Jeeth Milan Roche, a former IT professional from Mangaluru, has dedicated himself to environmental conservation by greening city parks, growing food forests, and saving trees from being cut down. His passion for tree planting was sparked after leaving his depressing office job, and he hasn’t stopped since.
Among his notable projects, Jeeth took on the challenge of greening a notorious landfill in Pachanady, Karnataka, which had become an environmental hazard and made the neighborhood unlivable. With the help of his team, he planted 3,074 saplings of fragrant and medicinal trees, such as teakwood, rosewood, banyan, fig, and peepal, to create a buffer zone around 25% of the landfill’s border.
Not limited to landfills, Jeeth has also planted trees in unusual places like cemeteries, including those of various religions, totaling over 23 locations. He founded the Mangaluru Green Brigade in 2020 to pursue various tree-planting initiatives, making a significant impact on the city’s greenery.
Aside from tree planting, Jeeth’s team focuses on uprooting large trees obstructing construction sites. Instead of cutting them down, they use large machinery to transplant these valuable trees to other locations where they can continue to flourish.
Jeeth also follows the Akira Miyawaki method, densely planting around 2,000 varieties of plants, including fruits and vegetables, to create food forests that support animal life and promote biodiversity.
Through his efforts and the Mangaluru Green Brigade’s work, Jeeth is proving that local actions can create ripples of positive change in the environment and inspire others to make a difference.
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