Forest Protection · Tree Planting · Education
Guardians of the Green
A campaign by Institute of Community Forest Governance (ICFG)
One child. Twenty native trees. Three years.
In Jharkhand, young Adivasi guardians plant native trees on their village's forest land and care for them for three years. Every ₹1,000 plants one tree and helps a child grow into its guardian.
Verified NGO. Vetted by The Giving Circle team: documents, office visit and leadership. See what we checked →- Tax Benefits · 80G
- Working Since 2006
- Jharkhand
Follow the campaign@guardians.of.green
Photo: ICFG, JharkhandAbout This Cause
A Forest Needs More Than Planting
Jharkhand means "the land of forests". For the Adivasi families who live there, the forest is home, food, income and culture. Bringing it back takes more than a planting day. It takes people who stay.
Land
Forests Worn Thin
By ICFG's account, close to 90% of Jharkhand's forest land was left badly degraded over two centuries of felling.
Care
Saplings Need Someone
Dry summers, grazing cattle and forest fires are hard on a young tree. Without daily care, many never grow up.
Knowledge
Wisdom That Must Pass On
Which plant heals, which tree feeds, which song marks the season. It lives on only if the young learn it.
Community
Rights Need Ready Hands
Since the Forest Rights Act 2006, villages can govern their own forests. That needs a trained next generation.
Our Theory of Change
Raise a Guardian. Grow a Forest.
A tree planted by a child who lives beside it, on land the village looks after, is a tree that survives. So every grove in this campaign has a young guardian from that village.
When We Train
Adivasi Children in the Bal Akhra
A three-day residential camp every year, for all three years, for 14 to 17 year olds in ICFG's youth assembly.
And Plant
20 Native Saplings Each
Sal, mahua, jamun, amla and kusum, with tree guards, on community forest land.
And Care for Them
Three Full Years
Watering through dry summers, and replanting any sapling that fails.
Then
A Living Grove, and Its Next Steward
Guardians graduate at Sarhul, ready to look after their village forest.
How we know it's working: every sapling is geotagged, and ICFG's field coordinators check on each grove through the three years.
How This Cause Works
Learn. Plant. Protect.
Three things every Guardian of the Green does, with ICFG beside them.
Bal Akhra Training
Three days at ICFG's residential centre in Budmu, every year for three years: forest mapping, nurseries, seed balls, medicinal plants and the Gram Sabha.
Native Groves
Each guardian plants 20 saplings of the trees that belong here, with tree guards, on their village's community forest land.
Three Years of Care
The village Bal Akhra waters, fences and watches the grove, and any sapling that fails is replanted.
In Their Own Words
Voices From This Cause
Guardians, parents, elders and the ICFG team on the groves they are growing.
- Guardian
“Today, on Environment Day, 5 June, I planted a lemon tree. Jai Johar, Jharkhand!”
BabliBal Akhra Secretary, Baniyadih, Chatra - Guardian
“Now I know every tree in my grove by name. My Jamun is taller than me!”
Aditya BirsaGuardian - Guardian
“My grandmother planted Mahua for me. Now I am planting it for the children after me.”
Sunita MundaJharkhand
3 voices · more added as updates arrive
What Your Support Funds
₹1,000
plants one native tree in Jharkhand, and helps a young guardian care for it for three years.
Donate ₹1,000A Native Sapling, Guarded
Sal, mahua, jamun, amla or kusum, with fencing, on village forest land.
A Guardian's Training
Its share of three yearly Bal Akhra residential camps and the learning centre.
Three Years of Care
Upkeep by the village Bal Akhra, replanting, and geotagged field checks.
Every contribution goes directly to ICFG, through its own payment gateway and into its own bank account. ICFG sends your 80G receipt.
Verified NGO
Vetted by The Giving Circle
We only list NGOs our own team has checked, and not every organisation that applies makes it. Here is what we checked for ICFG before this campaign went live.
Registration and tax documents checked, genuine and current
Listed below with numbers you can check yourself
Office visited by our team
Simdega Bhawan, Kantatoli, Ranchi · [date]
Leadership interviewed
The people who run the programme, in person
Field work seen
[place, date] · we see the work on the ground wherever we can
Written commitment to share updates
Grove photos and progress, posted on this page
- 80GView document
80G approval
No. AAATI5387A25PT02 · Checked · valid AY 2027-28 to 2031-32 · 50% tax deduction
- 12ABView document
12AB registration
No. AAATI5387A25PT01 · Checked · valid AY 2027-28 to 2036-37
- CSR-1View document
CSR-1 registration
No. CSR00031933 · Checked · can receive company CSR funds
- NGO DarpanView document
NGO Darpan
No. JH/2019/0229976 · Checked · NITI Aayog's national NGO registry
- FCRAView document
FCRA registration
No. 337800243 · Checked · registered 12 Aug 2023, valid five years
- Reg.View document
Trust registration
No. 1084/128/2008 · Checked · registered 21 Jan 2008, Ranchi, under the Indian Trusts Act
- PANView document
PAN
No. AAATI5387A · Checked · Income Tax Department
Good to know: vetting is not a financial audit, and we don't examine the NGO's accounts. It confirms the organisation is real, legally compliant, and run by people we have met.
Meet the Founder
“Drink the milk of Mother Earth, don't suck her blood.”
Impact So Far
Real Groves. Real Guardians.
Updates from the field, shared with every circle.
18,000+
young people trained in Bal Akhras
2,000+
village organisations
10
districts of Jharkhand
[n]
supporters here
World Environment Day · Ranchi
With the sal
Gram Sabha meeting
Celebration
Women's collective
@guardians.of.greenFollow the groves as they grow, in photos and reels.Questions About This Cause
Frequently Asked Questions
Clarity on where your gift goes, how the programme works, and how your circle can champion it.
What does "vetted by The Giving Circle" mean?
Our own team checked ICFG's registration and tax documents, visited its office, and interviewed the people who run it. We see the work on the ground wherever we can, and ICFG has committed in writing to share updates. Vetting is not a financial audit; we do not examine the NGO's accounts.
Will I get an 80G receipt?
Yes. ICFG holds a valid 80G certificate, and the receipt comes directly from ICFG to the email address you give when you donate. 80G is a deduction under the old tax regime; your tax adviser can confirm what applies to you.
Where does my donation go?
Straight to the NGO. Donations go directly to the partner NGO through the NGO's own payment gateway and into the NGO's own bank account. The Giving Circle does not receive, hold, or process donation funds at any stage.
What exactly does ₹1,000 pay for?
One tree's share of a guardian's three years. Raising one guardian costs ₹20,160 over three years (₹560 a month), and each guardian looks after 20 trees, so ₹1,000 covers about one tree: the sapling and its guard, the guardian's training, and three years of care and replanting.
Who are the guardians?
Adivasi children aged 14 to 17 from the villages where the trees are planted. They are trained in their village Bal Akhra, ICFG's youth assembly, attend a three-day residential camp every year, and graduate at Sarhul, the spring festival of the sal tree, after three years.
Why Jharkhand?
Its forests matter far beyond the state, feeding rivers that flow on to West Bengal and Odisha. And the people to bring them back are already there: ICFG has worked with Jharkhand's forest communities since 2006, and villages can govern their own forests under the Forest Rights Act.
Can I raise funds for Guardians of the Green with my circle?
Yes. Become a Cause Champion: tell us how much you would like to raise, and we set up your fundraising page and materials to share on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere you like. It costs nothing, and someone from our team stays with you through it.
Ready to Lead Your Circle?
Become a Cause Champion for Guardians of the Green, bring your circle together, and help a young guardian grow a forest.
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