Reflection 2 (Plantation in Vansda village)
This activity was quite boring as we did the same thing for all over the time. We were provided plants which we need to plant in the same manner for 5 long hours. This made us tired as well as bored. However, doing the activity with all our friends made the experience worth remembering. Doing the service with our friends, had a high possibility that we would start talking and playing with each rather than doing what we are expected to do. However, we thought to do our work irreproachably so that our purpose is fulfilled.
I thought the activity might be boring and it was, as I expected. The reason behind my participation in this activity was to expose myself to a different subject; which was the plantation. My motto of going to the forest was to gain knowledge the way farmers work, what are the processes they use to plant the saplings, do they use pesticides or chemical fertilizers etc. This can help me to explore an agricultural aspect.
As I did this activity first time in my life, it was completely uncomfortable for me to plant the saplings. Putting all dirty, wet, soiled saplings under the ground and then cover it with sand was quite unhygienic and awkward for me. I was tired after the activity but also proud of being a responsible ESS student because ESS teaches us to take steps which lead you to ecocentrism, and this activity was a small but effective steps towards ecocentrism.
I learned many things about myself after doing this activity including my strengths and weakness and where I need to improve. The strength I noticed about me was the endurance; I worked for 5 hours without much tiredness. I mentioned earlier, this activity was quite tiring and a way out of my comfort zone hence this became a great weakness of mine while doing the activity. However, I felt good So, after doing this activity I would like to be more open-minded towards different things and conditions.
Without collaboration, we might not achieve, so it was a milestone. Our coordination helped us to plant nearly 100 plants; It was a great pleasure after doing so. I am the person who never planted one tree, and suddenly planting these many trees was an honor itself.
As far as my goals are concerned, we collaboratively worked together to make results effective. I definitely learned new things and skills about the plantation. As studied in ESS, the world is facing a serious issue of global warming followed from deforestation. So a small step of planting 100 plants might save a life, so doing this activity definitely made me feel proud. Therefore YES, this activity was successful as an individual as well as a global prospect.
Appendix:
1. Travelling in the bus to reach the forest, situated in Vansda village:
2. Travelling in the forest to reach the place where we need to do plantation.
3. Started doing plantation
