Plant a Tree and Plant Some More - Peepal Baba

Peepal Baba, known as such because of his Give Me Trees foundation, which has planted over 20 million trees, many of them Peepal, was born today in 1966.

Peepal Baba - Plant a Tree and Plan Some More; Source: Silvertalkies.com

Swami Prem Parivartan, as he later came to be known as, was born on the 26th of January, 1966. His childhood was spent travelling from one military station to another, as his father was in the Indian Army. At the age of 11, he was inspired by his English teacher to plant trees on Range Hills Road. At that time, he was living in Pune at the Kirkee Military Station.

His curiosity turned into a passion, and he started a small club in 1977 with his friends to encourage more people to plant trees. As his club grew over time, he personally got involved in journalism. In 1984, he met Osho Rajneesh, who gave him his name - Swami Prem Parivartan. Over the years, his club called Give Me Trees Trust, managed to expand and by 2011, he could register as an environmental charity NGO.

Running entirely on volunteers, with over 10,000 of them registered as of 2018, the Give Me Trees Trust has planted over 20 million trees, with around 12.5 million of them being Peepal and Neem.

It is here that the founder derives his second nickname - Peepal Baba. Thoroughly dedicated to saving the planet via massive tree plantation and awareness drives, he continues to advocate for environmental controls and conservation as he tours around the country regularly.

Training of volunteers, workshops for ordinary residents, and using a strict system of planting native trees with long longevity in the regions in which they are being planted, his organization has managed to maintain the tree cover they have been able to plant. Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Himachal Pradesh are the states where his foundation works.

In his words, “The ultimate goal is to make our planet a better place to live, one which has clean air, a lot of green covers. Tree plantation is simply not a one-day activity; it needs to be a part of our daily ritual. I urge everyone to come forward and do this green good deed for their children, for the future generations.”