Auroville's monthly news magazine since 1988

Forests

Defining Mother, losing Mother

The Mother

In 2016 a German forester, Peter Wohlleben, published a book which describes how trees exchange resources with each other through fungi on their roots.

Mapping Being

Portraits of those who have passed

It’s not easy to describe the emotion felt when stepping into a clearing in the forest, a magical place, perfect for hosting the portraits of 111 Aurovilians who have passed away in recent years.

February is the time when we celebrate Mother’s birthday and the birthday of Auroville

One of the cleared forested areas opposite Samasti community

February is the time when we celebrate Mother’s birthday and the birthday of Auroville, as well as, this year, the ‘Golden Day’, and we enjoy a plethora of events and inaugurations.

The Silence Forest assessment

Flying Foxes roosting in Silence Forest

Silence Forest, an 11.2-acre green enclave neighbouring the Vérité community, is little known, even to many Aurovilians. In 2023, five research students from the University of Pondicherry, who were volunteering for the Auroville unit Yuvabe and were mentored by two professors, studied the flora and fauna of the forest and its ability to sequester carbon, conserve water, and increase resilience to adverse climate events.

Surveying Local Sacred Groves

Mitragyna parvifolia

One of Auroville’s success stories has been the greening and transformation of severely denuded and eroded land to what is now a diverse, rich and, in pockets, thriving woodlands.

Is a tree spiritual?

Island

As a species, we tend to anthropomorphise everything. Kids’ books are full of stories of animals and plants wearing clothes, living in houses etc.

Searching for the self

1 Dawn at Zeek’s Creek salt marsh, Conanicut Island, RI, USA

Knowing the end approaches He asks what we should all ask – What would I truly wish to do With the rest of my life? How do I make my time on this planet count?

Sunday walks

.jpg

The popular Sunday walks in Auroville farms and forests have resumed. A series of 15 walks will be led by Auroville stewards of farms and forests on successive Sundays until mid April.

The Northern Wildlife Corridor

A deer in the Greenbelt in Auroville

A special team

Surya and Elumalai

It is not often that you see a man and a woman employee working together as a team in an Auroville forest or garden. But Elumalai and his wife, Surya, are different.

Petrichor* 

Morning in an Auroville forest

In an article first published on Auronet, Rishi Walker identifies the causes and possible responses to the present urgent water situation in Auroville.

Preserving the Green Belt

The Green Belt of the Auroville Master Plan has six villages which together have a population six times larger than that of Auroville

In December, a group of post-graduate planning students from Queen’s University, Canada, visited Auroville under the auspices of the Auroville Integral Sustainability Institute.

Experiments in Alternative Eduction: The Learning Community (TLC)

Comparative tasting of yogurt for Annapurna farm

Manas discovers in Auroville the educational experiment he dreamed of years ago.