WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.933 --> 00:00:05.027 Sacred Arunachala Hill. 2 00:00:05.100 --> 00:00:07.600 As green as it was long ago. 3 00:00:07.980 --> 00:00:11.700 It still seems like a minor miracle to Masilamani, who grew up 4 00:00:11.700 --> 00:00:12.800 in the area. 5 00:00:13.990 --> 00:00:19.670 When I was growing up, my mother used to go to the forest to cut down 6 00:00:19.680 --> 00:00:21.170 trees for firewood. 7 00:00:21.950 --> 00:00:24.970 I would join her, so I could earn some money. 8 00:00:25.510 --> 00:00:27.410 The hill was all but barren. 9 00:00:27.910 --> 00:00:30.610 There would only be some trees scattered here and there. 10 00:00:33.240 --> 00:00:34.860 But that was long ago. 11 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:39.150 In fact, for the past two decades, Masilamani has been working for the 12 00:00:39.150 --> 00:00:43.159 organisation, The Forest Way, which has been restoring the forest on the 13 00:00:43.159 --> 00:00:45.900 holy hill in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. 14 00:00:47.220 --> 00:00:50.580 It's a matter close to the hearts of the founders of The Forest Way, in 15 00:00:50.580 --> 00:00:52.909 particular Arun Venkataramanan. 16 00:00:52.940 --> 00:00:56.980 He, too, grew up here and remembers well what the hill looked like 17 00:00:56.980 --> 00:00:58.170 without tree cover .. 18 00:00:58.180 --> 00:01:00.120 and just how hot it was. 19 00:01:01.970 --> 00:01:08.410 So 1988-89, the whole idea that this hill could be covered in a forest was 20 00:01:08.660 --> 00:01:09.470 put into action. 21 00:01:09.490 --> 00:01:12.730 There was no topsoil, it was scorched earth. 22 00:01:13.300 --> 00:01:16.810 And nothing would survive, because there was so much grazing going on 23 00:01:16.810 --> 00:01:18.360 in the hills. 24 00:01:18.370 --> 00:01:21.390 The annual forest fires added to the problem. 25 00:01:21.490 --> 00:01:23.630 They finished off any seedlings. 26 00:01:23.770 --> 00:01:27.650 The only thing that really thrived here was lemon grass, planted by 27 00:01:27.650 --> 00:01:31.050 local residents who once used it to thatch their roofs. 28 00:01:31.590 --> 00:01:36.270 For the past 40 years, people have lived in stone houses and so the 29 00:01:36.270 --> 00:01:37.740 grass has grown unchecked. 30 00:01:37.750 --> 00:01:41.709 Lemon grass contains a lot of oil and burns like a torch. 31 00:01:42.110 --> 00:01:46.950 Experts say climate change is also making Tamil Nadu hotter and drier, 32 00:01:46.950 --> 00:01:51.070 and while not the cause of the fires, it creates perfect conditions for 33 00:01:51.070 --> 00:01:52.290 them to spread. 34 00:01:52.350 --> 00:01:56.350 The frequent fires that occur here, 35 00:01:56.425 --> 00:01:59.943 which are largely human-induced, 36 00:02:00.520 --> 00:02:04.760 they occur at frequencies that are far higher than natural levels of fire. 37 00:02:05.307 --> 00:02:11.910 What it has resulted in, is a proliferation of some fire tolerant 38 00:02:11.919 --> 00:02:14.820 species such as the lemongrass. 39 00:02:15.400 --> 00:02:19.160 The Forest Way fire fighters have tried out various ways of 40 00:02:19.160 --> 00:02:20.540 tackling the problem. 41 00:02:20.560 --> 00:02:23.470 They have finally found a simple method to keep the 42 00:02:23.480 --> 00:02:24.820 fires under control. 43 00:02:26.280 --> 00:02:30.680 We used to plant around 10 to 15,000 trees, they would start growing and 44 00:02:30.680 --> 00:02:33.300 after a fire, everything would vanish. 45 00:02:33.400 --> 00:02:36.760 We wondered how we could avoid losing everything to fire. 46 00:02:37.669 --> 00:02:41.190 That’s when we started creating a fireline to save the trees. 47 00:02:41.710 --> 00:02:45.270 Both the trees we planted and the naturally growing trees started 48 00:02:45.270 --> 00:02:46.290 to flourish together. 49 00:02:51.130 --> 00:02:53.400 It's often a bit of a balancing act. 50 00:02:53.410 --> 00:02:58.410 Arunachala Hill is a popular place of pilgrimage, as it is regarded as the 51 00:02:58.410 --> 00:03:01.450 physical manifestation of the Hindu god Shiva. 52 00:03:02.130 --> 00:03:06.450 Every year, thousands of pilgrims flock to the festival of Karthigai 53 00:03:06.450 --> 00:03:10.130 Deepam in the town of Tiruvannamalai at the foot of the hill. 54 00:03:10.177 --> 00:03:13.139 It's a real challenge for the fire fighters. 55 00:03:15.040 --> 00:03:18.919 During the Deepam festival, people light up lamps across Tiruvannamalai… 56 00:03:18.919 --> 00:03:20.580 and anywhere in the hills. 57 00:03:20.590 --> 00:03:24.750 We have our team members monitoring the entire place and we put out fires 58 00:03:24.750 --> 00:03:25.930 as soon as they start. 59 00:03:27.440 --> 00:03:30.840 The organization has been working with the local forestry office 60 00:03:30.840 --> 00:03:32.380 since the outset. 61 00:03:32.480 --> 00:03:37.000 The office has not just provided fire engines, but also made sure that 62 00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:40.200 forestry workers had the right equipment to double up as 63 00:03:40.200 --> 00:03:43.373 fire fighters, too. 64 00:03:45.483 --> 00:03:49.210 To fight fires nowadays, we use advanced 65 00:03:49.210 --> 00:03:53.490 technologies like early warning systems, the forest survey of India’s 66 00:03:53.490 --> 00:03:57.890 fire alert website, through which we get real time information. 67 00:04:00.360 --> 00:04:05.120 Our forest team then goes to the spot and douses the fire with the help 68 00:04:05.120 --> 00:04:06.060 of local people. 69 00:04:12.667 --> 00:04:14.960 Only through this close cooperation with residents and the forestry 70 00:04:14.960 --> 00:04:19.470 office has the organization The Forest Way been able to bring new 71 00:04:19.480 --> 00:04:20.650 life to the hill. 72 00:04:23.839 --> 00:04:25.020 The deer came back. 73 00:04:25.170 --> 00:04:28.830 And the porcupines, and the wild boar and bird species. 74 00:04:28.839 --> 00:04:30.040 It's dramatic. 75 00:04:30.050 --> 00:04:32.390 For the district, we have recorded 250 species. 76 00:04:32.400 --> 00:04:35.260 The soil has got the porosity. The trees have created 77 00:04:35.270 --> 00:04:36.540 that sponge-like thing. 78 00:04:38.520 --> 00:04:41.380 So all this rain gets absorbed. 79 00:04:41.390 --> 00:04:46.020 The co-founder is also keen to share his enthusiasm 80 00:04:46.029 --> 00:04:47.500 for the transformation. 81 00:04:47.510 --> 00:04:51.790 Once a week, he takes students from a nearby school to the hill to 82 00:04:51.800 --> 00:04:55.910 demonstrate that working to preserve nature really can pay off.