We thought we had nothing to do
Five of us were back at Vrikshangan this Sunday morning. We continued with the mulching work, moving grass and small shrubs into the trenches and around the trees. And then, for a moment, we actually found ourselves wondering...
Is there anything left to do today?
Funny question to ask when you're looking after a hill. Because there is always something. We just have to notice it.
One tree needed a little help
We spotted a young tree that wasn't looking quite as happy as some of the others. It needed a little more support. So we got to work. We started breaking some of the rocks and stones around us, figuring out the best way to break them, move them and use them around the tree. Then we built up a little boundary around it and filled the space with fresh soil.
It sounds simple. It wasn't. :) Breaking rocks is hard work. Moving them is harder. Moving soil uphill is definitely not something your back thanks you for. But then we stepped back and looked at the tree.
Wow.
It looked completely different. More settled. More supported. Almost like we had given it its own little home.
Perhaps this is what restoration really is
We started three months ago thinking about planting trees. Today, we are spending a Sunday morning figuring out how to help one particular tree do a little better. And I think that's beautiful. Because restoration isn't always about doing something big. Sometimes it is noticing one tree. Breaking a few rocks. Carrying some soil. Getting your hands dirty. And walking away knowing that this one little plant has a slightly better chance than it did when you arrived.
Today was hard work. Back-breaking work, actually. But it was real fun. The kind of fun you have when you're figuring things out together, trying something, getting it wrong, trying again and finally standing back to see that it worked.
Five of us. One tree. A pile of rocks. Some fresh soil. And a very satisfying Sunday morning on the hill.
I wouldn't trade it for much. 🌱
Satellite NDVI timelapse — 5 years × 6 same-month snapshots — will appear here, powered by Planet Labs imagery, showing how Baner Hill's vegetation has changed season by season.
