Nursery Development
PGH has hundreds of nurseries in development throughout Tamil Nadu, many of which are the result of partnerships with other organizations. The promotion and development of nurseries is an essential element of the Project as this is where the whole process begins. From sourcing healthy seeds to creating seed pockets and beds, watching over the growth of the young saplings and then seeing that they are successfully distributed to areas of need and ultimately to planting zones, each part of the process is essential to the next.
In 2008, the Project Greenhands established 3 centralized nurseries in Coimbatore, Salem and Gobichettipalyam, which utilize modern production technologies and skilled labour to produce saplings. Besides this, there are many regional nurseries which are 100% sponsored by corporate entities, institutions, Self help groups or individual volunteers. Presently, the sponsored nurseries account for more than 50% of total sapling turnover per year. Many of the corporate companies and institutes render their premises and labor to produce saplings with the technical support provided byProject GreenHands. Many individuals, with intrinsic value to save the environment for posterity, have set up nurseries at their places and are producing saplings with utmost love and care. Initially the Project GreenHands team gives them the requisite knowledge to generate the saplings and then they themselves own the project and carry out production and distribution activities.
The saplings produced vary from timber, fruit, fuel, fodder and medicine to suit different ecological zones.
PGH ensures that transportation is as limited as possible in order to control the cost and the risk of damaging the saplings. Each PGH truck is given a maximum capacity of 10-12,000 saplings. The Project has developed a particular loading technique that enables 8 to 10 layers of saplings to be transported at a time with minimal damage. An additional 10% extra saplings are added to each delivery to allow for loss and replanting needs. The delivery to the stocking point needs to happen at least 10 days before planting to allow for a seasoning period.
PGH is developing a prototype for special Live SeedBanks together with bio-diversity parks to conserve and protect the diversity of the indigenous tree species.
Nursery Outcome from January to July 2009
| S.No. | Particulars | Numbers | Saplings Commitment received | Saplings Produced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Regional Nurseries | 39 | 8,69,000 | 537,700 |
| 2 | Corporate Nurseries | 6 | 1,42,000 | 45,500 |
| 3 | Educational Institution Nurseries | 1 | 20,000 | 20,000 |
| 4 | Centralized Nurseries | 3 | 320,000 | 3,16,930 |
| Total | 13,51,000 | 9,20,130 |