Green Spaces

Under BBMP’s new ‘Adopt-a-Street’ initiative, citizen groups and corporates can formally adopt and maintain streets. But will the programme sustain, or will it fizzle out like BBMP’s previous adoption programmes?

The residents of Sobha Quartz once used to pay tractor operators to dump their garden waste. But once they started composting this waste instead, their garden has thrived from the compost, and they now save around Rs 25,000 a year

To satiate Bengaluru’s unending thirst, water has been diverted from many rivers, including those from the Western Ghats. But these projects are starving local populations of water, and destroying ecosystems

With the Miyawaki method, you can create your own forest patch in spaces as small as 30 sq ft. The plants grow rapidly into trees, and do not need any maintenance after the first three years. Here is a guide to building a forest with this method

Bimal Desai has fought for years to protect Cubbon Park and other green spaces in Bengaluru. Now he is creating forest patches across the city using the Miyawaki method. In this conversation with Citizens Live, Desai talks about his initiative, and how every Bengalurean can replicate it to make the city green and liveable again

Around a decade back, Alahalli lake was filled with sewage and garbage. Birds and fish did not thrive here anymore. Here’s the story of how citizens got this lake restored, with eight years of persistent efforts

A Bengaluru resident puts up an art installation in HSR Layout to bring attention to the city’s rapidly depleting green cover

If more than 50 trees are to be axed for any project, authorities have to consult the public first, as per law. But how do authorities manage to avoid public consultations even when they axe hundreds of trees for mega projects?

Hundreds of trees in Bengaluru are being felled for Metro rail, but compensatory saplings are often planted outside the city, or maybe never. Officials do not keep track of the saplings or ensure their survival either

With elections round the corner, Modi’s nationwide cleanliness campaign seems to be failing miserably in Bengaluru. What can citizens do to reclaim their clean and green spaces?

Ten years back, a residents’ collective got BBMP to restore the Lower Ambalipura lake. Today, the collective is setting an example of how well citizens themselves can maintain a lake

After six years of dogged citizen efforts, Iblur lake is no longer a shrinking, toxic cesspool. Almost restored now, the lake would come alive with the rains