Saalumarada Thimmakka:The Mother of Trees

In a world increasingly defined by climate anxiety and environmental loss, stories of hope often come from the most unexpected corners. One such story rises from a modest village in southern India, a story of a woman with no formal education, no wealth, and no scientific training, yet who left behind a legacy that environmentalists, ecologists, and world leaders revere today. Her name is Saalumarada Thimmakka, and she is celebrated as one of India’s greatest environmental heroes.

A Simple Beginning in Rural India

Saalumarada Thimmakka was born on 30 June 1911 in the state of Karnataka, India, in a time when women, especially those from humble families, were often excluded from education and public life. She grew up in a world where the rhythms of everyday life were governed by monsoon rains, farming seasons, and traditional customs. Poverty was common, opportunities were few, and survival required hard physical labour and relentless resilience.

She married at a young age to a man named Bikkala Chikkaiah (died 1991), a labourer. The couple longed for children, but after years of trying, they remained childless. In many traditional societies, childlessness carries emotional pain, social stigma, and a deep sense of loneliness. For Thimmakka, this pain became a turning point, not by breaking her spirit, but by transforming her purpose.

When Saplings Became Children

It is said that one evening, her husband comforted her by saying,

"If we cannot have children, let us plant and care for trees instead."

And thus began an act of love that would change the landscape of Karnataka forever.

The couple chose the banyan tree, a sacred and long-living species in India, and started planting saplings along the road between their village Hulikal and the nearby town Kudur. These trees did not grow easily. The region was dry, water was scarce, and transporting water to the roadside meant walking miles every day with heavy pots.

Trees planted by Salumarada Thimmakka along SH94 from Hulikal to Kuduru village

But Thimmakka cared for each sapling as if it were a living soul entrusted to her.

She watered them, cleared weeds, protected them from grazing animals, supported them with fencing, and checked their growth day after day, season after season.

What began as a way to fill an emotional void soon became a spiritual practice, a dialogue between a woman and the Earth she loved.

A Forest Grows Out of Compassion

Over several decades, she planted and nurtured 385 banyan trees, which today stand as towering giants along a four-kilometre stretch of road. These trees:

• provide shade to thousands of travellers

• create habitats for birds, insects, and small animals

• reduce local temperatures

• prevent soil erosion

• store massive amounts of carbon

Her work transformed a barren stretch of land into a green corridor, a living monument of her devotion.

But Thimmakka’s love for the Earth did not end there.

While she is most celebrated for the 385 banyan trees between Hulikal and Kudur, she went far beyond this initial act of compassion. Over her lifetime, she planted more than 8,000 trees in total, expanding her efforts to other species and other spaces. What began as a personal journey of healing quietly grew into a large-scale ecological legacy, proving that even a single individual, armed with nothing more than dedication, can alter the landscape of an entire region.

It is no exaggeration to say that she grew a forest with her own hands, long before climate change was a global discussion. The world would later come to recognize the environmental benefits of afforestation, but Thimmakka intuitively understood them through experience, empathy, and connection.

Recognition Arrived Late, but Her Humility Never Changed

For many years, she received no recognition. She remained poor, sometimes struggling to afford daily meals, even as her trees stood tall and benefitted society.

But slowly, word of her work spread.

Environmental groups, journalists, and government officials discovered the living avenue she had created. Awards began to flow, state honours, national awards, and even global admiration. In 2019, she received India’s Padma Shri, one of the country’s highest civilian awards.

Thimmakka receives Padma award

Thimmakka ’blesses’ President, receives Padma award 😊

😍

Yet, despite the attention, she remained humble, often saying:

"The trees are my children. They grew, and I grew with them."

An Eco-Warrior Without a Classroom

To the world, she became a symbol of environmental stewardship. But what makes her legacy especially powerful is that she had no formal education in environmental science.

Her knowledge was the knowledge of the land.

Her methods were simple, practical, and deeply intuitive.

Her success emerged not from research papers, but from patience, emotional intelligence, and a profound respect for nature.

Many environmental psychologists admire her story because it reflects a universal truth:

our mental wellbeing is deeply connected to our relationship with nature.

For Thimmakka, planting trees was not just ecological work, it was psychological healing. Her banyans were her children, companions, and emotional anchors. Modern science now confirms what she lived out instinctively, that caring for nature:

• reduces stress

• strengthens emotional resilience

• increases life satisfaction

• provides meaning in times of suffering

In this sense, her work was not only environmental, it was deeply human.

A Life Rooted in Values the World Urgently Needs

Saalumarada Thimmakka’s life carries valuable lessons for a world searching for sustainability:

1. Change can begin with one person.

She had no power, no money, and no institutional support. Yet she changed the environment of a region.

2. Caring for nature is also caring for ourselves.

Her relationship with her trees brought her emotional strength and purpose.

3. Ecological wisdom does not require academic degrees.

Her life is a reminder that traditional knowledge, empathy, and lived experience can be as powerful as formal training.

4. Environmental legacy is built through consistency, not grand gestures.

Her work was slow and quiet, but enduring and transformative.

A Global Inspiration

Today, her story is taught in schools, featured in environmental documentaries, and celebrated by activists around the world. Organisations named after her work on afforestation and conservation. She encouraged younger generations to take up tree planting, speaking passionately about the need to protect Earth’s resources.

Her influence extends far beyond India. In a world where climate change threatens our future, her life serves as a lighthouse of hope, a reminder that meaningful action often comes from the most unexpected individuals, and from places untouched by fame or power.

Her Passing and Her Living Legacy

Saalumarada Thimmakka passed away on 14 November 2025, at the remarkable age of approximately 112. Her death was mourned across India, with environmentalists, government officials, and ordinary citizens celebrating her as a national treasure.

But in a deeper sense, she has not left us.

Her banyans still stand, strong, rooted, and alive.

Each leaf whispers her story.

Each shadow on the roadside carries her compassion.

Each young tree planted by inspired hands is an extension of her spirit.

She may have lived a simple life, but she leaves behind a legacy more enduring than monuments of stone or metal. Her true memorial stands on the roadside, from earth to sky, green, graceful, and growing.

What can one person do to heal the world?

Her answer is gentle yet powerful:

Start with one tree. Start with one act of care. Start with one step.

You don’t need to be wealthy. You don’t need degrees.

You only need the intention to nurture life.

Her journey teaches us that environmental change begins not with policies alone, but with love, humility, and the courage to act.

In honouring her, we honour the values we desperately need, compassion, persistence, and harmony with nature.

And in remembering her, we remember that every seed holds the possibility of a better world.