The loss of a loved one can shatter you to the core. You begin to think of ways to stay connected with them, be it via gazing at the stars or by doing charity in the memory of the person you have lost. Janet Yegneswaran, who lost her husband 13 years ago, planted a honga tree near her house on June 2 in the loving memory of her husband.
Little did she know that this small gesture will soon turn into a life-long mission.
“Since I felt very passionately for the loss of tree cover in Bengaluru, my friends suggested I do a dharna. But I felt I wanted to do something a little more productive. I formed the Rajanet Yegneswaran Charitable Trust in memory of my husband and decided to take up the planting of saplings in the neighborhood,” said Janet.
Janet began planting saplings in the neighborhood in 2005. Until now she has successfully made her state greener by planting as many as 73,000 trees.
“It’s a proud moment to see the honge sapling planted by me, grow into a tree, near my house,” says Janet.
Janet aimed to aid the environment on a larger scale. So she decided to move beyond her own garden and neighborhood and added a few volunteers to her mission. As she planted trees in other neighborhoods, she visited local residents to ask them if they were willing to water and see to the plants she’d planted on the street outside their homes. “The response was lukewarm. While some agreed, others did not support me. But I did not give up,” Janet told Bengaluru Mirror.
Janet earlier worked as a landscape designer at the Sri Kanteerava Stadium for a few years. Her experience aided her in expanding her mission. Using her expertise in picking the right kind of saplings depending on the land where it was to be planted, Janet went on to plant more and more saplings foraying several parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Presently, arrangements are being made to plant 1,000 saplings in Coorg and 1,000 more in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. “We are ready to plant saplings at any place across the state. Many people have also reached out to Janet to plant saplings on special occasions like birthdays.”
Talking about the objective of her mission, she said, “The objective is to make the residents take ownership of the plants. We only plant saplings if the residents assure us that they will water and look after them,” says Janet.
Janet also spoke in detail about her current project, stating, “Our project Thengaja involves planting 1,000 coconut saplings for delta farmers of Thanjavur affected by Cyclone Gaja. We are collaborating with Citizens for Awareness, for this project. They have identified 100 poor families and we will plant 10 coconut saplings for each family,’’ Janet said.
Corporate brands like Nokia, Sony, Samsung, etc have funded her mission. “We get some money from corporates to plant saplings on the campus or at selected locations. When residents and farmers want to plant saplings, we do it free of cost,” she says.
Apart from planting trees, she also runs her own nursery of plants. Talking about it she said, “There is no water supply for the nursery. It is an 80 X 50 site which has been given to me by a patron. I pay no rent but since there is no water I buy water for the plants. I would like the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) authorities to allocate land for the nursery at a suitable location. Former minister Ramalinga Reddy had directed the BBMP authorities to allot land but it was not suitable for a nursery,” she signs off.
We hope Janet keeps making the planet greener and continues to inspire more people to join her mission!