
Of Forests and Us
The sixth edition of Looking Glass was an evening of understanding the ways of forests, why we need them and how we can protect them. A medley of four very interesting short films on how trees communicate with each other, human and animal lives connected to the forests and accounts of forest displacements around India were watched that evening followed by a discussion.
Here are some takeaways that we as a group arrived upon.
What can we do to protect our forests?
This was the last question explored for the evening, albeit the most important one. Attendees split into six small groups of about six to seven participants each, came up with unified suggestions. Here’s the gist of what came out of it.
There’s never a tree too many — Tree planting and maintenance is hard work that’s very rewarding and enriching. Find out about plantation drives near you here. Folks in Bangalore, there’s one happening on 29th July. Please share pictures of your tree planting experience on our Facebook page or via email. We will be kicked to see them :)
Connecting with our forests — Spending time in nature, among trees and in the forests helps gather more knowledge about trees and forests and connect deeply with them. Here’s a TED playlist to pique your wonder and help you reconnect with nature. Also, here’s a talk on biomimicry we liked that shows some of nature’s inventions and how we can learn from it.
Conscious consumerism — Living by the wise adage, ‘less is more’ and within our means so that essential forests and biodiversity are not replaced for the non-essential. Here are some podcasts on minimalism and simple living that can inspire and help us on the way.
Building a sense of community — Building a sense of a collective and feeling togetherness among us humans is crucial for working together and collaborating for a better and more inclusive world.
Some of the words that folks were left with after watching the films are,

Here’s wishing everyone many a trek in the woods and reconnecting with our forests.
This meetup was organised by Smarter Dharma in partnership with Autodesk India Limited and Khula Manch. Sign up for alerts on upcoming meetups here.

