The Kalam vanam has been nurtured by Siruthuli since 2016 and it has grown beautifully in the 140-acre Anna
University regional campus. It stands as a symbol of love nurturing the 4Bs. The lush
greenery has brought back beautiful birds, busy bees, colourful butterflies and bats
to the region. It is a true example of ecological balance and biodiversity.
During the first phase of the project, Siruthuli planted 5000 saplings using the
Japanese Miyawaki technique in which the trees are planted at a gap of two and a
half – three feet space between them. This enables the trees to nourish each other
and grow at a faster pace to reach out for the sunlight. This technique results in the
phenomenal growth of the trees and helps create forests in a decade.
The green drive started on July 27th, 2016 on Kalam’s memorial day. 80000 trees
were planted on Kalam Sir’s 80th birthday to commemorate his great life and
passion for ecological restoration.
In a short period of 2-3 months, there was
tremendous growth in the trees planted. It was a moment of joy when Dr M.
Saravana Kumar, Dean of the Regional campus at Anna university Coimbatore
mentioned that students in the hostel are reluctant to go home even during the
holidays as they want to nurture the trees. He added that the students placed
coconuts filled with water on the branches of the trees to quench their thirst during
hot summers. The plantation region is filled with pure air and a cool breeze.
There is the Banyan tree in the corner of the forest planted by Padmashree awardee
Salumarada Thimakka, and she was moved to tears when she saw 80000 trees
happily hugging each other. The campus also has a man-made percolation pond
having the capacity to hold 70 lakh litres of water. It has helped to improve the water
table of the surrounding region.
