Testimonials of FES Volunteers: Shruti Soman 2019-20

 When I came to know about a volunteering opportunity in the FES group, I was very curious to know more about this project. When I visited it with few other ES alumni, we had the privilege to have a guided tour by Pravin Bhagwat, founder of 14 Trees and it turned out to be just awesome! When I visited 14 Trees back in July, it was red alert for heavy rains in Pune... However, it turned out to be the best time to make myself acquainted with this initiative. 

It's just not tree plantation, but 14 Trees is creating livelihood for people around the village of Vetale, making kids learn about importance of nature conservation, and I feel it is creating the natural eco corridor for wildlife from the nearby Bhimashankar sanctuary to thrive and sustain in the many years to come.

 Pravin is involving so many like-minded NGOs, organisations and individuals in making this a successful and sustainable initiative, which is commendable. I also got to meet people from ATREE, Grasslands Trust, Fergusson college,  Botany professors as well as creators from IIM Gandhinagar... I feel proud that there are many visionaries behind this project and I am really glad to be a small contributor to this project.