In a world where children grow up recognizing logos before leaves and gadgets before plants, an IRS officer in Punjab has quietly launched a movement that is touching hearts across India.
What began as a small activity inside his housing society has now grown into a beautiful idea—one that may soon inspire schools nationwide.
Meet IRS Rohit Mehra, an officer known for his green initiatives, who has now turned his own garden into an open-air classroom called “School of Trees.” With nothing fancy—just soil, sunlight, seeds, and curious children—he is trying to plant something India urgently needs: nature literacy.
A Classroom Under the Sky — Where Trees Are Teachers
This unusual ‘school’ is built on a simple belief:
Children must learn trees the way they learn alphabets.
Every weekend, Mehra gathers children from his residential society and lets them interact with nature in ways they had never imagined:
●They make seed balls
●Study how sunlight falls on leaves
●Observe how leaves move to capture light
●Identify insects, worms, and soil organisms
●Learn about tree species by touching and examining them
The children even brought plastic glasses from home, filled them with soil, planted seeds and watched them sprout—an experience that left them amazed.
“That plant becomes their symbol,” Mehra says, “and they finally see a result they created with their own hands.”
Activity-Based Learning: Where Lessons Grow From the Soil
Unlike typical environmental chapters in textbooks, this school uses real experiences.
Children talk about trees, draw them, touch them, and observe them.
They learn:
●What makes soil healthy
●Why worms matter
●How trees breathe
●How roots absorb water
●Why shade feels cooler
●What role forests play in climate
For many of them, these are things they had never noticed before.
From One Society to a Nationwide Vision
Right now, the School of Trees is small—just a garden and a group of children.
But the vision behind it is massive.
Rohit Mehra has already received calls from parents outside his society wanting to send their kids.
“But for it to spread nationwide, resources are needed. People are accepting the idea, and that gives hope.”
Mehra believes every school should dedicate at least two hours a week to tree education.
He says, “Formal education we take—but real education is only this.”
Instead of homework, he suggests a simple task:
Ask every child to turn waste material into a plant or pot.
A Unique Beginning With a Powerful Message
Mehra and his wife, Geetanjali Mehra, plan to invite environment experts, naturalists, and gardeners to speak to the children—slowly turning this tiny garden into a community movement.
◆There are no fees.
◆No uniforms.
◆No textbooks.
◆Just trees, curiosity, and conversations.
And the impact is unmistakable.
A child who once walked past trees without noticing them now recognizes their:
●Leaves
●Seeds
●Bark
●Smell
●Shape
●Ecosystem
Something changes inside them.
And that change is the seed Rohit Mehra wants to plant across India.
The School of Trees may not be a formal institution.
But it might just be the most important school a child ever attends.
