SAAP

Every day, trees are felled on several hundreds of acres of land to give rise to new roads or housing layouts. Natural forests are being razed down, endangering the habitat of the wildlife. This is a cause of great concern to all. It must be a mission of each and every one of us to save our trees and save our earth. SAAP has been launched by Sri Sakthi Amma with the objectives of:

• Increasing vegetation
• Developing a green belt
• Harvesting and recharging ground water
• Preventing soil erosion
• Providing employment in rural and tribal areas
• Enhancing skills/ capability of local people
• Improving ecology and conserving bio-diversity
• Developing concept of institution building
• Introducing participatory planning and benefit sharing
• Improving the quality of life in the surrounding villages
• Educating and creating awareness among the rural and tribal folk about environmental conservation

The planting of trees was initiated in the year 1998. The project gained momentum from early 2003. A total of over 5,00,000 saplings have been planted, with a success rate of about 60%. In the late 2003, a joint project with the Government’s Forest Reserves Department was initiated to develop a green belt around Vellore town in phases and also change the face of Kailasha Giri - the hill behind Sri Narayani Peedam. Much progress has been achieved with these combined efforts. The Forest Rangers are helping to ensure that there is no felling of trees and prevent excessive, random grazing of cattle. Much change is visible since this program was launched. A nursery to continuously provide for large volumes of saplings during planting seasons has been made operational.

SAGAR

Sakthi Amma Greenery Afforestation Revolution (SAGAR) was launched to save the planet, from ecological turbulence caused by the impact of global warming. This programme aims at creating the green revolution through large-scale nurseries and continued afforestation efforts, complementing the afforestation programme. These projects involve people from different walks of life of the society to create awareness and change.