J ai Chand is from a small village, Bhangadi, 90 km
from Nahan in Himachal Pradesh. A Class 11 student of
Government Senior Secondary School, Sirmour, in Hi-
machal Pradesh, he has single-handedly planted more
than 200 walnut, apple, peach, pear and deodar trees on
his ancestral land and in and around his school campus,
turning barren stretches of soil into lush green forests.
The inspiration for this came after Chand attended a
programme on World Environment Day three years
ago at his previous school (Government High School,
Chokkar).
He realised then that everyone had to do
their bit for the environment. “It started
with one tree at a time. Even now, after
school hours, I spare an hour and plant
deodar during monsoons and fruit plants
in winters,” says Chand, who got the Hi-
machal Pradesh department of environ-
ment, science and technology’s award for
‘Youngest Environmentalist’ in 2017.
So impressed has his family been by his
commitment that Chand’s father now
even spares money for him to buy seeds.
And one good deed leads to another as,
encouraged by him, several villagers and
schoolmates have also started plantation
drives near their respective homes. In all
this, Chand has neither approached nor received any
monetary help from anyone for his initiative.
His teacher Surender Pundeer has made a documentary
on him and plans to show it across schools to encour-
age and motivate other students.
“It’s important that youngsters take things into their
own hands and contribute towards the betterment of the
environment,” he says.Apart from his obvious love for
the environment, Chand is much like any other teen-
ager. He loves reading Prem Chand, and trekking with
his friends in the hills.
A Boy
that
turned
barren
land to
beauty