JOIN USIt’s on a Monday, his weekly off, that you get to meet Marimuthu Yoganathan. “I have kept myself free in the morning, so that I can reach the educational institution in Coimbatore after lunch, in time to conduct a tree planting session scheduled for today,” he reveals.
This is his schedule every Monday — to conduct a tree planting session in any organisation, institution, college or school in Tamil Nadu!
Based out of Coimbatore, the ‘Tree Man’, for that is his sobriquet, has been involved in tree planting for a little less than three decades now, which means he has planted more than a lakh trees across the state till now. A bus conductor with the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation, he has spent a considerable part of his humble earnings in tree planting and other such eco-friendly activities. Says the 47-year-old conductor on Bus Route 70 that has Maruthamalai and Coimbatore as its termini, “I used to spend 40 per cent of my salary to purchase saplings from nurseries. However, some organisers would make arrangements by themselves when I would go over to conduct tree planting programmes.”
And what are the activities Marimuthu has engaged in, besides tree planting? “With a view to educate the participants, where a tree planting programme is organised, I give a presentation lasting an hour and half.” He reveals these presentations are based on authentic scientific information and concrete botanical and biological facts.
He has given more than 3,000 presentations in schools, colleges, universities and technical institutes on issues related to global warming, deforestation and afforestation, water conservation and protecting forests. And while he has covered some 400 schools and colleges, he has also covered textile mills, corporates, banks, women self-help groups and civil society organisations, besides various clubs, associations and the railway campus at Coimbatore. He has even planted trees over an area of 37 acres in the Central Prison in Coimbatore.
Apart from presentations, Marimuthu conducts street plays too. In fact, he has made two documentaries called Thagam (meaning thirst in Tamil) and Kaa (from the word kaadu, which means forest in Tamil) and reveals that Kaa was one of the entries to the Centre for Media Studies’ Vatavaran Festival in New Delhi. His collection of poems on environment titled Moochu Kaatru (The Breath of Life) was published last year.
With several awards such as the Eco Warrior Award, Earth Matters Award, Tamil Nadu State Award, Real Hero Award and Unsung Hero Award in his kitty, Marimuthu continues to work passionately as a one-man army — planting trees and educating the youth at the same time. “It is the youth who need to be enlightened, as they can make all the difference to conserving the environment. For instance, children who have attended my talks have now shunned chemical-based lipsticks and plastic bags,” the soft-spoken environmental conservationist points out.
And what is Marimuthu’s next big plan? “I want to create micro forests all over Tamil Nadu by buying cheap land in the outskirts of towns in every district,” he says. The man may appear nondescript, but the environmentalist in him hopes that his work will stay rooted, programmes will blossom, and plans will bring about a positive change in the world. Cheers to his dedicated efforts.