Van Mahotsav Celebrated at St. Joseph Vaz College, Cortalim, Goa

Cortalim, Goa, July 14, 2025: St. Joseph Vaz College, Cortalim, Goa, celebrated Van Mahotsav, the national tree plantation festival, on its campus on Saturday, July 5, 2025. The college’s Department of Botany, in collaboration with the Nature Club, organised the event to promote afforestation, environmental conservation, and ecological stewardship. Embracing the national theme “Ek pauda Maa ke naam”, the programme highlighted the urgent need to conserve biodiversity and combat climate change.

The programme began near the college canteen with a prayer led by Anezia Barreto, Secretary of the Nature Club. Ms. Marisha Quadros from the Department of Botany welcomed the attendees and set the tone for a morning of green action and community participation. Rev. Prof. Simao Diniz, the college administrator, delivered the keynote address. He emphasised the day's profound importance and urged everyone to save trees and plant more for a brighter, more sustainable tomorrow.

The day's first initiative saw the college administrator, Rev. Prof. Simao Diniz, distributing fruit-bearing and economically significant tree saplings to interested students and teachers. The saplings—Mango (Mangifera indica) and Betel Nut (Areca catechu)—were sourced from the Zonal Agricultural Office (ZAO), Mormugao. Fr. Simao encouraged participants to take the saplings home, plant them, and contribute to the local green cover. The Nature Club maintained a record of the distributed plants to monitor their growth during follow-up visits.

As part of the Van Mahotsav celebration, a nursery project, ‘Surganchi fanthi matheak', was launched to promote the endangered Surgam tree (Mammea suriga). This indigenous tree species, also known as Ceylon Ironwood, is a vital medicinal plant native to the Western Ghats of India. Renowned for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties, the Surgam tree is unfortunately facing extinction.

The nursery project, dedicated to the mothers who adorned their hair with Surgam flowers, was spearheaded by Rev. Fr. Dr. Bolmax Pereira, Assistant Professor of Botany. Fr. Bolmax passionately educated the students on the critical importance of conserving this threatened species. Students were provided with small saplings and seeds of the Surgam tree, along with nursery bags, soil, and compost generously supplied by the Multi-Tasking Staff (MTS) of the college.

Fr. Bolmax actively guided the students, demonstrating proper planting techniques and assisting them with the saplings. The students participated with remarkable enthusiasm, diligently planting the saplings in the nursery bags, with most of them opting to take the newly prepared Suragam nursery home to nurture.

The event concluded with a group photograph. Participants were then served refreshments, bringing the impactful Van Mahotsav celebration to a close. The programme not only celebrated India’s tree festival but also strengthened the bond between tradition, biodiversity, and sustainability through action.

By Anezia Barreto

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