, a Clean-up Plastic Campaign was organized on 1 November 2008. A few concerned voluntary organizations such Clean & Green, LIFE, Green Dream in association with K.K.Plastic Waste Management Pvt Ltd. organized this awareness campaign at Ramagondanahalli area near Whitefield.
Spearheaded by Ms.Roopa Sankaran of Clean & Green, a team of volunteers enthusiastically cleaned up plastic waste from garbage bins and roadside dumps in the locality. Mr.K Rasool Khan of K.K.Plastic spoke to the residents of Ramagondanahalli and made them aware of the dangers of plastic lying in their locality. He demonstrated how food waste remains rotting inside plastic bags making them useless for rag pickers and plastic recyclers. He emphasized on the need to segregate non-degradable plastic and bio-degradable waste before handing it over to the garbage collectors.
K.K.Plastic has been doing the yeoman service by picking plastic waste from garbage and reusing it in its bitumen road laying process. Many of the roads in the Bangalore city corporation limits are laid by this bitumen and plastic blend technology which lasts longer than the normal roads. K K Plastic has also helped Clean & Green team to clean up tourist spots such as Mutthathi and Nandi Hills earlier this year.
Participants:-Harsha,Levine,Manasa,Natraj,Phaniraj,Rama,
Roopa,Selina,Swapna







Kaggaladu visit- Nov 9 2008

Date: Nov 9th 2008 (tentative)

Visit to kaggaladu bird santuary.

Objective:Create an awareness of importance of trees.As the village is visited by many birds

we need to convince villagers to help us in tree planting as they showed little intrest in planting trees during our tree plantation.

Levine- will give an awareness rogramme to school children

Vivek will conduct a health camp for villagers we will distribute sweets and crayons to school children

Mr.Shivashankar who runs his own trust "jeevana mukti trust" will Talk to villagers regarding importance of trees

If time permits we will conduct games and teach drawings to school children.
Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.co.in/life.trust.blr/Kaggaladu#

Tree plantation at Kaggaladu

Project Tree plantation at Kaggaladu, Kaggaladu, Sira taluk, Tumkur district
Trees planted: 50 numbers
Date: 20-July-2008


This is one of the dream projects since inception in February 2008, which is slightly different from other projects.Kaggaladu is small village with 25 houses, near Sira taluk, on the way to Changapura. Main occupation and the source of income is agriculture for the people depending on rain. Although the village has interconnected 2 lakes for serving the purpose, the lakes rarely fills up.But the main point of attraction is this is a bird sanctuary. Variety of species of birds like Painted storks, Black ibis, Spot billed pelicans, Grey herons, Pelicans, Baya weaver and many more are main habitats in this area, apart from sparrows and crows. These birds are migrating and come from different places of the world. These birds visit this village from January and lay eggs, and feed their young ones, help to grow and in the month of June July they start their next destination. Amazingly birds wish to live on tamarind trees, as this can support lot of weight and easy to build nest due to tamarind tree structure. Most of the tamarind trees are within the village. The main food for these birds is fish from the nearby lakes.KFD, Karnataka Forest Department has identified this as a bird sanctuary, but hardly you will get information. Even you don’t find a sign post to reach Kaggaladu, unless you ask by-passers. Couples of years back, KFD official were available at this village to help these birds by feeding fish, but this is diminishing. But these birds are part of daily life of the villagers and villagers are very interested to see more bird arriving. A primary school welcomes you to the village.We visited this place for the feasibility of tree plantations, identifying planting location and met village leaders for their support for our project. This happened in 16-June-2008. Remember, local support is very important.On 20-july-2008, we started from Bangalore with 60 saplings and 6 volunteers to Kaggaladu. We reached the village around 1030 hours. First thing we met village leaders for their support and discussed our idea and. We met Jnansindu, HK Raju and Shankarappa who are the village panchayath members. Later we received acceptable support from the local people. Digging tools were borrowed and we planted approximately 10 numbers of jack fruit saplings in the school premises mainly for the shade. This was done to promote other variety of tree to grow which requires minimum supervision. Later we planted remaining 45 saplings of tamarind across various places in the village. Children were more interested than elders. (Young buds proved they don’t think commercially) we finished all the plantings. These trees need deeper pit, as the roots should be firmly holding earth. Surprisingly villagers wanted more saplings to plant at their premises; it is good to see someone is willing to come forward to plant a tree. By this time, work was completely managed by kids! We provided fence with the Jaali trees.During planting time, a person objected to plant a sapling, digging deep the matter, he disclosed the place belongs to him and he want to chop off a existing tamarind tree, were birds are nesting. We all gathered to convince him and to alter his house building plans. Also KFD is providing money per year for the landlord, if the nesting tree belongs in his private land. We put all efforts to convince him. We wish to see the tree during our next visit. Also Levin provided very good advice to villagers on cost saving building house techniques, how to prepare best manure within village…and so on.By this time, we were exhausted; we finished our parcel plate Idlis and started by 1530hours. At the end of the day we had a satisfaction that, we did something better.Volunteers; Harsha, Levin, Albert, Retish, Balasubramaniam, Sharavan (RNSIT)

