changeadminRapid urbanisation has depleted cities’ natural resources. In addition, greenhouse gases from factories and the transportation sector are further contaminating the environment.
Trees are the only saviour, but in the name of town planning, construction, infrastructure projects, strategic and defence projects, trees are randomly uprooted. On top of that, illegal logging and forest fires have further depleted our greenery.
What is the solution? Either we can sit and complain or take some action, Kapil Sharma opted for the latter and formed Say Trees.
Say Trees, based in Bengaluru, was founded by passionate tree lover Kapil Sharma, whose love for the city and desire to make an impact led to its creation. The company is planting trees and creating forests in urban and rural regions across India.
We caught up with Kapil Sharma, founder of Say Trees, to learn about his journey, the challenges he faced along the way, and his plans. The company has planted more than half a million trees and, in the process, has helped hundreds of farmers, rejuvenated many water bodies, and made our cities and towns more livable.
Here is an edited version of our conversation. For the whole discussion, please watch the video.
It Started with Love for Bangalore
It all started when I was exposed to something so beautiful as the city of Bangalore. Bangalore was once called the Garden City.
I came to Bangalore (now Bengaluru) in 2001. The moment I reached there, I felt there was no other city like Bangalore—trees everywhere; the city was entirely covered with them.
I come from a small city in northern India where the summer temperature reaches 46-47 degrees centigrade. In Bangalore, I felt that there was no summer season.
Start of the Journey
After 2005-06, I started seeing that many century-old trees, with canopies of 30 to 40 feet, were being cut almost every day for various development projects, such as road widening, metro rail, and other activities.
I started seeing those trees brought down right before my eyes. I began to feel what would happen if almost all the trees were gone. Bangalore will become like any other city where everything is exposed to the sun, causing water problems and all that.
Before every summer, you would see people in Bangalore share their frustrations online, talking about why the city is so hot and about planting trees, etc.
This made me feel that, as a citizen, I should do something. I don’t want to regret it 10 years from now. I don’t want to look back and think, “Oh, I should have done something.”
Change Starts
I started visiting government offices because I was working Monday to Friday; the only time I had was Saturday, when government offices were open. I started meeting people to find out what I can do as an individual.
After meeting the forest officers and other people, I realised that there are still many places where trees can be planted. I started visiting parks, lakes, schools, and hospital campuses, all with areas to plant saplings.
From 1 sapling in 2007 to giant forests now
It all started with one sapling in 2007, then 100 saplings in 2008. We are now planting more than 1.5-2 lakh saplings annually. The total count, as of now, is close to 5.5 lakh.
The whole aim is to create as many forests as I can. I always have that in mind when I’m planting trees: how do I make sure that it becomes a tree? I should not plant a tree and forget it. Because quality always mattered over quantity.
I’m not against development, but I always feel what can I do. I cannot stop a 500-acre forest from being destroyed. However, nobody can stop me from creating a 500-acre forest. I try to do whatever I feel is possible.
Government Support
I will share an incident from around 2005-2006, when many trees were being cut down. One weekend, I was sitting outside the forest officers’ office. The person came out and asked me if I was here to take permission to cut down a tree. I said, “No, sir. I’m here to request permission to plant trees.”
The forest officers were helpful, and I met some amazing ones who are really trying hard to save whatever they can and even grow new forests. Government help has always been there. They are the ones who can tell you where the land is available for planting trees.
More Regions, More Areas, More Forests
I started planting around lakes first because I wanted to grow in locations where I could protect the saplings from animals and humans.
We have planted in school campuses, railway campuses, army campuses, and hospitals.
What started in Bangalore spread to other places. People started liking the results. People started seeing what was happening. I always believe that the reward for good work is more work.
I started getting requests from different cities. And when we launched our farmer project, I even got requests from Uttar Pradesh. We have now planted saplings in Chennai, Hyderabad, and Mumbai. We have done plantations in rural areas in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and even in the Delhi NCR.
Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much
I was doing it alone till 2014, with the help of other nature lovers. So it was their passion as well. They used to spend some time on weekends planting and caring for the saplings.
If I keep planting saplings, that is not enough. We need more and more people to understand the importance of trees. Then I added one team member in SayTrees as a full-time resource, because I felt that our efforts had to be exponential. And I cannot do it on weekends. Today, we have grown to 25 full-time SayTrees members.
