Trees Citizen Matters, Bengaluru

Isn’t looking beyond Cubbon Park a Smarter Plan?

February 26, 2020 Bindu Gopal Rao

Authorities have come up with a Rs 40 crore plan to redevelop Cubbon Park under the smart city project. The question is whether it is prudent to splurge on an already-thriving ecosystem rather than redirect scare resources towards creating more such spaces.

Is it African Tulip or Akasha Mallige? Here’s a guide to tree-spotting in Jayanagar

January 2, 2020 Nityananda S

Flaming orange, bright yellow, pale purple – flowers of all these hues appear on Jayanagar’s streets. Here’s a guide on spotting the native and exotic trees in the area

Sacred sites in Bengaluru: Where heritage helps conserve biodiversity

August 29, 2019 Sahana Ghosh

Despite Bengaluru’s rapid urbanisation, its kattes and temples still harbour over 120 different tree species. Majority of these are native species including neem and peepal. These trees should be mapped and given protected status, conservationists say

How this Bellandur apartment saves Rs 25,000 a year composting garden waste

August 14, 2019 Luke Dhanaraj

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

‘Cities and Canopies’, a book on trees in urban India, released

June 24, 2019 News Desk

‘Cities and Canopies’ explores the science, history, culture and imaginations around trees in our cities.

How to make a mini forest with Miyawaki method

May 19, 2019 News Desk

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

BMRC to acquire church land for Metro, Tree Officer says not yet

May 12, 2019 Revathi Siva Kumar

The heritage All Saints Church is set to lose over 100 hundred trees and other structures to land acquisition for Metro rail. While BMRC announced that it will go ahead with the acquisition despite public protests, BBMP Tree Officer asserts that a decision can be taken only after an inspection report on tree felling, and public consultations

Street art points to Bengaluru’s missing green cover

April 24, 2019 Gaurav Choudhary

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

Why you don’t have a say in tree felling in Bengaluru

April 2, 2019 Shree D N

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?

Namma Metro: Trees axed in Whitefield, compensatory planting in Uttara Kannada. Here’s why

April 1, 2019 Shree D N

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

How Swachh Bharat remains a poor joke in Bengaluru

March 26, 2019 Sudha Narasimhachar

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?

Bengaluru Buzz: Spurt in H1N1 cases | HC notice to online streaming platforms | Cyber crime lab upgraded…and more

March 2, 2019 News Desk

An alarming rise in swine flu cases in February, sophisticated upgrades to tackle cyber crime and yet another instance of tree felling — catch your dose of weekly news from Bengaluru here.

Why a shrinking Bannerghatta forest should worry Bengalureans

December 27, 2018 Siddhant Nowlakha

Without urgent action against commercialisation of the fringe, Bannerghatta National Park could lose wildlife and biodiversity very soon.

Saving trees by transplanting: BMRCL’s approach has some lessons for Bengaluru

November 26, 2018 Nityananda S

New saplings planted after cutting a fully grown tree will not compensate for the lost greenery easily. Transplantation is an option many environmentalists are looking at, to help retain the trees. What are the merits of tree transplantation?

Why has the KSPCB failed to arrest air pollution in Bengaluru?

October 25, 2018 Revathi Siva Kumar

“Ours is a monitoring station, which can only assess and suggest,” say KSPCB officials. What are these suggestions and is the city even close to implementing those?