July 28, World Wildlife Day, is not just about slogans, posters and plantation campaigns for the students of Government Girls High School in Nagarkurnool. The day comes to life for them in the form of a ‘Seema Chintha’ (Manila tamarind) tree that they worship and thank every year without fail.

Together with the school management, they celebrate the ‘birthday’ of the tree, because it has been given a new life thanks to the efforts of an environmentally conscious teacher.

The tree was uprooted during a severe thunderstorm on May 10, 2017, a disaster that killed people and collapsed houses. The tree survived until the school reopened the following month.

“I had come to give special lessons to high school students when the tree fell. I felt bad as the children loved the fruits, but there was little I could do,” said the teacher, Gudibanda Yashoda Reddy, who is now retired after teaching civics at Zilla Parishath School for many years.

She was surprised to see the tree alive and putting out new shoots when schools reopened on June 13 that year. However, the principal found the fallen tree an obstacle to organizing prayer meetings.

“I convinced the headmistress to give me a week’s time to revive the tree. I felt that the tree was seeking my help,” recalls Ms. Yashoda Reddy.

She approached the Vata Foundation, a Hyderabad-based NGO engaged in tree relocation services, and requested their assistance with the fallen tree.

P. Uday Krishna of Vata Foundation recalls how they were told that the tree had run out of time. “We, a group of volunteers, rushed to the spot the next day. On inspection, we found that the tree was surviving on a single root, which was still attached to the trunk. Our task was to lift the tree without damaging that root,” he said.

He agreed to cover all costs, but set just one condition: all schoolchildren had to be able to see the tree being revived.

After much effort, the tree survived and now grows branches in the opposite direction in an attempt to restore balance.

To commemorate the day their favorite tree was given a second chance at life, the school children tie raksha bandhan on the tree, made of flowers and containing messages to protect the tree.

Mrs. Yashoda Reddy visits her favorite tree every year on July 28, even after her retirement, and performs a puja to instil a love for trees in the children. Seven batches of students have left the school since that day, but the tradition is still thriving. The current principal K. Bhaskar Reddy also joins in the festivities.

“I came to know about this custom on the day I took charge last year and decided to continue with it. This year, July 28 happens to fall on a Sunday, but here we are anyway,” he said.