So in different cities, I have people working for SayTrees. And we are trying to create forests wherever possible. I have always treated SayTrees like a startup. The benefit or profit for me is as many trees as possible, and the number of acres of forest we have created.
Business Model
Our work is funded mainly by corporations ready to donate to such causes and by individuals willing to donate whatever they can in their personal capacity.
From people making small donations of 11 rupees to corporations donating many lakhs of rupees, because they like the cause.
Why will Corporate Help
As I said in the beginning, the reward for good work is more work. The only thing we have been doing at SayTrees is showing the results of our work.
The moment we started publishing our results and showing our trees to the public, more and more corporations reached out to us.
We share pictures and videos of our tree-planting drives and the forests we have created.
Challenges and Obstacles
I have encountered many such instances where people used to raise objections like, ‘Why are you doing it?’, ‘This is the place to park my car’, ‘I don’t want this species of tree outside my house’.
In many instances, we planted the sapling, and after a few minutes, people took them out. I always feel there is no point arguing with people who don’t understand logic.
I always look for a place where trees can be planted without any issues. The land has become the most precious thing for everybody, and giving away land is very dear to anyone, even if it is not their land.
I have felt demotivated many times. And I also used to think that I was doing this. I don’t even know if I’ll be able to take advantage of these trees when they are grown.
I have had sleepless nights. Because once you’re passionate about something, it becomes very dear to you. And if something is so dear to you and if something wrong happens to it, you feel terrible.
Many times, many big tree plantation drives have been cancelled. I do feel demotivated. But after a few days, I’ll have a new opportunity come my way, which will motivate me again, and I will start working on it. I forgot those 1000 saplings, then I focused more on 10,000 saplings.
Miyawaki Forest
It’s a Japanese technique that creates a forest that grows 10 times faster. There are claims that you will get 100 years old like forests in just 10 years. The forest is a hundred times denser.
I have been familiar with the Miyawaki technique since 2010. It was brought to India, and it was made famous by Shubhendu Sharma.
I decided to try it in 2016, and by 2017, I saw results. Results were so impressive that since 2017, we have created more than 20 Miywaki Forests. The latest forests which we have created are of 38,000 saplings in one location. It is perfect for cities that are becoming concrete jungles.
Can we grow Miyawaki Forests?
I will not say it is complex, but it is something that one needs to experience and learn from. Well, the only suggestion I give people when they reach out to me asking what they can do in their forest is: “Why don’t you join us for one of the tree plantations and learn from our experience?”
Soil preparation is the most important in the Miyawaki technique. The next is the placement of saplings.
Current lockdown and Post-COVID
I see that people are appreciating the environment more in this recent time, when they are unable to do anything because they are stuck at home. I feel like it’s a reset button that’s happened to all of us.
But usually, we humans have a habit of forgetting things. I also feel that if everyone improves their habits to a certain extent, it can have a significant impact. Even a slight change in the lifestyle of every individual will actually have a considerable effect.
Any suggestions for me and you
First of all, everybody has to appreciate the environment. And the second most important thing is to utilise the resources judiciously. Whether it is electricity, water, fuel, or plastic, let us not waste resources.
It can be as simple as keeping the tap off while you’re brushing your teeth. I teach this to my daughter.
As people like to save their money, our natural resources are just as necessary.
Future Plans
Even though I’ve been in the US for the last four or five years, I’m still managing SayTrees from here. And I have seen that SayTrees has grown manifold.
Working from the US is also giving me opportunities to talk to other organisations here and see how they can, you know, help us in executing projects back in India. We have recently received many projects, supported and funded by organisations from the US.
I still give SayTrees 4 to 5 hours a day. I’m still in touch with everyone there. I still talk to government officials and organisations there.
I am trying to create a forest in the US and Africa as well. But again, all of these projects depend on funding.
The only thing I feel is that I’m just trying to do whatever I can, in whatever little time we have available on this planet.
Why SayTrees – an interesting name?
SayTrees was created from Say Cheese 🙂
The whole intention is for people to come and enjoy planting trees. When people are happy, that’s when we get the best results out.
Namesake Kapil Sharma
There have been incidents when people thought I was the other Kapil Sharma. (Actor and a popular TV host)
You can watch and listen to the whole conversation with Kapil Sharma SayTrees here.
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