Environment Day and it's time to plant a tree. AMC (Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation) in my town with its slogan 'Clean & Green ahmedabad - An AMC Promise' has truly come out with flying colors to celebrate the Environment Day with its round the year development to make the city clean and green. They have created 5 jogging parks, developed 15 new gardens, planted 7.04 lac trees in one year, removed 1,00,000 tonnes of dry mud from roads in just 8 months and covered up 7 lac houses for Door-to-door garbage. Isn't this so cool? Moreover, there has been an introduction to about 400 CNG Buses and this means, reduce in the rate of air pollution. Kudos to AMC!

Yet, environment is a major issue in India. Why India - all over the world. A recent Reuters news at Google says "Indian Air is highly polluted". Inefficient energy is the cause, says the World Bank.

Well, did you know that the Forest Dept. has made gardens in Jashodanagar, Maninagar area in Ahmedabad at the cost of 35 lacs with 400 trees in two groves, i.e. Panchvati van and Rashi Van. 24 trees are planted in the Rashi Van and these trees link to zodiac signs in Hindu scriptures. There are 39 trees in the Panchvati Van and these trees represent the five elements of nature.

Among the trees which have beneficial qualities in the Rashi van are:

Bili Tree:Gemini
Seemdo:Scorpio
Umro:Aries
Kher & Jamun:Taurus
Peepal:Cancer
Vad khakhro:Leo
Juhi:Virgo
Arjunsadad:Libra
Ambo:pisces
Garmalo:Sagittarius
Fanas:Capricorn
Kadam:Aquarius

The Panchvati van has five tree species i.e. Peepul, Banyan, Bili, Ashoka and Amla which represent the five elements of nature. Also there is a huge tree grove formed from Rudraksh tree, Bili and Chandan tree and this is pruned in the shape of a Shivling ( Shiv god is represented as Shiv Ling i.e. semi round shape). There is a Punit Van in Gandhinagar in Gujarat, in the same way and as a result many people are planting trees as per their zodiac signs. Even I am planning to plant trees as per the sun signs of my all family members.


Btw, Kidsfreesouls is associated to Earth Talk Column of Doug Moss since many years.Every week, The Editor Doug Moss answers your Questions related to environment. If you feel you have a question, send me or Doug Moss and he is sure to quip with a wise reply.




Here's a recent Question to Doug Moss from a reader and find his answer on Earth Talk Page: "I read somewhere that babies were being born nowadays with a number of man-made chemicals detected in their bloodstreams. This is pretty scary. How could it be?" - Sandra McGregor, Portland, OR

Doug Moss says:
“Body Burden,” a 2005 study by the non-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG), found that American babies are born with hundreds of chemical contaminants in their bloodstreams. The findings are based on tests of samples of umbilical-cord blood taken by the American Red Cross from 10 babies, located in different part of the U.S., that were born in August and September of 2004. The most prevalent chemicals found in the newborns were mercury, fire retardants, pesticides and the Teflon chemical PFOA. - Read More

If you have any question related to environment, send me or Editor Doug Moss and you are sure to recieve a reply. Enjoy!

- ilaxi