Bhawanipatna: Maa Manikeswari University here in Kalahandi district has launched a digital initiative of affixing QR codes to trees, which will help spread awareness about trees and their benefits, a report said.
Trees and living beings like humans and animals are interdependent. While trees provide oxygen, they also absorb harmful carbon dioxide, making their preservation vital for life. Among plant species, millions are medicinal in nature, requiring both study and conservation.
Thanks to the efforts of the former Vice-Chancellor late Prof Sanjay Satpathy and Dr Ghanshyam Behera, head of the Botany department, QR codes have been affixed to 100 trees on the campus. Plans are underway to expand the project to 500 more trees. By scanning the QR code with a smartphone, users can instantly access information about a tree in Odia, Hindi and English. The details include its botanical name, medicinal properties, uses and benefits.
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Officials said the QR code system is an innovative step in promoting eco-awareness through digital means. Students and visitors can now easily learn about the usefulness of trees, which in turn will help encourage conservation. Many species of trees, plants and shrubs are slowly disappearing. Those who can still identify them may not be around in the future.
To preserve this knowledge, experts believe it is important to identify plant species while such knowledge holders are alive. They recommend affixing QR codes through government initiatives or institutional programmes so that people can easily recognise the plants and benefit from them.
According to Botany Department head Dr Behera, the late Prof Satapathy had initiated this innovative system with that vision. QR codes were first used on trees in 2011 at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew, South London, one of the world’s largest gardens with 30,000 plant varieties.
In India, the practice began in 2013 at the Thalassery Heritage Garden in Kerala, where tourists can scan codes to learn about different species. At Maa Manikeswari University, QR codes are now being affixed to various medicinal plants for preservation.
Faculty member Gananath Bag, along with Dr Behera, is continuing efforts to expand the initiative. Students and researchers on campus are already learning more about plant species through the codes. There is growing opinion that QR codes should also be attached to trees in botanical gardens, along roadsides and along forest edges, with administrative support to make plant knowledge more accessible to the general public.
PNN