Environment

Pride Apartments Owners Association situated at Bilekhalahalli, opposite to State Bank of Mysore, Bannerghatta road planted 59 saplings on the way to their apartment and within their compound on January 9th, in collaboration with Trees for free, a non-profit that takes up tree planting initiatives, and sponsored by Yahoo, the technology firm, and the Rotary club of Koramangala. 59 tree saplings planted in front of Pride apartments. Pic: Sangeetha Ramakrishnan. Each plant is adopted by a child of the apartment complex. This will make them “aware about the value of trees in our environment”, explains Minu Mehra, joint secretary of…

Just yesterday, I had my first run in with the Karnataka High Court. I was attending a court case involving the construction of a road through the GKVK - UAS campus by the BBMP and its subsequent challenge by ex vice-chancellors of that University (For an understanding of the case at hand, refer to this article written in Citizen Matters). Just being in that court room, seeing lawyers presenting their case, judges going through the evidence presented, petitioners and defendants arguing vehemently, nervous interns, curious onlookers - in short the entire package brought back interesting memories when I was involved…

A visit to a zoo always sounds like a fun-filled activity for kids and adults alike. Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) located on the outskirts of Bangalore in Anekal district is no exception. Easy accessibility, parking spots, surprisingly well-organised ticket counters, and numerous food kiosks make the outing a delightful experience. A near-perfect picture? Not quite.What started off as a picnic spot in 1971 is now a notified ‘large zoo' spread over 320 hectares housing over 1,500 animals. All zoos in India come under the purview of the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), New Delhi, and a state-level body, which in Karnataka…

When Sajin walked into Redwood Apartments off Sarjapur Road on 6th December to attend a workshop on "Water Reality and Solutions" including groundwater recharge, rainwater harvesting (RWH) and grey water reuse, he was "pretty sure that the topic would be dull" and might even be boring. The workshop in progress. AppartmentAdda.com organised it in partnernship with Rainwater Club/Biome Environmental Solutions and Citizen Matters. ( Pic: Venkat Kandaswamy ) But his feedback on ‘Perpetual Moment' and many others' posted on ‘Praja' drive home an important message - we are living in a globalised city impounded by innumerable water woes and the…

Past Saturday, December 5th saw a bunch of metal heads from the garden city of Bengaluru become a part of history by default. History because they witnessed India’s first ever international metal festival for climate change; default for the simple reason that there was absolutely no talk about climate change on stage. However, NGO heavyweights like Green Peace, Indian Youth Climate Network and Life did their bit by setting up stalls and signing petitions about climate change. These petitions will eventually be sent to a United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2010. At last count, a total of fifteen hundred…

At a time when terms like 'green' or 'eco-friendly' are carelessly bandied about, it is indeed heartening to find a focussed, action oriented initiative. The 'Be the Change Conference – Food, Health and Climate Change', on December 4th-5th  is being organised with specific objectives:• Saying No to processed foods in schools• Make an appeal to NCERT (the central agency that also publishes textbooks) and state education boards to include healthy eating in relevant syllabii• Regulation of processed and genetically modified foodsThe conference is organised by the Bhoomi Network, a network of concerned individuals who strongly believes that food and health,…

Redwood apartment on Harlur Road, off Sarjapura Road, has 150 homes. Their daily water supply comes in 15 tankers a day and they spend.about Rs 1.2 lakhs every month on tankers. They have recently piloted a Rain Water Harvesting (RWH) system on their clubhouse roof that helped them save Rs. 20,000 during the recent rainy spell. Inviting residents of Sarjapura Road–Outer Ring Road-Whitefield areas THE WATER WORKSHOP A workshop to learn about sustainable water management - making the most of surface water, groundwater, rainwater & waste water. Brought to you by ApartmentAdda.com in collaboration with RainWater Club and Citizen Matters.Discuss…

“We don’t want to see piles of garbage on the road when we grow up. It is our future we are looking at”, says Anugraha Anand, all of 12. Anugraha and her friends at her apartment complex Renaissance Regalia on 6th main Malleshwaram are spearheading a campaign on waste segregation and solid waste management. “We do not want piles of garbage on the road when we grow up”, say the young children of Renaissance Regalia in Malleshwaram. Seen here from L to R - Sowmya Panyan, Srishti, Malaika Vijay, Prerna Mohan, Tanvi Kaushik, Anugraha Anand. Pic courtesy: Vani Murthy Leading…

Every once in a while things fall in place. The volunteers turn up, the media opens its ears, the funding starts flowing in and the world sits up and take notice. Every once in a while, strangers who have no obligation or responsibility step up and make that tiny dent in the universe. 350 formation by cyclists. Pic courtesy: Sohan Maheshwar. This Oct 24th, Bangalore was witness to one such event. Indian Youth Climate Network (IYCN) in association with a 17* government and non-government organisations pulled off a successful international day of climate action. The activities carried out on the…

Many Bangaloreans are concerned about the reducing green cover in the city. What can you do? Plant trees of course! Here is how to go about planting trees.How do I go about it?Preparation Study: The proposed area should be examined beforehand to understand layout, soil, inhabitants and so on. Educate the local people nearby about the planting need, process, schedule and care. Obtain approvals, if necessary. Choose the number, type and age of the saplings and separate them on the planting day and ensure sufficient watering facilities.Spacing: Before planting consider the space above and below the ground. Do not place…