Echoes of World Environment Day

Echoes of World Environment Day 

"Inspired by Nature. For Climate. For Our Future" 

As we usher in World Environment Day 2026 on 5 June, the theme of collective action and shared responsibility resonates loud and clear in the environment initiatives of The Satsang Foundation.

Active ongoing projects and sustained programs under MyTree, Satsang Jal Seva Sangatan, My Bhoomi, and the Aviral Godavari Mission are encouraging participative ecological stewardship across all age groups and communities.

MyTree

Rooting for the Future: MyTree Academy Workshops, Nashik

Collaborating with the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) under the aegis of the Aviral Godavari Mission, volunteers of the MyTree initiative have conducted workshops across 26 NMC schools. Engaging students and teachers, the workshops introduced the concept of Maitri— friendship with trees.

Students moved beyond textbooks to discover the "hidden life" of trees—how they communicate through chemical signals and root systems. Using domestic plastic waste brought from home, students created:

• Hanging Planters: Repurposed bottles and containers.

• Watering Tools: Innovative use of old spray bottles. 

The impact was immediate: Schools began independent planting drives for vegetables and saplings, proving that the seeds of stewardship had firmly taken root. 

Welcoming back our Feathered Friends: The Sacred Canopy Workshops 

Once an integral part of our daily lives, sparrows and other small birds have been declining due to rapid urbanization. A series of drives called The Sacred Canopy Workshops to  "welcome back" our gentle co-habitants was launched in March.

• Wooden nests were distributed in Pune and Mumbai during the monthly satsangs, encouraging families to take a small but impactful step towards helping sparrows find safe homes again. The activity created a strong emotional connection, reminding everyone that these birds once thrived around us and now need our conscious support to return.

• At municipal schools in Dahisar and Borivali, children created nests from earthen pots. To ensure bird safety, they used non-toxic rice flour paste instead of chemical paints.

• Fergusson College Campus, Pune: Specialized nests were strategically installed in the 2-acre botanical garden on the campus to provide a natural, undisturbed habitat for sparrows.

• During a nature trail in Mulund, volunteers and children witnessed sparrows exploring the newly placed nests within minutes—a beautiful sign of nature responding to sincere effort.

• From creative nests to mud bowls, children and parents at Hiranandani Meadows in Thane, Mumbai showed us how we can come together to welcome our lost sparrows back into our homes.

MyTree Outreach at Shelter Home in Mumbai: I Grow My Greens Workshop

On International Earth Day, MyTree volunteers visited the Bal Snehalaya Home in Thane. The children, full of hopeful energy, participated in the “I Grow My Greens” activity, planting radish seeds in pots. The joy of nurturing a life from the soil served as a profound reminder that we are all interconnected.

Satsang Jal Seva Sangatan

Nourishing the Earth, Sustaining our Communities

A Sanctuary in the Wild : The Wadki Hills Water Hole, Pune

While we seek the shade of our homes, the wildlife at Wadki Hills faces a brutal summer. To prevent dehydration and preserve our local biodiversity, Satsang Jal Seva Sangatan volunteers joined hands with Shrusti Yuva Foundation to create a water hole.

By strategically digging and reinforcing the water hole, the team created a vital oasis for birds and animals. The team has worked on "naturalizing" the site, ensuring that it is a permanent, integrated sanctuary where the local wildlife can thrive undisturbed.

Protecting our Natural Legacy: Sainik Takli Village, Kolhapur

In Sainik Takli, service is a family tradition. This village, where nearly every home has a member in the Indian Armed Forces, has guarded our borders for generations. But their own ancestral lake, their lifeline, was "choking."

Filled with silt and threatened by encroachment, the lake was failing. On April 8, local residents and ex-servicemen gathered for a heartwarming inaugural ceremony to reclaim their waters. Under the SJSS banner, we are desilting this historic source to restore its spirit. The immediate impact encompasses a 75% increase in water capacity for 5,500 residents.

The silt will also be refashioned to form a mud track around the lake, creating a space for the community to gather and for the youth to train for their military tests. The restored lake will also signal the return of aquatic birds and fauna, enhancing the natural ecosystem manifold.

