Page 51 - Up_and_Aware_Class_7

7
CHAPTER Concern UP AND AWARE - 7
for Environment

(Empathy)

Beginning:

This forest, called the Molai woods, was created by one man alone. In 1979,
Jadav ‘Molai’ Payeng was only 16 years old. As a youngster, he was greatly

moved when he saw a large number of snakes getting washed ashore after
a flood, near a river in his village in Assam. He realised that the snakes had
died in the heat because there were no trees to protect them from the
harsh sun. He sat down and wept. That day he decided to do something
about it. Payeng requested the forest department to grow trees but was
told that nothing could possibly grow in the sandy soil.

So, Payeng began planting seeds, one by one, all by himself. He decided

to live on the sandbank to take care of the seeds when they sprouted.
Gradually, the plants grew into trees and shrubs in a place that everyone
believed nothing would grow. He even placed ants there to build an
ecosystem. Thirty years on, Molai woods is spread over 1,300 acres and is
now home to several birds, deer, tigers, rhinos and even elephants!

Payeng treats the trees and animals like his own children. His love for
nature is for all to see!

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