DO YOU KNOW

 What are seed balls?

     It is a ball made from clay, seeds and compost or humus. Seed balls are used to replant areas where the natural flora has been destroyed. It is a technique of propagating plants from seeds without opening up the soil using traditional methods like ploughing. 

     Traditional methods of seeding have certain disadvantages. The seed is sown on top of the soil, so it may get dried out by the sun, blown away by strong winds, washed away by rains or eaten by birds. But when seed balls are used, the hard clay casing protects the seeds from excessive heat, winds, heavy rains and nibbling birds. The moisture in the clay of the seed ball helps the seeds to germinate. Additionally, cotton fibres or papier mache may be mixed into the seed ball while preparing it to increase its strength. 

     Using seed balls to replant an area is an ancient technique that was rediscovered and popularised in modern times by Masanobu Fukuoka, a Japanese farmer.

     Seed balls are used in seed bombing and aerial reforestation. Environmental activists drop or throw seed balls in arid areas or land that is off-limits. This is called seed bombing. In the case of aerial reforestation, planes are used to distribute seed balls over large inaccessible areas such as mountain tops.

     Seed bombing is widely practised in Africa. The seed bomb is put in a biodegradable container and dropped onto the land, grenade-style. When the seed sprouts, the container biodegrades into the soil. 

A MANTRA APPLICABLE AT ALL TIMES

      This too shall pass

     A king once asked his Council of Ministers for a Mantra applicable at all times – happy and sad. The wisest of his ministers wrote a message on a piece of paper, folded it and told the king to keep it inside his ring. He advised the king to look at it when he was in his saddest and happiest moments. The king kept the folded paper in the ring without looking at the message, and forgot about it. 

     It so happened that in a few days, a neighbouring army attacked the kingdom. The king's army was not able to defend itself and the king was forced to flee from his palace, with the enemy hot upon his heels. He ran towards the forest and took refuge in the dark. Once he was sure that he had managed to evade the enemy soldiers, he pondered on his miserable situation and thought to himself,  “I have never been in a worse condition. This is surely the saddest moment in my life.” Suddenly, it struck him – “Let me see the Mantra in my ring”. 

     Written on the piece of paper were the words, “This Too Shall Pass.” The wisdom in the message was clear to him. No doubt it seemed that he was passing through a very bad time, but this was only a phase. It would pass off and things could only get better from here. This thought gave the king tremendous strength of mind. As he sat in the forest, he began strategising. He then came out from his hiding-place, rounded up his soldiers who were dispersed in various villages, instilled courage in them and rebuilt his army.  

     Well prepared and determined, they marched toward the enemy, defeated them and regained the kingdom and palace. The king was jubilant. He stood on the palace veranda overlooking his kingdom, feeling extremely happy of his achievement and a tad proud of himself. 

     Just at that moment, a ray of light fell on his ring and shone brightly. The king was startled and realised, “This is my happiest moment... but this too shall pass. These happy moments are nothing but temporary. So, what am I feeling so elated about,” thought the king to himself.

     Let us remember the Mantra in the king's ring,  that no situation is permanent and neither is any emotion. We need not feel ecstatic during the happier moments in our life nor feel down in the dumps when the going gets rough. Let us perform our duties in life with a balance of mind, full dedication and sincerity at all points of time. 

The less you expect, the more pleasant life gets.

FESTIVAL OF BUNS

Bun Festival of Hong Kong

     Every year in April-May, the island of Cheung Chau in Hong Kong celebrates the Bun Festival. The Bun Festival is a week-long festival celebrated by the fishing community to thank Pak Tai, the God of water, for helping them get a good catch throughout the year and for protecting them from pirates. 

     During the festival, people showcase Chinese culture. Famed lion and dragon dances, grand parades with vibrant floats and children dressed up as their favourite heroes floating in mid-air (supported by wires and rods), and loud music to drive away evil spirits add to the fun.

     The most exciting part of the festival is on the last day at the Pak Tai temple, where three 20-m high bamboo towers are covered with sweet steamed buns, blessed by monks. At the sound of a gong at midnight, twelve selected youths, attached to safety harnesses, scramble up the towers to snatch away as many buns as they can. Good fortune is believed to befall the youth who succeeds in seizing the buns that are right on top.

