Overview
The “Green Bangalore” project encourages the citizens of Bangalore to plant trees, in the city. Be it in the city’s available open spaces or residential, corporate or industrial areas, the aim is to plant as many trees as possible and reclaim the lost and fast depleting green cover of the city. Thus, improving air quality, restoring ground water and furthering rejuvenation of the city’s many water bodies. The trees are selected on the basis of adaptation, soil sustenance and water requirements.
The Problem
Bangalore once called the Garden city of Asia, boasted having over a 1000 parks and gardens dotting the cities localities with ample tree cover. Rampant urbanization over the years has created a green cover deficit leading to a sharp decline in ground water and increasing air quality deterioration. If the current trend continues then the city will become increasingly inhospitable and will be a greenhouse gas cauldron, with inadequate water and a nonexistent healthy environment.
Some alarming facts:
- Bangalore has registereted an 88% decrease in green spaces from 1973 to 2017 ( a 1028% increase in concrete spaces in the city).
- Green cover will be a meager 2.96% by 2020 at the current rate of depletion, the green cover in 1999 stood at 45.77%.
- No major tree planting drive undertaken in the last 2 years by the Bangalore city development authorities.
- 79% decline in the cities wetlands has given rise to a strong decline in the ground water table.
- For an estimated population of 12.34 million people, Bangalore has only 1.5 million trees making it insufficient to even sequester respiratory carbon (540-900 g per person per day).
The Solution
For every big problem there is always a simple solution, and we at Treesjoint Foundation believe that the solution to making Bangalore green again is by simply planting trees consistently and persistently across all areas of the city. Our current environmental challenges can be mitigated by simply increasing the number of trees we currently have. Planting trees is a one stop solution to sustaining the cities biodiversity, improving ground water levels, keeping the climate clean and cooler and replenishing soil and water bodies.
Our Approach:
- Work closely with BBMP and encourage an active tree census campaign to ascertain the current bottom-line.
- Ward wise mapping of tree location, species and tree health.
- Identification of tree plantation sites across the city, including open spaces, public spaces, road side sites, institutional and residential plantation sites.
- A well devised approach to planting saplings based on tree species, planting methodology such as Miyawaki method etc, based on site and resource availability.
- Continued sapling maintenance and preservation of all trees planted, from nurturing to renewing diseased trees and replanting wherever required.
- Forming a locality wise committee comprising of volunteers and members of the foundation to indentify, educate and coordinate with Tree planting efforts.
- Effectively taking stock of tree felling incidents and advocating against such activities and mitigating the after affects of such incidents. Be it tree felling connected with metro work, building works, road infrastructure work.
How you can collaborate?
Buy saplings from our nurseries to plant in your residence, institution or surrounding, or give them as gifts on special occasions.
Do you believe in saving mother earth for the future? Here’s your chance to do just that. You can become a volunteer/ supporter by engaging in our awareness activities, fund raising activities.
If you don’t have the time to actively participate in our projects, then you can just support us to plant and grow more trees by making a donation.