Ending the Struggle for Water in Devalwadi, Thane

In the shadow of the massive dams that quench Mumbai’s thirst lies Devalwadi. Here, the irony is heartbreaking: 45 tribal families run out of water by December. For the women, every day is a battle: a 4-hour, 6km trek through dense forest just to bring home a single pot of water.

The construction of a source well for instant access to clean water is now nearing completion, empowering the women and sustaining the community.

My Bhoomi

Championing the 4 Rs - Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Our commitment to the Earth extends from the soil to the technology in our hands. Dedicated community action took shape in drives at Bengaluru and on the Ashram campus at Madanapalle.

E-Waste Collection Drive in Bengaluru

Collection points were set up at 5 different locations where interested residents could drop their non-functional or discarded electrical and electronic items. Collaborating with E-Cycle Solutions, an authorized, government-approved, and ISO-certified e-waste recycler, about 167.5 kg of e-waste was responsibly disposed of. Hazardous materials like lead and mercury were diverted from landfills.

Waste Management Program and Cleaning Drives at Madanapalle

Launched on 25 April, the cleaning drives on the Ashram campus and its vicinity have run for four consecutive weekends. Over 247 volunteers, including National Service Scheme and National Cadet Corps students from the Madanapalle Institute of Technology, local residents, volunteers from Bengaluru, and ashram volunteers have collected 344 bags of waste amounting to approximately 1,376 kgs. 

Local residents and passersby expressed interest in this crucial drive after witnessing the consistent efforts of the volunteers every weekend. This volunteer-led movement is gradually transforming into a larger collective movement, encouraging people to become more conscious of their waste disposal habits and their responsibility toward the environment.

Aviral Godavari Mission

Protecting River Godavari at the Source

Plogging drive on Brahmagiri, Trimbakeshwar

On 22 March, World Water Day, the Brahmagiri Hills became the epicenter of a collective community drive. Nearly 100 volunteers, including students from K.K. Wagh Engineering College and the Ashram Shala, joined a crucial plogging mission. 

The Vision: consistent efforts to fulfil Sri M’s call for a Plastic-Waste-Free Kumbh Mela 2027.

The drive commenced with a symbolic ritual, pouring the water of River Godavari into a Kalash to represent the collective intention to preserve the river’s purity and perennial flow. To ensure long-term protection, the mission is advocating:

• Metal mesh covers for the sacred Hathi Talav, Brahma Vishnu Mahesh and other Kunds.

• Permanent signage to discourage plastic disposal.

• A total ban on plastic usage across the Brahmagiri range.

Post the inaugural activities, the participants commenced the plogging drive up Brahmagiri Hills. While older participants actively collected plastic waste, younger school children carried placards and engaged with local shopkeepers. They sensitized them about the harmful effects of plastic and encouraged efforts to make Brahmagiri a plastic-waste-free zone. 

The dignitaries, including the officials and spiritual leaders, also interacted with locals, emphasizing the importance of respecting Mother Earth, reminding everyone that nature is our greatest nurturer.

 Over 890 kgs of plastic waste were collected and disposed of responsibly.

Slow the Flow, Save the Soil with Bandharas

As the monsoon approaches, the Aviral Godavari Mission is focused on the construction of  "Loose Boulder Dams" (Bandharas) near Lagnastambh, Brahmagiri.

In a drive across multiple weekends, volunteers are building small dams of stones and large boulders at specific points on slopes, to slow down rain runoff. This will allow water to percolate into the ground, replenishing groundwater, and will help in reviving the perennial flow of the sacred Godavari river.

14 Bandharas have been built over the first three weekends of May with small groups of 10-12 volunteers. Before the rains, we aim to increase the number of Bandharas to help slow the flow of the rain water during the monsoon season.

The Aviral Godavari Mission continues its march towards the greening of the Brahmagiri, and the restoration of River Godavari to her perennial glory.

Join Us in our Community Drives

We are calling for volunteers on ground at Madanapalle for the ongoing weekend cleaning drives and the MyTree Academy Workshops for 200 schools in Nashik with the start of the new scholastic year in June.

To know more about how you can volunteer, please write to volunteer@satsang-foundation.org.

For details about our environmental initiatives, please write to us at connect@satsang-foundation.org.