Schoolchildren turn eco-warriors, take up sapling plantation drive in Vijayawada

Little-known facts about the humble kadamba fruit discussed at meet

Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) Commissioner Swapnil Dinakar Pundkar on Friday planted a kadamba sapling on the premises of St. John’s English Medium High School at Gunadala and spoke about little-known facts about the ancient and humble fruit.

Mr. Pundkar congratulated G. Dashrita, a Class VI student of the school who has been selected to participate in the National Children’s Science Congress-2023 based on her project on Kadamba fruit.

School Correspondent T. Suman Thyagaraj felicitated the Commissioner, while the institution’s academic head K. Rama Bharathi also participated in an ‘Own a Tree, Grow a Tree’ campaign, an initiative launched by the school’s eco-club called ‘Earth Troop’.

CEO of Andhra Pradesh Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Board Ashok Kumar spoke about the medicinal properties of kadamba and encouraged people to grow the tree.

The school’s primary section principal Ch. Tarun was present while presidents of the local residential colonies also participated in the sapling plantation drive. Students of Classes VIII and IX took out a rally and later planted 32 saplings in the NTR and Veterinary colonies in the neighbourhood.

Members of the eco club vowed to continue the sapling plantation drive and encourage people in the vicinity to do the same. The school authorities said geo-tagging would be used to track the progress of the plants.

The Municipal Commissioner sanctioned 200 saplings of kadamba to the school, which would be planted across the city by members of the eco-club.