Rewilding degraded landscapes/Habitats with native plants: A chat with Pradip Krishen and Govinda Bowley

Date: Thursday August 13th 2020, 8:00 pm 

Event Host: Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary and Environment Support Group

Moderator: Suprabha Seshan

Overview

Rewilding and restoration of degraded landscapes are slowly entering the public imagination.  Planting degraded habitats with native species is a powerful way to initiate and support ecological revival. In this online chat with two practitioners we explore restoration efforts in two biomes in India: the desert of the north west in Rajasthan, and an outlier region of  the Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu. Pradip Krishen will share his story about creating Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park, the plants involved, and methods of planting in an area with less than 35 cm a year of rain. Govinda Bowley will talk about the rewilding of Arunachala mountain and the many strategies employed to bring back the forest, trees, wildlife and springs in an area that had been severely degraded. 

Speakers

Pradip Krishen writes about trees and plants and works as an ecological gardener (mostly) in Western India and the desert where he has re-wilded spoiled landscapes with native vegetation. He is the author of Trees of Delhi (2006), Jungle Trees of Central India (2015) and Abha Mahal Bagh (2019).

Govinda Bowley was born in West Wales, and came to Thiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu in 1998. He has been involved in work to nurture forests and regenerate public land in that area since 2003 and volunteers with The Forest Way Trust, when not tending his vegetable garden. Read about The Forest Way here: http://www.theforestway.org/