Saturday , 7^th March was my parents' 19^th wedding anniversary. So we were all sitting and they were planning for movie , outing and lunch out etc.  They asked me "Arushi ,which movie would you like to see?". I advised them to plant 19 trees to commemorate their 19^th anniversary and doing good to environment rather than movie outing.  Initially they smiled but later they  appreciated my idea and supported me.

Saturday , being weekend, was an ideal day too for this tree plantation. We decided to plant Ghaf seeds as this is UAE's national tree and consumes minimum water. Let me tell you a bit about this unique Ghaf tree.

During long, dry periods, when much of the ground vegetation is dormant, the Ghaf (Prosopis cineraria) spreads out its lush canopy often laden with flower and fruit.This tree is one great survivor! Fierce temperatures, searing winds, high rates of water loss....the Ghaf tolerates them all. A multipurpose tree of arid lands that is considered a solution to desertification, the Ghaf stabilizes dunes while it improves soil. What is more, it propagates itself by providing new shoots from parent root systems. It  is a drought – tolerant, evergreen tree which is, possibly, the sturdiest plant of the harsh desert environment In the UAE. The presence of Ghaf in an area indicates that there is water underground. The tree taps water stored deep in the sand, its roots penetrating as deep as 30 meters to access it. Thus, Ghaf is able to withstand very low rainfall and still stay green.

So we went to Greenworks  Nursery at Al Berari Estate , Dubai where fortunately Saturday was a community /family tree plantation day. We bought 19 saplings.

We were given black pouches and printed labels to put our names and then paste on black pouches. Then we were guided towards the sand heap to take sand and fill the pouches till brim. We , then, were given good seeds to put 1 in each of the 19 pouches full of sand. Seeds were to be put just inside the sand , not too deep  to give space for seed to germinate.

Finally these 19 seeds were planted .

We were then taken around the nursery . We were shown how the beans are opened to take out seeds and then seeds are sorted to separate good seeds from  bad seeds. Seeds which have hole are infected by bird etc and are considered bad so they are kept aside. Good seeds are further put in boiled water for about 30 seconds to give them nice glow and bigger size. Bad seeds and bean trash are all taken to separate area for art & craft. The incharge/Manager Ms Christy told us that they don't waste anything in the nursery. In art & craft area , they immerse bean trash and bad /discarded seeds in lukewarm water , mix and make a paste out of it. Then that paste is put in muslin cloth to squeeze out all it's dampness . This paste can be used to make hard material like coasters etc. We sat there and made nice coasters with star , heart , ship , circle shapes from this paste using cookie moulds. Then we kept them for drying. The coasters after drying were really hard enough to serve the purpose of coaster. This paste can make extremely strong material . Ms Christy informed us that due to the strength of the products from this paste , they are planning to approach some construction companies to use this as binding material.

I gave my Tunza Eco Gen ambassador card to the staff in nursery and also to Ms Christy. She was impressed to see my card and curiously asked me "What is this Tunza Eco generation , what are you supposed to do as ambassador , what all you do ?".  I informed her and the others present over there in detail about Tunza Eco Generation , it's benefits , ambassador program , our roles and responsibilities as ambassadors  and the global impact of this forum .

While we were all sitting and working for seed sorting and coaster making , we discussed on various climate issues world is facing today , problems /challenges (according to each of us ) which are worsening the situation globally and probable solutions or the ways by which we can make a difference. I told them about recycling , how and what all I recycle , waste segregation etc. They shared their experiences like what they do to protect  environment. They learnt few things from me and of course I too learnt from their experiences. It was a good interactive session while sorting the seeds.

In the morning when one of my aunt  called my mother to wish her  and asked her their plans for the day. My mother  had told her about our plan of planting 19 trees, she was happy to hear that. When we reached nursery , we were surprised to see aunt and her 10 year old son as well. I was happy to hear from them that upon hearing our plan , their 10 year old son whose birthday was about a month ago (but he din't yet celebrate due to exams) told his parents that Arushi's idea is very good and even he wants to plant 10 trees as he turned 10 little while ago.

Also in the evening , my father's sister called to wish him and she too asked the same "how you celebrated?" Upon hearing , even she liked it and assured that next time onwards they would also plant trees on their birthdays and anniversaries. I am happy that I could some way inspire few others. After all , we learn from each others' best practices.

Trees are the lifelines of earth and tree plantation is the most efficient way of healing the ailing Mother Earth .