Day Two - Tree House Adventure

The Stuff I learnt on the first day:

Info about the Auroville forest

(source:http://www.pitchandikulamforest.org/PF/about-pitchandikulam-forest-auroville/)

• The Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest filled the Auroville Plateau until the 1820s, when much of it was cut down in an attempt to decrease the tiger population.
• Up to the 1950s, the areas that remained were destroyed for timber to make boats.
• When Auroville was founded, the original Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest only survived  in isolated patches, thanks to the phenomenon of sacred groves around Hindu temples.
• The first Aurovillian settlers in 1968 onwards found the land dry and desolate. In that year, restoration processes were set in motion using green manures to rebuild the soil.Pioneer species of acacia, leucaena, gliricidia, and eucalyptus were planted to provide windbreaks and shade. 

I also learnt about 3 different trees which are commonly found (and used by the THC) in the area:

1.

Acacia Auriculiformis (also called the earleaf acacia) 

• THC use this tree a lot for tree house construction 
• Other names include:  earleaf acacia, earpod wattle, northern black wattle
• The "earleaf" and "earpod" are named after the tree's seed which looks similar to an ear.
• Timber: The sapwood is yellow; the heartwood light brown to dark red, straight grained and reasonably durable. The wood has a high basic density (500–650 kg/m³), is  fine-grained, often attractively figured and finishes well. It is fast growing. 
• It is excellent for turnery articles, toys, chessmen and handicrafts.
• Also used for furniture, joinery, tool handles, and for construction if trees of suitable girth are available.
• The leaf of Acacia auriculiformis is actually an expanded petiole resembling and having the function of a leaf which is called a phyllode.
• Phyllodes are modified petioles or leaf stems, which are leaf-like in appearance and function.

2. 

Borassus flabellifer (also called the Palmyra Palm)

• Palm Tree
• Indigenous to Tamil Nadu
• Other names: doub palm, palmyra palm, tala palm, toddy palm, wine palm, or ice apple.
• It is a robust tree and can reach a height of 30 metres.
• The leaves are fan-shaped and 3 m (9.8 ft) long, with robust black teeth on the petiole ends(In botany, the petiole is the stalk that attaches the leaf blade to the stem.)
• Can live for 100s of yrs 
• Some have tap roots that go down to around 30 meters to reach the water table
• Very drought resistant
• The tree makes nice fruit that is refreshing and sweet. 

3.

Azadirachta indica (also called the Neem Tree)

• Found all over India and most parts of the world. Known for its medicinal value.
• The "indica" parts normally refers to the fact that the plant is from India.
• Leaves are edible (But very bitter) - purifies blood, gets rid of intestinal parasites. 
• You can use the twigs as a toothbrush as the wood contains antiseptic properties.  
• It is a fast-growing tree that can reach a height of 15–20 metres
• It is evergreen, but in severe drought it may shed most or nearly all of its leaves. 

I wound my way down the dusty track that leads to the New Lands Forest. The early morning sun made the surroundings lollipop orange and cast long hazy shadows. There's something quite magical about a bike, the wind in your hair, the road whipping past underneath, that sense of danger. It makes you so much more aware of your surroundings than if you were in the stale, stuffy interior of a car. I found Philipp and we grabbed the chainsaw, some machetes and headed to the forest. Once we got to the site we'd be working in, he gave me some extremely useful advice about chainsaw operation including - 

• If you cut a tree from the top which is lying horizontally and does not have any support underneath it, it will crack before you finish and not leave a clean cut.
• If you want a clean cut, first saw from the underside about half way in, then go from the top and cut to meet the other cut you just made. 
• Don't move it backwards and forwards like you would a normal saw, instead once the blade is a fair ways in, press the spikes that are attached to the front of the chainsaw body beneath the blade and pivot the chainsaw downwards, moving gradually further down with the cut. 
• Keep the chain well oiled, one way to check that it has enough is to spin the blade tip close to a surface, if a line of oil appears on the surface, you know there is enough circulating the chain.  

We cut down and resized a lot of different timber, some for firewood and some for construction purposes. We then continued walking through the forest as Philipp talked about the trees and plant that surrounded us. (some of the information I learnt can be read above). As the path gaveway to a clearing we came across a beautiful structure the THC had built a few years ago. 

A tree had naturally fallen over and had landed in the fork of an opposite tree. They transformed the fallen evergreen into a staircase which leads up to a platform suspended in the canopy. What a cool thing! After lunch, I helped the THC crew finish one of their recent builds by varnishing the exterior wood.