Karwar: Tulasi Gowda of Honnalli in Ankola taluk, who treats trees like her children, has bagged this year's Padma Shri Award. 

Working for the protection of forests in the district, 76-year-old Tulsi Gowda has planted and nurtured over 40,000 trees till today.

Born in 1944 to Narayan and Neeli of Halakki community in Honnalli village, Tulsi had concern towards the environment right from her childhood and for the last six decades, she has been planting and conserving plants without expecting anything in return.

She lost her father when she was just two-years-old and reeling under utter poverty, she did not get an opportunity to seek formal education. With no other option left, she had to work as a labourer with her mother. At a young age, she was married off to Govinde Gowda. But in a few years, even her husband passed away. To recuperate from the loss and keep herself engaged, she began spending her time in the forest. She found solace in nurturing trees and this made her dedicate her life to conserving trees and the forest.

She also used to participate in various sapling plantation programmes organised by the Forest Department in various places of Ankola taluk and identifying her selfless work, the Department gave her a permanent post of planting saplings. After working as a sapling planter for 14 years, she retired from services.

Awards

Recognising her efforts in saving the environment, the government and many non-government organisations have honoured her with several awards.

She has bagged the 'Indira Priyadarshini Vruksha Mitra Award', 'Rajyotsava Award' (in 1999), 'Indavaalu H Honnayya Samaj Seva Award', 'Shrimathi Kavita Smarak Award' and others.

Having fought against the destruction of the forest in the name of development, she argued that raising Acacia plantation in dense forest land was not good.