Sowing saplings, nurturing forest

Uday Upvan is a unique initiative started by the Give Me Trees Trust. Through Uday Upvan, Give Me Trees Trust collaborated with HCL Foundation and transformed 12 acres of barren and uncultivable land into an urban forest.

This urban forest is located in Sorkha village, Gautam Budh Nagar, Noida. The initiative has led to greater participation from the community members and the district administration. Together, they are engaged in restoring the landscape and are working towards the protection and conservation of the urban forest. Uday Upvan consists of 40 varieties of native tree species, 15 varieties of shrubs, 5 varieties of climbers and other flowering plants constituting more than sixty-six thousand plants in total. The forest also consists of 2 big ponds and 8 small water banks, also, a drain water treatment section, which treats the drain water coming from the nearby village settlement naturally with aquatic plants.

Uday Upvan has directly impacted the wildlife as the land is now home to 23 species of birds, many species of butterflies, beetles and bugs, bees, snakes and mammals.

The forest has positively affected the community as well. The installation of two water pumps has provided the nearby communities with a clean water source and the forest also provides the villagers with fodder for their cattle.

Uday Upvan wouldn’t have been successful without the constant and rigorous efforts put in by the Gautam Buddh Nagar District Administration. According to the Indian Forest Survey Report of 2017, the forest area in Gautam Buddh Nagar, Noida, is merely 1.56%. Considering the official statistics, this green initiative of transforming barren land into an urban forest is not only significant but commendable. Taking into account the continuous fall in groundwater levels and diminishing forest area, the Uday Upvan initiative is a great example of the public-private partnership model.