On a quiet weekend afternoon in Delhi’s Kidwai Nagar, a small group of children stand in a semi-circle around a tree. IRS officer Rohit Mehra bends down, gently running his fingers over the bark, telling them how this isn’t just a tree but where life begins. 

The children listen intently, asking questions that rarely make it to textbooks. Why are leaves thick in Delhi but thin in the mountains? How does a tree breathe? Why is photosynthesis so important? 

For Rohit, an Indian Revenue Service officer, these moments are not extracurricular. They are the reason he wakes up each day.

 “This is one of my goals, my passions, and my reason to live,” he tells The Better India.

What began as a personal quest for sustainable living has now blossomed into something extraordinary: the ‘School of Trees,’ an innovative, community-led space where nature is both the classroom and the teacher.  

The idea for the School of Trees didn’t spring from detailed plans or corporate funding. It grew organically, like the trees Rohit and his wife Geetanjali cherish so deeply.  

“For the last 10–12 years, we’ve lived simply,” Rohit shares. “Holidays and free time became moments for sustainability.”  

Even before the School of Trees existed, Rohit and Geetanjali’s home championed green living. The couple created vertical gardens from discarded plastic bottles and made environmental care a daily practice. 

In 2021, they founded India’s first tree hospital in Amritsar to treat diseased trees. These weren’t isolated efforts — they were tiny steps that nurtured their philosophy: sustainability as a way of life, not just an activity.

Dressed for work, Rohit would take his children outside early to make seed balls or plant saplings. These actions were small but impactful, silently planting the idea of environmental stewardship in their young minds.

But a turning point arose when Rohit noticed a troubling gap in the lives of modern urban children: a deepening disconnect from nature.  

“Kids today know car brands, movies, and trends,” he laments. “If they can grasp those ideas, why can’t we foster the same curiosity for trees and the environment?”  

He realised the issue wasn’t just a lack of awareness; it was the absence of emotional connection. "When I was a child, I looked up to actors because they seemed ‘cool.’ I want........

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