Working in a  rural area, he one day saw that on a sand bar in the middle of the river, many snakes had died due to the heat. There were no trees. He asked himself, what if the entire human race died like this and decided to start planting trees. The forest department and the villagers said that nothing would grow there except bamboo ! So he started by planting 20 bamboo shoots. As they started to grow, so did his passion and commitment. His vision was and is to make our planet green again and make it a beautiful place for us all to live in.

 Over the next 30 years, Jadav or Molai as he is popularly known kept planting trees, watering the plants and he even brought ants from his native village so that they could contribute to the soil quality. Over time, a miracle began taking shape. The small bamboo saplings grew and started building into a forest. The forest became the home of tigers, rhinos, birds and other animal species. Over 30 years, it grew from a small area to over 1300 acres of a dense, thick forest.

All this time, Jadav did this because he believed it was the right thing to do. He did not wait for anyone to support him or give him credit. Very soon the locals renamed the forest as the Molai forest. The forest department also did not know anything till one day, they found a herd of over a 100 elephants had caused a lot of destruction and then had tried to run away. They chased the elephants and found they had reached the Molai forest ! Upon realizing this was the work of one man alone, the forest department applauded him and he was awarded with the Padam Shri, a top civilian award.

So how was a man able to alone to do so much for the environment. There are 3 lessons we can learn from this poor man who had no resources at his disposal

1. The Earth is our responsibility – Each one of us has a responsibility to save to save the earth. No matter how small or big or contribution we can make a difference
2. Start today, Start small – Plant one tree, recycle something that you would throw away, use less electricity, do a skype call instead of travelling for a meeting, carry your own water bottle and refill it instead of buying new bottles, don’t waste food when you eat out. The list is endless, act today.
3. Persistence can make the impossible possible – If you pick something you are passionate about, you can make a massive difference in the world, even if you are alone as long as you persist. 

10 years  is a long time. We can make huge difference to our world if we start today and don’t stop.