Trees

Storytelling by Vikram Sridhar. Pic: Neralu FB page Save the Tree - Street Play 'Kallada' A theatre troupe based out of Bengaluru put on a Street Play on Day 1 of Neralu. The play was in Kannada, and spoke about motivating people to be concerned about the preservation of trees around them by humorously painting trees as an entity capable of producing wi-fi - maybe only then people will take the initiative to preserve trees. Festival of Stories As part of activities for Day 1 of Neralu, storyteller Vikram Sridhar regaled children with a story about how to protect our…

Harini Nagendra and Seema Mundoli from Azim Premji University, and Vijay Nishant, Project Vruksha, conducted a study of trees to be felled for Jaymahal Road widening and proposed steel flyover. According to government documents the number of trees to be cut was estimated to be 1668. But an independent survey by citizens done between October 2016 and January 2017 estimates the number to 2244, and 205 saplings, all belonging to 71 species and 26 families. The report prepared by the team also lists out the number of trees to be cut, their species, scientific names etc,, and the environmental impact…

NERALU, a citizen-led tree festival, is being organised on 18th and 19th February 2017, at Natonal Gallery of Modern Arts (NGMA) and other city-wide venues. Come February, Bengaluru’s trees burst into spectacular blooms. The first of its kind in Bengaluru, Neralu, which means ‘shade’ in Kannada, is being planned to coincide with the blooming season in the city, and will bring together citizens to celebrate the garden city’s glorious natural heritage. Bound by a common love for trees, naturalists, ecologists, artists, technologists, storytellers, homemakers, photographers and many more citizens from all walks of life are working together to organise Neralu.…

We often nail signs to our trees, loop cables over them, and of course, think nothing of choping them off for the flimisiest of reasons, for example if one obstructs a hoarding. But even when the trees are allowed to live, all may not be well. I saw this tree with its leaves all lit up by LED lights. "An unnatural green!" I thought to myself, and decided to click.   At this point, my friend Sarrah Reshamwalla raised a valid point. "Trees carry on photosynthesis in their leaves when exposed to light," she pointed out. "Does this mean that…

In October 2016, Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala rejected the Karnataka Urban Development Authorities (Amendment) Bill, 2016, sending it back to the state government for reconsideration. The Bill allowed for reducing the area of parks and open spaces within residential layouts, in towns other than Bengaluru. Currently, 15% of the area of residential layouts have to be retained for parks and playgrounds for the use of general public, and another 10% for civic amenities. The amendment would reduce these to 10% and 5% respectively, which will be applicable for all upcoming layouts. The KUDA Bill had been passed by the legislature…

Trees as we all know are of great importance for the whole human fraternity as well as managing the natural balance in the environment. However, we human beings are regularly cutting down the trees for fulfilling our personal needs without seeing its side effects on the society and the environment. This insane act of deforestation is affecting our environment through climate imbalance, increasing global warming, soil erosion, floods, wildlife extinction, dip in the fresh oxygen level and an increase in the carbon dioxide etc. This impact is unfortunately understood by only a few in this world. Mindless chopping of trees…

One doesn’t have to visit distant forests or wildlife sanctuaries in order to find the beauties of Nature… a visit to the local park will do just as well. Here’s what I did on a recent morning visit to Lalbagh. First of all, I soaked in the morning sun, and the freshness of the air. I then walked along the lake, and I found these Black-crowned Night Herons, looking, hopefully, for a fish breakfast. There were so many flowers still blooming, even though Bengaluru has been at its hottest. Here are the Gulmohar blooms, setting the park afire. Here are…

A huge tree inside the Government high school compound in Malleshwaram. Pic: Shree D N Sanjeev is a musician by hobby and a researcher at Indian Institute of Science, that is full of variety of trees, but he knows the rest of Bengaluru is not a match to his campus and more trees need to be planted everywhere. Amogh Sharma is a native Bengalurean, now working in Chennai. He visits Bengaluru every weekend and feels Bengaluru needs more trees, but does not know what needs to be done for that to happen. Ajay is an engineer working in Bengaluru who…

Spurred by the recent tree cutting incident in the vicinity of the neighbourhood, a tree walk was organised on the morning of April 23rd by the BM Residents Welfare Association in Indira Nagar 1st Stage, to introduce the residents to the trees around their area. Many residents with their children were eagerly waiting for Raman Arunachalam, an avid tree watcher who was to lead the walk. A view of a lovely canopy. Pic: IChangeIndiranagar First, the brilliant red color flowers of the Gulmohar caught our attention, the Tabebuias digitate leaves and their different colors were discussed. As we moved along…