Students of St John’s Academy, Kankerbagh, tie rakhis on a tree on the Tarumitra Ashram campus on Friday. As part of the pre-Rakshabandhan celebration, the students brought handmade rakhis. Just like a sister performs aarti before tying a rakhi on her brother’s wrist, the St John’s Academy students — girls and boys alike — also performed an aarti before the trees. Sudhanshu, a Class IX student of St John’s School, said: “The Rakshabandhan celebration organised at Tarumitra was a different experience. I tied a rakhi on a tree and took the pledge to save trees. I loved it.” Anjali Bharthari Ravi, the author of wildlife books such as Discovering Rajaji National Park and Forest Rest Houses of Uttarakhand, also joined in the celebration. Before the rakhi ceremony, Anjali gave the students a presentation on the country’s biodiversity resources. She said: “If all the students take a pledge to conserve the state’s rich biodiversity, we can make a difference. Bihar had over 1,400 varieties of trees in the census conducted 100 years ago. Now, we are left with less than 50 varieties.” Text by Shuchismita Chakraborty, picture by The Telegraph