Van Mahotsav 2024

Van Mahotsav which is translated as Tree Festival (Forest Day) is a week-long annual celebration dedicated to Mother Earth and is celebrated from 1st July through 7th July. It aims at creating awareness towards the conservation of forests and plantation of trees among people.

“Van” literally means Forest and “Mahotsav” is a festival so this festival raises awareness among the masses about the importance of trees, their plantation, and conservation.

This one-week tree planting festival was started in the year 1950 by Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi the Union Minister for Agriculture and Food at that time, by planting a tree at Rajghat, Delhi to create an enthusiasm in the mind of the people for planting and conserving trees.

The week started to create awareness in the mind of the people for the conservation of forests and the planting of new trees. In India, it started as a crusade to save mother earth. People participate in various events held for the week by planting trees or saplings in homes, offices, schools, colleges, etc.

As the onset of monsoon in India usually begins in the first week of July, it is considered an ideal choice for conducting the festival. During this time the saplings planted have more chances of survival than those planted during other times of the year.

Millions of saplings are planted across the country, reflecting and displaying the celebration and observation of the festival. With the ever-growing threats of pollution and global warming looming around us, initiatives such as Van Mahotsav are more than welcome!

Some of the Aims of the Van Mahotsav Day Festival

The following are some of the aims of the Van Mahotsav day festival:

It is to encourage Indians to support tree planting and conservation.
It hopes to create more forests in the country and increase the green cover of India.
It aims at providing alternative fuels.
It targets increasing the production of food resources.
Creating shelter-belts around fields to increase productivity.
It targets providing food and shade for cattle.
To offer shade and decorative landscapes.
To reduce drought and helping to prevent soil erosion.

Van Mahotsav slogan

A tree for the future.
Each one Plant one.
Stop the chop.
More trees, more life.
Don’t be a bug, give trees a hug.
Save trees and live a better and healthy life.
Environmental revolution begins with the greening motherland.

Cut the greed, not the green.
Plant more Trees to save Earth.
Save Trees, Save Environment.
Green is the prime color of World, And that from which its loveliness arises.
Plant a tree, make the earth pollution-free.
Cutting trees is not at all fair if you want to breathe really fresh air.
Plant a tree, plant a life.

Van Mahotsav Quotes

Plans to protect air and water, wilderness, and wildlife, are in fact plans to protect man. – Stewart L. Udall. People rejoice in Van Mahotsav by planting trees or seedlings in homes, offices, schools, colleges, etc.
The wonder is that we can see these trees and not wonder more. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Forests are the world’s air-conditioning system—the lungs of the planet—and we are on the verge of switching it off. – Prince Charles
He who plants a tree – Plants a hope. – Lucy Larcom
The future will either be green or not at all. – Bob Brown

We are using resources as if we had two planets, not one. There can be no ‘plan B’ because there is no ‘planet B’.” – Ban Ki-moon
People who will not sustain trees will soon live in a world that will not sustain people. – Bryce Nelson
If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason. – Jack Handey
To exist as a nation, to prosper as a state, to live as a people, we must have trees. – Theodore Roosevelt
Plant trees. They give us two of the most crucial elements for our survival: oxygen and books. – Whitney Brown
Trees are the best monuments that a man can erect to his own memory. They speak his praises without flattery, and they are blessings to children yet unborn. – Lord Orrery