Mr Joss Brooks, Veteran Australian Ecologist, Pitchandikulam Forest Auroville

This talk is about responsibility for where we are. I came to Tamil Nadu 55 years ago, a starry-eyed refugee from the 60's and joined the pioneers in the community of Auroville near Pondicherry, starting the work to heal and restore the eroded, barren landscape. In the early 70's I would come to the Theosophical Society campus to meet friends and collect seeds. One could still swim in the Adyar river........, In Auroville a garden forest emerged as we learnt the art of landscape transformation. As our passion and confidence grew, we began to teach restoration ecology in schools and institutions of Tamil Nadu. We were also asked over the years to restore lakes and plant forests, sharing the lessons we had learnt in Auroville. Changing the Adyar Creek from piles of building rubble and garbage into an urban Wetland Park was one such work we have done ............. The Adyar estuary is a jewel in the story of Chennai. A vision is there that the Theosophical Society Garden campus could be a beacon in its path to Restoration. It is there, full of the accumulated wisdom and aspirations of thousands of seekers waiting to create a training place for a new breed of gardeners, spiritual ecologists, who will work over the next years to bring cleanliness, beauty, balance and peace to the huge catchment of the Adyar river... Can we invoke a transformation so that we can swim again in clean water and that the community of Chennai and the world can truly celebrate our role as a species......