Kollakkayil Devaki Amma G, also known as Devaki Amma, is a celebrated environmentalist known for her extraordinary contribution to tree conservation and ecological restoration. Her life’s work reflects a deep commitment to protecting nature through sustained afforestation efforts carried out over several decades. At the age of 92, she received the Padma Shri award for her lifelong contribution to afforestation and environmental conservation in Kerala. She is finally recognised in the category of the Unsung Heroes who have been sustaining ecological work at a community level for decades.
Devaki Amma receives Padma Shri award
Hailing from Alappuzha district of Kerala, Amma has earned national recognition for her extraordinary contribution to environmental conservation and afforestation. She has been honoured for her unwavering commitment to biodiversity conservation and afforestation. Amma protected 3,000 plants and reforested Alappuzha, which was once filled with lush greenery but later turned into barren land. Amma is also a recipient of numerous other awards including the Union government's Nari Shakti Puraskar, Vanamithra Award, and Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Award, among others.
Kollakkayil Devaki Amma : The Green Knight of Kerala
Born and raised in Kerala, Devaki Amma developed a strong connection with nature early in life. What makes her journey remarkable is her transformation of barren land into a thriving green landscape through continuous plantation and care of thousands of trees. Without relying on large institutional support, she dedicated her personal space and resources to growing diverse plant species, creating a natural habitat that now stands as a living example of ecological revival.
Despite limited resources, she continued her mission with dedication, often working independently without seeking recognition. Amma started her journey of becoming the Green Knight of Kerala after a severe accident in the 1980s, which left her bedridden and led to discontinuation of her physically demanding work of paddy farming, and that was the point she began planting saplings in her backyard, unaware of the fact that she was growing a forest. Her small step led this plant growth and turned dense, turning into a five-acre sanctuary.
About the Tapovanam forest
Situated on five acres near the Arabian Sea in Muthukulam, Thapovanam Forest features numerous varieties of rare and native trees, plants, shrubs, and creepers. It has turned into a valuable source of medicinal herbs, a preferred location for researchers on biodiversity, botany, and climate change. The forest includes sandalwood, umbrella tree, autograph plant, musk tree, and star tree, among other medicinal plants.