     Traditionally, the islanders become strict vegetarians for the three days of the festival — this is one time when the local McDonald’s serves only vegetarian burgers!

PIPLANTRI IN RAJASTHAN

It's a woman's village!

     A few years ago, people in the arid village of Piplantri in Rajasthan didn’t welcome the birth of girls. A girl child was considered a burden since her parents had to bear the cost of her wedding and her safety always worried them. 

     All this changed in 2006 when the then sarpanch of Piplantri, Shyam Sundar Paliwal, lost his 17-year-old daughter Kiran to dehydration. To channel his grief, he planted trees in her memory and nurtured them. He then decided to make Piplantri change its attitude towards women and began a campaign to plant 111 trees for the birth of every girl child in the village. (The number 111 is considered auspicious by some. Besides, 1+1+1 symbolises the three main stakeholders of the campaign—the girl child, her mother and her father.) 

     The campaign has been a phenomenal success. After planting the saplings, the parents sign an affidavit stating they will educate their daughter and won’t marry her off before she turns 18. Also, for each girl, the villagers open a fixed deposit account with 31,000 that she can access when she becomes 18. The girls grow up treating the trees planted in their name as family members and tie a rakhi to them during the annual environmental festival conducted by the villagers. 

     So far, around 1,00,000 trees have been planted in the name of the girls and 25,000 more trees have been planted under other environmental initiatives. The trees range from mango and gooseberry to sandalwood, neem, peepal and bamboo. Over the years, the community also carried out water harvesting and restoration efforts. All this has positively impacted the ecological balance of Piplantri. The water table has greatly improved and birds and animals which had nearly disappeared have returned in larger numbers.

     Piplantri’s green efforts have also generated income for the residents. They have set up women’s co-operatives that create food items, juices, gels, etc. from aloe vera, to sell in the village. They now plan to create products from gooseberries, bamboo and honey. 

     With its unique tree planting campaign, Piplantri addresses three major social issues—gender equality, environmentalism and employment generation. It is a solution that can be replicated anywhere in the world. 

TEACHING STORY

 Kindness Transforms

 

    Once, the river became very proud of the tremendous flow of its water. She felt that she was powerful and could wash away everything with her --- mountains, houses, trees, animals, humans etc.

     One day, the river proudly asked the ocean, "Tell me, what should I bring for you? Houses, animals, humans, trees? Whatever you want, I can uproot and bring with me."

     The ocean said after a pause, "If you want to bring something for me, uproot some grass and bring it."

     The river replied,"Is that all? I'll bring it right away."

     While passing through the field,  the river exerted its full force on the grass, but the grass did not get uprooted. She tried several times but failed. Eventually, the river gave up and told the ocean, "I can uproot trees, houses and mountains, but whenever I apply force to uproot the grass, it bends and I have to pass over it, empty-handed." 

     The ocean listened carefully to the river and said with a smile, "Those who are hard and rigid like mountains and trees, are easily uprooted. But the one who has learned the humility of grass, cannot be disturbed even by the fiercest of winds or violent storms."

     Happiness in life does not mean fighting battles but avoiding them. To retreat skilfully is also a victory in itself because arrogance turns even angels into devils.

ENERGY OBTAINED FROM PLANTS AND ANIMALS

 Biomass energy

Introduction: The world is constantly developing. However, with development come a few dire side effects too. One of them is the consumption of non-renewable energy. Non-renewable energy is the energy we will eventually run out of. In addition to this issue, most non-renewable energy forms have harmful consequences on the environment. Therefore it is imperative to find other forms of renewable energy, which will not run out or harm the environment. One such energy is biomass energy.

Biomass is plant and animal based material that can be used as fuel to produce heat or electricity, which is called biofuel. This includes crops, manure, wood and even garbage. Biomass is one of the frontrunners in the renewable energy space and with technology developing rapidly; it could pave way to a greener planet.

The history of biomass energy: Biomass energy has been in use ever since humans discovered fire; they burnt wood, which is derived from nature, for fuel. Over time, advanced forms of biofuel began to emerge, such as ethanol. In the 1800s and during the industrial revolution, ethanol was used as lamp fuel. In the 1900s, cars ran on ethanol. In the last few years, scientists have started to experiment and use biofuels as an excellent alternative fuels like gasoline.

How is biofuel generated?

