Testimonials of FES Volunteers: Amit Walambe – 2018-19
Around the early months of 2022, Friends of Ecological Society members were actively looking for restarting activities post-COVID. ‘14 Trees Foundation’ came up and a visit was planned. The project was very impressive that we instantly decided to make it a primary project for FES members to contribute hands-on.
The premise of doing reforestation on completely degraded land, was in itself very interesting. Typically, organisations chose slightly favourable terrain to do any kind of plantation. But 14 Trees is trying to solve all 3 main challenges for plantation efforts: water, protection, community participation, on a very challenging, barren landscape.
What attracted me the most to this project is its scale and the professional management. The founder, Pravin Bhagwat, being a techie has given a solid technical base to the operations, which is rare to find in ecology related activities.
Other than fantastic opportunities to apply ecology related learnings, one other perk of volunteering with 14 Trees are the people we get to meet. From the ever efficient and motivated on-site team to ES alumni across batches to people from different visiting groups. One gets a chance to meet eminent professors from India's top colleges, to senior IT leaders to inventors and artists.
This project doesn’t just want to do ecological restoration of its chosen area, it aims to create a model which can be replicated across the country. With such an ambitious goal, there are so many things to do for volunteers; all requiring different sets of skills, from creative skills, technological, ecological and many more. I am sure there are volunteering opportunities in everyone's strength areas and interests. This doesn't limit the volunteering opportunities to ES alumni alone (although they are the easiest fit due to the right training and mindset).
I am currently contributing to guided visits, biodiversity documentation and plotting of the project areas.
Overall, the project is really inspiring and is an amazing opportunity for anyone to make their contribution towards nature conservation.
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