Desher Kaj
Tree planting and care, Dinajpur
Trees along a road or at a school, fenced and watered for a year.
Area
Dinajpur
People
15 people
Time
About 30 hours
Difficulty
Hard
About this task
Dinajpur in the north has fierce summers; roadside shade trees give walkers and farmers relief. Native trees along a road, in a school field or on a canal bank, each with a bamboo guard, and a year’s watering rota naming who waters which week. Planting is easy; keeping them alive is the work.
Why it matters
Town trees keep a street several degrees cooler in summer, hold the dust and shelter birds. But much of what is planted dies in the first year, for want of a fence and water.
What changes after
The trees stand, fenced; at least 80% alive after three months; the watering rota is on the wall.
Who can join
Anyone; for the watering rota, people who live close by and pupils are the most useful.
Step by step
- 1Done
Choose the spots and species120 min
Spots with sun and space; native species such as neem, jarul, krishnachura, mango, jackfruit.
- 2Done
Dig and plant480 min
A hole twice the size of the root ball, compost, and water the same day.
- 3Done
Fence300 min
A bamboo guard round every sapling, against goats and cattle.
- 4Done
Watering rota60 min
Who waters which week, for a year, on a list on the wall.
Checklist to get ready
- Saplings · ১০০টি
- Bamboo guards · ১০০টি
When it counts as done
- The trees stand, fenced
- At least 80% alive after three months
Proof required: Before photo, After photo, Receipt
⚠ Safety
Check for underground pipes and cables before digging. Gloves for the digging.
What it costs
| Native saplings (3–4 ft) | 100 | ৳30–150 |
| Bamboo guards (made up) | 100 | ৳120–250 |
| Compost or cow-dung manure | 200 kg | ৳10–20 |
| Nylon or jute rope | 1 lot | ৳500–1,000 |
| Spades (free if borrowed) | 5 | ৳350–700 |
| Buckets or watering cans | 4 | ৳150–350 |
| Watering rota sheet, laminated | 1 | ৳200–500 |
| Total (about) | ৳20,000–50,400 | |
Getting ready, step by step
3 weeks before
Choose spots with sun, not under power lines, not over drains or pipes.
Get the landowner's written permission.
Ask the Forest Department nursery or upazila agriculture office for saplings.
7 days before
Order the bamboo guards.
Collect names for the watering rota: neighbours, shopkeepers, pupils.
Peg each spot, 10–15 feet apart.
The day before
Bring the saplings, keep them in shade, water them.
If you can, dig the holes ahead (2 ft × 2 ft).
On the day
Soil mixed with compost, sapling, water.
A guard on every one.
Put up the watering rota.
The week after and the months after
Replace any dead sapling.
After three months, count how many are alive.
Who does what
- Lead (1): Permission, saplings, coordinating the day. — ____________
- Digging and planting team (9): In groups of 3: hole, compost, sapling, water. — ____________
- Guard team (3): Sets the guards and ties them to stakes. — ____________
- Watering rota keeper (1): Makes the year's rota and checks weekly who watered. — ____________
- Photos and count (1): Before and after photos; list of each tree's number and species. — ____________
The day, hour by hour
- 07:00Gather, split into small groups, each gets a row of pegs.
- 07:15Check for underground pipes or cables before digging.
- 07:30Dig the holes (if not dug before).
- 09:30Mix compost, plant, remove the poly bag, water.
- 11:00Rest and water.
- 11:15Fit and tie the guards.
- 13:00Number and list each tree; put up the rota.
- 13:30After photos, pack up, collect the poly bags.
What can go wrong, and what to do
- Goats or cattle eat the saplings → Bury the guard's base and tie it to a stake; mend broken guards at once.
- No water in the dry season → The rota keeper checks weekly; mulch the base with dry leaves.
- Pipes or cables underground → If in doubt, stop digging and move the spot.
- Someone pulls up a tree → Replant, and ask the nearest shop to keep an eye.
Useful numbers
- 333Government information, services and complaints
Questions people ask
- Where do we get saplings?
- Forest Department nurseries and the upazila agriculture office often give saplings free or cheap, especially in the monsoon planting season.
- Which trees should we avoid?
- Avoid foreign species like eucalyptus and acacia; native ones are better for birds and soil.
- Can I join if I cannot stay the whole time?
- Yes. Say in your request which step or which hours you can do. The lead will give that step to you.