Ecological Society Alumni Meet 2023

The Friends of Ecological Society (FES) is the Alumni Body of Ecological Society. We have been conducting many activities for our members, and Alumni Reunion is the cherry on the pie. This year’s Alumni meet was organized by FES around the launch of a project to create a grove on a barren piece of land and dedicating it to the memory and vision of our beloved mentor Shri Prakash Gole. This project is being executed by 14 Trees, Ecological Society and KPIT CSR team through support from our esteemed alumni Shri. Ravi Pandit & Dr. Nirmala Pandit. 14 Trees is a reforestation initiative by Dr. Pravin Bhagwat - a student of the ES batch of 2022-23. The Prakash Gole Grove was created at the 14 Trees project site at Vetale. The members of the alumni mingled and reunited in batches of 30 to 40 over 5 weekends, when they visited the site to plant a tree each in the grove. Our first visit for the launch and tree plantation of the Prakash Gole Memorial Grove was on the 11th January. 

Prakash Gole Grove - A tribute to Gole Sir

The day began very early as everyone had to gather before 6.30 a.m. at the Ecological Society office. The transport was arranged depending on the number of FES and other Alumni on each day. Once there, breakfast, tea, and a quick round of introduction happened. After the short tour around base camp by Dr. Pravin, with stories of the failed and successful experiments conducted on the initial 4 acres of the project site, we set out for the Gole Grove. All along the walk, Dr. Pravin kept us engaged in the many stories about the efforts that he and his team took to improve the prevalent barren condition. 

Glimpses of the grove inauguration day

We were slightly down and thirsty by the time all of us reached there. But waiting in the gazebo till the saplings arrived revived us with new enthusiasm. The planting of saplings was an immense pleasure written clearly on each of the Alumni member’s face. 

But, everyone was still left wondering, why this NGO is called 14 Trees. Anyone wanting to know that must visit the site once. 

Five site visits arranged by Friends of Ecological Society

In all, 126 people visited the grove to plant a tree. The visits were held on 11th January, 15th January, 22nd January, 5th February, and 12th February. Dr. Swati Gole, Dr. Gurudas Nulkar, Ms. Manasi Karandikar, Ms. Ketaki Ghate, Mr. Ajay Phatak, Dr. Sanjeev Nalawade, Mr. Girish Sohani and Dr. Priyadarshini Karve were amongst the faculty from Ecological Society. 

Those with some idea of the place and an interest in biodiversity had come with binoculars, good cameras, and lenses. They made good use of these at every halt during the walk to the site. 

Flora and fauna at the site

The increase in the numbers and diversity of the flora and fauna since the restoration work started was noted. It shows the level of ecological success in the area and clearly recognizes that the efforts of this team are now showing results. 

Friends of Ecological Society volunteers

All the volunteers of Friends of Ecological Society helped the very efficient on-site staff of 14 Trees manage the entire Alumni Meet in perfect synchronization. 

100 trees by 100 alumni 

If you don’t see your name in the above frame, do think again. Those who missed visiting on any of the Alumni Meet days, you can still do so. The Friends of Ecological Society is planning to conduct a tour to the site on the 3rd Saturday of every month. 

All other visitors who met the alumni on these tours were encouraged to join this year’s batch. And, most of them were interested after realizing the in-depth knowledge of Natural Resource Management that the course provides. 

- Manjushri Parasnis

manjushrisavadi@gmail.com