Identifying TDEF species in the forestAs
Auroville battles encroachment, nearby deforestation, water depletion
and chemical farming, the green skills developed by the pioneers who
brought the barren plateau back to life become ever more important.
Now, this vernacular ecological knowledge is being propagated in a
horticultural course offered by Auroville’s Botanical Gardens.The
course was started by Paul Blanchflower, the founder of the Botanical
Gardens, to train people to run ecological projects. “We are trying
to create an educated society in Auroville and India about the
advantages of native plants,” says Paul. “If you are going to
save the planet, there is a limit to what we can do in the Botanical
Garden. But if we can scale up and create armies of trained people,
that will help.”The
course is spreading Auroville’s reforestation culture to the wider
world, with the first batch of students having completed the
inaugural six-month course in March.
The
full-time course offers...
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