http://picasaweb.google.co.in/life.trust.blr/Kaggaladu#

Tree plantation at Al-Ameen school

Project: Tree plantation at Al-Ameen school, Malur road, Hoskaote:
Trees planted: 200 numbersDate: 12-July-2008
About the school:-Al-Ameeen school is located on the Malur road, Hosakate. This has primary to higher school and also has separate hostel facility for boys and girls. Students form various places are studying here including economically poor. School administration identifies the financial background of student and provides free hostel and education. The school campus is pretty big with 30 acres. Headmaster was very eager to provide space for planting sapling in their premises.
About our work:-The plan was to plant 200 saplings along with students, and to create awareness with our volunteers and involving with them.As the school campus has huge area, the buildings like teacher’s room, class room, boy’s hostel, girl’s hostel and a mosque are located distantly and well planned. As the space availability and ownership is positive, we planned to have variety of trees like fruit bearing, flower bearing, shade purpose trees. For which the flora and fauna will have a room in this area.The feasibility for the project and responsibility of saplings were discussed with head master during previous visit on 5 July 2008.By the time at 930AM, we have selected variety of saplings.Our hired tempo traveler arrived at 10 AM with 13 enthusiastic volunteers. We packed all the saplings to TT and started towards the school.With the help of school administrative, the future building plans were discussed to have proper understanding of the area. By the time Levin along with students started to mark the place for saplings. Harsha and Prashanth were planning to which plant go on which side, like flower bearing and small trees round the office surroundings. Medium –large trees on the path ways, fruit bearing trees around the living area, medium flower bearing trees around the play ground and large trees around the mosque.By this time all our volunteers had arrived. We had few digging tools and we borrowed few from school administration. School children were eagerly waiting to feel the experience. In fact we had difficulty to handle overwhelming students in a sudden!All trees were segregated and handled with our volunteers. And each volunteer will be taking few students for the further process.Our volunteers explained the type of sapling we had, and their benefits along with the importance of conserving our ecology. Also volunteers demonstrated how to hold the tool, how much deep the pit should have, how to plant the sapling, putting back the soil for a small water holding basin. We were finishing almost all areas simultaneously. It was wonder to see kids fighting to plant their trees and watering with love as if the planted saplings were their asset.Sun was spilling his heat at noon.Now it was lunch time. By the time of 200PM, we had left with very few saplings. And planted remaining saplings around the kids play area in the school campus. Headmaster convinced to have lunch and continue, but we wanted to finish our task. In the meanwhile few volunteers were assisting to watering the plants.Now most of us were feeling thirsty and hungry. One of the volunteer shared few TIGER biscuits. Later we had lunch with head master. We had Tomato bath and curd rice at the boy’s hostel.At 400PM we concluded with planting all saplings. We captured few photographs with students with note of thanks to the school staff.Following are the type of saplings we planted. You can click the link next to the plant name for more information.Bahemia-10 numbers; Sampige-10 numbers; Lagetramia-20 numbersmitragayana-20 numbers; Singpore cherry-25 numbers; Jackfruit-10 numbers;
Shivani-10 numbers; Honge-30 numbers; Ashoka-5 numbersTakoma-10 numbers; Jacaranda-5 numbers; Bettada nallikaaye-5 numbers;
Attigida-10 numbers; Arali-10 numbers; Neem-20 numbers
Total: 200 saplingsWithout these volunteers the project would not been a success:Albert;Amit Gupta;Amogh;Anand;AnithaChetan;Divya;Harsha;Kaushik;Levin;LukeMadhusudhan;Monica;Neelima;PhanirajPrashant;Praveen;Raghavan;Satvik;SawanShravan Purohit;Shravan;Shrikanth;Sreelakshmi;Swapna;

