[3][4] His involvement in environmental activities began in 2003, when he and some students revived a number of dying neem trees within Dungar College's campus.
[5][6] According to Jyani in a 2023 interview, his initial efforts faced initial resistance from other teachers (typically members of the upper caste, accusing him of attempting to steal college land), but received support from students, especially those hailing from Other Backward Class and scheduled castes.
The choice of fruit trees allowed the anti-desertification campaign to serve an additional purpose of improving the local villagers' nutrition.
[8][9] According to Jyani, educating the families on the benefits and the after-planting care of the trees increased the saplings' survival rate from 20–30% to 90%.
[3][10] In a 2021 interview with Deutsche Welle, he has also stated plans to expand tree-planting efforts to major cities.