He is silently doing his bit to save nature

Jalandhar, April 5

“Planting saplings or protecting the environment is not just the responsibility of the government or the NGOs. Rather every single person on earth is an equal stakeholder when it comes to maintaining the ecological balance,” says Nawanshahr-based Aadil Sharma, who is an ardent nature lover.

He says while most of us easily forget to do our part owing to our busy lifestyle or other reasons, he makes sure to devote his maximum time tending to his garden and spreading awareness on environmental protection.

The 17-year-old says he discovered his green thumb when he was in class VI, which he cultivated further over the years. He said he has acquired all the gardening skills from his mother, who has grown up in the family of apple growers. He further said he hasn’t hired any gardener to take care of the plants as he and his mother alone look after everything.

A die-hard nature lover, Aadil further said one can ask him anything or everything related to plants and its cultivation process. “I am so into studying plants and protecting nature that I have decided to study cytoplasmic science in future. I want to bring a change in society by making people aware about the environment and its importance,” he said.

In his garden, Aadil has over 600 varieties of plants, including flowering plants, insectivores, fruit plants, aquatic plants and many other indoor plants. He has hibiscus, portulaca, jalapa, peace lilies, bougainvilleas begonia, asparagus, fig, watermelon plant and mango tree at his home.

In aquatic plants and indoor plants, he has lithops, eichhornia crassipesetc, coontail, philodendron, aglaonema, spider plant and other plants which have been kept nicely covering almost every corner, door and windows of his house. He said he has specially bought these lithops, commonly known as living stone plants from Kenya.

Apart from this, one wall of his house is entirely covered with different varieties of plants and decorative items, and he has a small hut-shaped garden area at his rooftop.

“It’s mostly me or my mother who takes care of these plants. We both are very passionate about gardening or I should say we both just love being close to nature. We all must understand that protecting nature and conserving natural resources is our moral duty. Nature is so beautiful, it has given everything that humans require for their survival, but what are we giving back — overexploitation and pollution?” he questioned.

He said he has completed his primary and secondary education from the Lawrence School, Sanawar. “I stayed close to nature for a long time. My school was surrounded by hundreds of trees and there was greenery everywhere. We were taught the importance of natural resources in the school. For three roommates, the school used to give about 500 litres of water, and we had to use it for three days. But when I came back to Nawanshahr, I saw people wasting 500 litres of water by just washing their cars or taking bath,” he added.

“I even keep taunting my family for excessive use of water. Also, I keep encouraging my neighbours, friends, relatives and every other person to protect and conserve biodiversity as it’s essential for the processes that support all life on earth, including that of humans,” he added.