more pictures: http://picasaweb.google.co.in/life.trust.blr/AlameenSchool#

Tree plantation at Jadigenahalli


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Trees planted: 200 numbers
Date: 24-May-2008
Morning was pleasant, and the breeze was special…Sun rose to a perfect harmony as the volunteers moved towards Hosakote. Some reached early, some late. Some came prepared, and some didn’t. However, it didn’t dither them from doing their bit to address the major problem of the planet today, the global warming.The barren and neglected land that was selected for sapling plantation program was on the outskirts of a village called Jadigena halli, some 7KMs off Hosakote. The saplings were bought by volunteers for a reasonable price at the white field forest department nursery. The saplings varied from floral to fashionable to the fruiting ones. The variety also ranged from plants that would eventually grow to a few feet to the ones those grow to a few meters. The varied saplings were selected that added to some 200 in numbers.The Singapore cherries, people tree, the guava, Jack fruits, flowering plants, kadamba plants and so on.As we entered the lands where the plantation had to happen, we observed some pits graved by a JCB machine a few days ago. The first task cut out for us was to fill these huge pits at least by 50% to make our saplings sit quiet in there. And we began the day of plantings by planting a people tree.A few villagers were all geared up to accompany the city lads in this task unusual. With the able guidance of experienced people in our team, and the village guys as well, within 2 hours we could cover a vast area that was empty earlier with the plants that we carried.Volunteers participated in the drive with utmost interest and with a sensational spirit that was infective. Villagers were happy to see us indulge in the country activity and were beaming with huge smiles. They were pretty impressed, and were committed to growing the plants to make them trees in the near future.The village had a brand new temple that was inaugurated a couple of weeks before our visit. It is a very big and a beautiful temple of Karagadamma devi. Our next halt was at the temple, and the remaining 50 and odd plants were to be planted around here. The villagers too joined hands making our jobs easier and saving a lot of time. Here we planted fruiting sapling in abundance, with a few flowering and a few kadamba plants.The enthusiastic 30+ volunteers, if not anything else, were successful in inspiring a whole village to maintain the forest around them, and grow more trees.A vole of satisfaction ruled over all the faces of those volunteered that day. After getting freshened up at a well nearby, the team headed back to the temple, took part in a special pooja of the Goddess and had prasada with contention.A sumptuous “ragi mudde oota” was waiting for all the tired souls that day at a neighboring house. All relished the food with brim thankfulness.Before ending the note on our first ever plantation drive, I’d like to thank all those who made the program a grand success; the volunteers especially took their time off to present themselves with a satisfaction of being a part of a social awareness community. The program was organized and arranged by Swapna in association with Madhu, special thanks to the both of them. Next to the villagers who were supporting us right from the beginning till the very end to make it a startling beginning of the plantation season.Last and not the least the two families those were responsible for the program themselves, one the family of Mrs. & Mr. Prakash who, being a village chieftain permitted us to plant in the land belonging to him, as well as around the temple. He not only permitted us to go ahead, but also stood there instructing us, guiding us to go in a right direction.Another family that stood as a backbone for the whole event, without whom we couldn’t have even dreamt of being there here are Mrs. and Mr. Shivabasaiah Badnimath. They also arranged for the sumptuous food that we relished later in the evening.We hope and wish that we be a cause and part of hundreds of such events and occasions further in the coming days.
Participants:Akshata,AlbertAnand,Anitha,Amogh,Balakrishna, Bilvashree ,Chaitra, Chetan, Chitra,Levin, Nataraj, Nimmi, Phaniraj, Madhusudhan, ManjulaRethesh, Ramesh, Raghu, Rethesh, Sreelakshmi, Shrikanth ,Sushma, Sudarshan,Organisers:Prakash & sunanda, Swapna, Shivabasaiah & Ratna