The turning point in Radhakrishnan (R K) Nair’s life came in 2012 during a road construction project in Gujarat. As he watched hundreds of trees being cut down, a bird’s nest and eggs fell along with them. The cries of the helpless birds stayed with him.
“The sounds of the crying birds made me realise that I had to create a forest for them,” said Nair in a documentary.
Originally from Kerala’s Kasargod, Nair moved to a village near Mangaluru, Karnataka, when he was four. Surrounded by nature and greenery, he grew up with a deep sense of responsibility to protect the environment. Later, he moved to Mumbai in search of work, securing a position in the textile industry. After getting promoted, he was posted in Umargam, a coastal village in Gujarat.
After a decade in this role, he founded Shree Paurnika Exports Private Ltd, a business dealing in readymade shirts. However, his experience during the road construction project in Gujarat led him to a new path.
Determined to take action, he started with the work. He bought a piece of land with a partner and planted 1,500 trees using the Miyawaki method, developed by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki. This method draws inspiration from natural ecosystems to create dense forests in a short span of time.
His first Miyawaki forest was planted on a one-acre plot in Umargam. As the forest flourished, Nair’s work caught the attention of the Maharashtra government, which invited him to create a similar forest in a dumping yard. He went on to plant over 30,000 trees, transforming the site into a thriving forest.
Since then, Nair has worked with 12 state governments to create over 80 forests in urban areas, restoring ecological balance in cities.
“There were so many medicinal plants in these forests growing all on their own. I learnt that if we help nature, nature helps us back,” he said.
Edited by Khushi Arora
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