Ruk Rekaganno and ‘tree surgeons’

Protection of the environment is a much talked-about subject today. ‘Ruk Rekaganno’ is one of the early organisations that stood up against cutting down of trees arbitrarily and stressed on the need to protect them.

Founder Irangani Serasinghe, an active member of the Wildlife Society, started looking for a name when she wanted to impress on the rural folk the need to protect wild life which they considered their enemy. It was mainly because the elephants would come and destroy their crops. They knew the importance of forests and water to cultivation. They knew that the forests in the hills were important for water retention and how that soil gets washed off if there are no trees.

Irangani discussed the name with wildlife photographers Nihal Fernando and Pat Decker, Lyn de Alwis and Vere de Me who were all her friends. They all agreed that it was a good name – one which can be easily understood by the villagers when they talk to them on the importance of nature.

“We knew that it was no use saving the forests without the creatures or vice versa since they are interconnected. At that time the politicians thought that we were a bit mad. So did much of society. They took little digs at us in the newspapers and one called me ‘Hith Honda Ammandi’. This did not deter me. I was involved in it because I truly believed it,” reminisces Irangani S. in the book ‘Irangani as told to Kumar de Silva’.

She relates several incidents where they intervened when they saw trees being felled in the city. One incident was the felling of an ebony tree outside St. Bridget’s Convent – one of many planted by the British. When she saw the municipal council workers cutting it down, she stopped them until she spoke to the Mother Superior, who told her that there were rats under the tree and that it may come down on the children who stood under it waiting for the school buses. She spoke to the Municipal officials who insisted it was in their territory and gave numerous reasons. When she offered to see what was wrong with it they were not happy and told her they would look after it. The tree remained for a while but was later cut down.

Another battle was when a Bo tree was being cut down just past the Victoria Bridge and Ruk Rekaganno protested.

She describes an encounter with a minister. Once when the rain trees in Anuradhapura were dying, the Minister of Agriculture was told about it. When he knew they were from Ruk Rekaganno, he was annoyed. “He said that we were against cultivation and agriculture. I said ‘no’ and that we were supposed to be the foster mother of agriculture because without trees and vegetation especially on our hills there would be no agriculture,” Irangani S. says.  

Once they met the Colombo Mayor and told him that what has to be done is not to cut down trees but to have a horticultural plan and a landscape for the city. “I also said we need ‘tree surgeons’ to attend to the existing trees. He jumped at me when I said this. He asked me ‘Have you gone mad? We don’t have enough surgeons in our hospitals and you are asking me to release them for trees…’ I did not dare look at the others because we were so shocked. I did not want to burst out laughing. I got myself under control and calmly explained to him who and what a ‘tree surgeon’ was. By this time he had got it into his head that we were asking for something ridiculous so he flatly refused and it never came to pass,” she recollects.

Having given the lead, Irangani is happy that there are many societies working on environment protection. “I’m very glad that there are so many all over the place. Some are really good. If they’re achieving their goals, it is great,” she says.

As for ‘Ruk Rekaganno’, funds have become a big problem. There aren’t enough people to do voluntary work. Travelling is also an expensive item. “We still continue our work despite all these hardships,” Irangani S. confidently says.