19 Facts About Tulsi Gowda

Tulsi Gowda was an Indian environmentalist from Honnali village.

Tulsi Gowda planted more than 30,000 saplings and looked after the nurseries of the Forest Department.

Tulsi Gowda's work has been honoured by the Government of India and other organisations.

Tulsi Gowda is known as the "Encyclopedia of the Forest" for her ability to recognise the mother tree of any species of tree.

Tulsi Gowda was born into the Halakki tribal family within the Honnalli village, a settlement transitioning between rural and urban within the Uttara Kannada district in the Indian state of Karnataka.

Tulsi Gowda was born into an impoverished family, and her father died when she was 2 years old, so she had to work alongside her mother as a day labourer at a local nursery once she was old enough.

Tulsi Gowda did not receive a formal education or learn to read.

At the nursery, Gowda was responsible for taking care of the seeds that were to be grown and harvested at the Karnataka Forestry Department, specifically for seeds intended as a part of the Agasur seedbed.

Tulsi Gowda continued working at the nursery alongside her mother as a daily wage worker for 35 years until she was offered a permanent position in recognition of her work towards conservation, and her knowledge of botany.

Tulsi Gowda worked at the nursery in this permanent position for 15 years before retiring at the age of seventy.

Tulsi Gowda spent over sixty years working at the Karnataka Forest Department.

Tulsi Gowda was known by environmentalists as the "Encyclopedia of the Forest" and by her tribe as the "tree goddess" because of her knowledge of the forest and its plants.

Tulsi Gowda is known for her ability to identify the mother tree of every species of tree in the forest no matter where it is.

Tulsi Gowda was an expert in seed collecting, the extraction of seeds from mother trees in order to regenerate and regrow entire plant species.

Tulsi Gowda is estimated to have planted in the range of one lakh trees in Karnataka on her own.

Yellappa Reddy, a retired officer, commends Tulsi Gowda's lasting commitment to her community, citing the fact that Tulsi Gowda has planted and identified over 300 medicinal plants that have since been used to treat ailments within their village.

In 1986, Tulsi Gowda received the Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Award, known as the IPVM award.

In 1999, Tulsi Gowda received the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award, sometimes known as the Kannada Rajyotsava Award, the "second highest civilian honour of the Karnataka state of India".

Tulsi Gowda said that, while she is glad to have received the Padma Shri, she "values the forests and trees more".