They say money doesn’t grow on trees, yet Durgesh Agrahari quit his job as a banker to pursue a much more rewarding career with SayTrees. The non-profit is at the forefront of tree plantation campaigns and tree preservation in India. What began as a greening mission in Bangalore has now spread to Mumbai and Delhi, as well as rural parts of India.
The work Agrahari does is vital to not only restoring nature and local biodiversity, but empowering farmers and neighbourhoods. By planting saplings on village common lands, communities can become self-sufficient. “In the last four years, we have worked with close to 600 farmers who have planted more than 850 000 fruit-bearing trees,” Agrahari says. This has created a source of food and income, as well as provided a purpose for hundreds of volunteers, many of whom have started their own initiatives and mobilised local communities across India. Agrahari and his team are planting seeds of awareness that’s changing their country’s landscape for the better.
Up Next in Season 2
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Rabari People/Leopard by Adrian Steirn
Living among wild leopards is common in India. But these creatures must hunt in order to survive - leaving local communities and their livestock vulnerable. Conflict is inevitable, and it’s the leopards who often suffer at the hands of humans. Yet the Rabari people of Jawai have embraced the pres...
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Adrian Steirn Reveals a Poacher's Hum...
In a quest to understand the true horror of poaching, wildlife photographer Adrian Steirn has come up close to dehorned rhinos, and even closer to the men carrying out the bloodshed. What he’s uncovered is a reality not many would like to consider. “Nobody grows up wanting to be a poacher,” Steir...
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Jason deCaires Taylor
Through his underwater sculptures, Jason deCaires Taylor is carving his way toward a lasting future for the oceans. Coastal destinations attract the majority of the world’s tourists, the sheer number of which is causing serious damage to reef systems. Taylor places his concrete figures in barren ...
