Karnataka - Bangalore

Natural bonding — man and tree

BANGALORE: An initiative expected to increase the depleting green cover in the city, Project Green Hands, will be launched on Sunday by Coimbatore-based Isha Foundation.

Over the next few months, the foundation plans to plant 20,000 saplings across the city in an effort to create awareness about the importance of trees and to highlight the intimate relationship of man with trees.

The volunteers of the foundation will create a nursery bed of 10,000 seeds as a first step to initiate the project while another 10,000 saplings would be sourced through partner agencies. The 10,000 saplings would be ready in the next couple of months, and eight endemic species, including neem, kumil, mayflower and mahagony have been identified for the purpose.

The project coordinator, Rajesh, told The Hindu that the project volunteers will take care of the 10,000 seedlings in their own homes, till they are ready to be planted. “We conducted a similar exercise in Tamil Nadu, and over the last two years the foundation has succeeded in planting over five million trees. We have a target of planting 11.4 crore saplings across Tamil Nadu by 2010,” he added.

Mr. Rajesh said: “We are taking a baby step in Bangalore by creating a nursery bed of 10,000 seeds and the foundation intends to scale up the target in future.”

The plant saplings will be organically grown and the soil and the compost are prepared in the scientific way, he added.

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