Delhi is in a conundrum of being one of the ‘greenest’ and most polluted capital cities in the world. Several lakh trees have been felled in the National Capital, in last few years, under various developmental activities. Our city needs more trees, especially native trees!

Swechha is raising resources to build a strong and robust native species nursery at our farm school, and we seek your support in helping us build and sustain this model for years to come. Our immediate target is to build capacity with at least 15,000 saplings and over 40-50 species of native trees, subtrees, shrubs, medicinal plants and butterfly-attracting species. So far, with our own resources, we have managed to collect and plant close to 4000 seedlings and cuttings, through individual and collective mobilisation, as well as by purchasing from local vendors. The native nursery is designed to serve a three-fold purpose:

1. As an educational resource for visitors, including students, government authorities, organisations and civil society
2. For restoration of plant species that belong to the Aravalli region i.e., that are native to Delhi NCR and Rajasthan
3. To build a seed bank and strong infrastructure to cater to not just Swechha’s urban afforestation programs, through which we plant over 5000 trees a year, but also to provide infrastructural support and resources to other organisations working in similar spaces.

Your contributions will be used to:

1. Procure and purchase seeds from local vendors and other environmental organisations
2. Organise and mobilize seed collection drives across the Delhi NCR and Alwar regions
3. Purchase nursery grow bags (bag that nurtures the seed into a sapling), in varying quantities and sizes, as per need
4. Procure soil, compost, cow dung, and coco peat in required quantities
5. Purchase small glass/steel containers/tins for seed storage in the seed bank
6. Pay workers to fill nursery grow bags and maintain the nursery, including weeding, mulching, transplanting etc.
7. Cover costs for electricity and water used in all nursery-related activities

These are all recurring charges, and although we were able to kickstart the nursery work with our own resources, in order to make this native nursery model sustainable and successful in the long-term, we require your support. 

Building a native nursery is hard-work, maintenance even harder! This monsoon, help us restore some of Delhi’s precious gems. Contribute to our campaign today!