A labour of love every Sunday for eco-friendly environment

Similarly, Gajendra Kumar, a working professional who is a regular at the park for the last five years, joins volunteers like him and will be busy for over two hours at the spot. 

Part of ‘Shramdhan’, an initiative by Nizhal – a trust to promote concern for trees in the city – a group of volunteers has been steadily contributing towards the maintenance of the greenery around them. 

Shobha Menon, Founder Trustee of Nizhal, says that the Shramdhans bring together people who care for the environment. “Making the environment green isn’t always about planting samplings. There is a lot more to taking care of the plants — watering, mulching, fixing a tree guard and clean up,” she says. 

The group also has a similar activity around the greenery near the Chitlapakkam Lake on Sundays between 6.30 am and 8 am. 

In fact, the Kotturpuram Tree Park was a result of the hard work by the volunteers of Nizhal, who transformed the five-acre dump yard into a green spot with more than 500 trees and around 150 species of trees and shrubs. 

The park has inspired similar spaces in other parts of the city, like Madhavaram, Perungudi and Ashok Nagar. 

Shobha says that the idea is to make the citizen volunteers show care for the greenery around them in their respective neighbourhoods. “It is not about the number of people who turn up every time. Different persons turn up each time and they are all part of our effort to upkeep the place. We recently created a pond in the park with help from the volunteers,” she says. 

There are volunteers from different age groups and from varied backgrounds. Gajendra Kumar, for instance, had an interest in his surroundings, but little knowledge about plants and trees. “After being part of Shramdhan, now I can identify the different species of plants at the park and can also conduct tree walks.” 

For Riya, who is passionate about environmental science, the last six months have been an enriching experience. “I haven’t missed a single session in all these months. There is always some work to be done at the park and it is a great learning experience,” she says with a smile.