1) Burning: There are several ways to get energy from biomass. The simplest way is to burn it. Garbage and wood can be burnt to generate steam and electricity. Power plants that burn biomass are called waste-to-energy plants. Sometimes, fast-growing crops like sugarcane are grown primarily for their energy value. Scientists are also researching ways to grow aquatic plants like seaweed and algae for their energy value.

2) Bacterial decay: The second method is called bacterial decay. Bacteria feed on dead plants and animals. As these animals and plants decay, they produce a colourless smelly gas called methane. Methane is extremely rich in energy. It is also the main ingredient in natural gas. Methane can be burnt to generate heat and electricity. In some landfills, wells are drilled into piles of garbage to capture methane produced from the decaying waste. This methane gas can be purified and used as energy as, just like natural gas.

3) Fermentation: The third way is fermentation. Yeast is added to biomass such that the chemical reaction that occurs transforms biomass into ethanol. Ethanol is sometimes made from corn too and this ethanol is used to make motor fuel.

4) Conversion: The fourth method is conversion where heat or chemicals are added to the biomass to change it to gas and liquid fuels.

Applications of biomass:

Biomass can be used for the smallest to the most significant operations. It can be used in homes for cooking or heating and can also be used in large power plants to produce electricity. In residential applications, biomass can be used for heating a space or for cooking. Wood is the most common fuel source. New designs for wood stoves improve the efficiency of the cooking or heating systems, decreasing the amount of fuel that is needed.

Many industrial facilities, such as lumber mills, naturally produce organic waste that can be used to produce energy. Industry and businesses use biomass for several purposes, including heating up spaces and water and electricity generation. In the future, plants may be grown to fuel power plants. Farmers may also have huge farms of energy crops to produce ethanol and other biofuels for transportation.

Advantages of biomass:

Biomass is a renewable resource, which means we will never run out of it. It is highly versatile and can be made from plethora of resources. Moreover, it is extremely readily available and not much infrastructure is needed to produce the raw resources.

Disadvantages of biomass:

While biomass is a renewable resource, biomass does have some drawbacks. When burnt, it causes air pollution; gases such as carbon dioxide and other harmful chemicals are released that pollute the air. Building plants that can utilise biomass can be expensive. If too many people start using crops as biomass, it could also cause deforestation. Moreover, growing plants requires large amounts of water, which could be put to better use since freshwater is also a struggling resource. So, though biomass fuels do offer a lot of versatility and could emerge as an extremely useful resource in the future, they may not be the answer to all our problems.

DO YOU KNOW

 What is Bungee jumping?

     Bungee jumping is a sport that involves jumping from a tall structure (such as building, bridge or crane) with an elastic cord, attached to the jump site, tied to one's feet. After a period of head-first free fall, the jumper is bounced partially back when the cord rebounds from its maximum stretch. The thrill comes from the free falling and the rebound.

     The origin of this daring activity can be traced to a 1500 year old annual ritual called 'land diving', practised by the Bunlap tribals of Pentecost Island in the Western Pacific, between Australia and Fiji. In this ritual, men jump off a 90 ft log tower with vines tied to their feet. A test of raw courage, this ritual is performed without safety nets. Legend attributes its origin to a Bunlap woman who climbed a banyan tree to escape from her cruel husband who was pursuing her. She jumped down and landed unhurt, as she had tied vines to her ankles to break the fall. Unaware of this, he followed in pursuit, only to fall to his death. 

     Bungee jumping as we know it today, started when four members of the Oxford University Sports Club jumped off a 250 ft suspension bridge in Bristol on April 1, 1979, inspired by a BBC documentary about the Bunlap land divers. They were arrested by the police, but their feat made headlines, and thus a new adventure sport was born. Interest in the sport quickly spread in the U.S.A. and New Zealand. It was first offered commercially to the public in the late 1980s by A. J. Hackett, a New Zealand entrepreneur who developed a super-stretching elastic cord and demonstrated its use by jumping off the Eiffel Tower. Hackett created numerous bungee jumping sites and became the world's first commercial bungee operator.

     Since then, millions of successful jumps have been performed, not just from from fixed structures such as bridges, towers and cranes but also from movable objects such as hot air balloons and helicopters.

     Over the years, bungee jumping has matured into an experience that provides thrill without too much serious task.