‘Catch the Young’, a campaign to preserve Dalhousie forests

Chamba, May 13

Amidst the tranquillity and beauty of the forest lurks the ever-looming danger of forest fires. Every summer, as the scorching summer descends upon the mountains, the risk of devastating forest fires grows, threatening to engulf the precious flora and fauna of the region.

Recognising the urgent need to protect forests from the raging destroyer, Dalhousie Forest Division has come up with a noble initiative— ‘Catch the Young’.

The campaign targets 30,000 students from various government and private schools and colleges in the region and makes them aware of the importance of forests and their duties towards preserving them.

Dalhousie Divisional Forest Officer Rajneesh Mahajan said the objective was to instill a sense of ownership towards forests among all students. Along with creating awareness, practical information about planting seeds, the right way, was also given.

Under the programme, forest officials visit educational institutions and distribute tree bags among the students, asking them to bring them back the next day, filled with high-quality soil. Schoolchildren are also taught the right techniques to plant seeds in these bags and to nurture them during germination. The students are then taught the correct method to plant the saplings near their homes or at school, said Mahajan.

In case the seeds fail to germinate, the department provides new seeds to the students. The unique feature of the campaign is that nothing is spent on acquiring the seeds and saplings; these are gathered from the wild by the forest workers.

Mahajan said that during the summer season, large-scale forest fires engulfed valuable flora and fauna. Most forest fires are anthropogenic. They harm natural regeneration and wildlife and affect the soil’s fertility.

It is the fundamental duty of every citizen to protect and improve the environment, including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures. Therefore, it is imperative for all of us to remain vigilant and sensitive do our fundamental duties, said Mahajan.

He further emphasised the efforts being made by the Forest Department through youth involvement in tree plantion drives. He said they expected these campaigns to yield positive results for environmental conservation.