Green Thumb
 From
Army green to 'naturally' green. Meet the affable
Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Suresh Patil, the
man behind Green Thumb, an environment protection
group.
Lt.Col. Patil belongs to that special breed of individuals
who believe that they have a moral obligation towards
society. A committed environmentalist, he has taken
upon himself the awesome task of spreading environmental
awareness and has followed up his campaigns with
sustained activities promoting nature.
An Army man, he opted for voluntary retirement in
1993, after serving the army for close to 25 years.
Almost immediately he launched himself, with ample
support from wife Latha and two children,
in the pursuit of restoring greenery as much as
possible. Green Thumb, a voluntary organisation,
was set up in August 1993 to help ecological restoration
and organise environmental activities in and around
Pune.
 Green
Thumb is primarily concerned with voluntary work
and people participation in the field of environment
protection. Volunteers are an eclectic mix of school
and college students, housewives, professionals,
ex-servicemen who have all come together to participate
in activities connected with environment protection.
Some of the activities of Green Thumb include nature
trials, nature photography and slogan contests,
lectures and seminars on environment primarily aimed
at children and youth, tree plantation campaigns
as well as youth exchange programmes to various
countries.
The unstinted hard work of the organisation has
led to millions of trees being planted in and around
Pune, Bird sanctuaries being set up and sewage ridden
'nallas' being converted into landscaped gardens.
The Patils have set up a trekking institute in Pune
and regularly organise treks and camps for the young.
They believe that love and respect for nature and
the environment should be inculcated at a young
age.
Nehru Marg, the road that leads to the Patil residence
has approximately 5000 trees. Known as butterfly
lane, the area is known to draw a variety of birds.
For the Patils, 'plantation' begins at home.
Address: Green Thumb 'Environment protection group', 4-A Nehru Marg,
Pune 411001
Phone: 636 1462
Email: greenthumbpatil@usa.net
Text: Shabari Shetty
Photographs by: Harikrishna
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