8,000 native saplings to turn two acre in Coimbatore into ‘Kurinji Vanam’

COIMBATORE A two-acre barren land at Pillayarpuram in Coimbatore is all set to become an urban jungl

A two-acre barren land at Pillayarpuram in Coimbatore is all set to become an urban jungle, namely ‘Kurinji Vanam’, in some years. Under a joint initiative by the Forest Department, the Center of Urban Biodiversity Conservation and Education (CUBE) and WayCool, volunteers will plant 8,000 saplings of native trees at the site.

District Collector G.S. Sameeran launched the afforestation drive on Friday in the presence of Corporation Commissioner M. Prathap, Conservator of Forests S. Ramasubramanian, District Forest Officer T.K. Ashok Kumar and P. Pramod, Senior Principal Scientist, Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History.

According to the organisers, the afforestation drive is aimed at increasing the green cover in Coimbatore city. The urban jungle will also contribute to controlling climate change and promoting biodiversity, they said.

Student volunteers from Sri Jayendra Saraswathy Vidyalaya Senior Secondary School and Peepal Prodigy Senior Secondary School planted saplings at the site on the inaugural day on Friday.

Organisers said that the saplings planted included native varieties such as  Vateria indica, Tricalysia Sphaerocarpa, Diospyros ferrea, Suregada angustifolia, Memecylon umbellatum, Glycosmis mauritiana, Aglaia elaeagnoidea, and  Pleiospermium alatum.