Date:10/09/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/09/10/stories/2008091051110200.htm

Karnataka - Mysore

Towards environmental awareness, appreciation

Special Correspondent

Going green: Students of the B.K.S. Vidhya Bhavan on an educational tour in Mysore.

MYSORE: At a time when the city’s green cover is being eroded and there is no remorse when a giant tree is felled to pave way for a broader road, the Committee for the Protection of Heritage Trees, has made a small beginning in reversing this trend.

Not only has the committee — reckoned to be unique and one of its kind — identified nine 100-odd-year-old trees as qualifying for heritage status, it has also brought pressure on the authorities to protect them, lest they too are felled. So far, more than 30 such trees have been identified, and will shortly be accorded heritage status.

But, not satisfied with their achievement, the committee has taken the concept a step further to infuse a sense of environmental consciousness among school students. The committee took 62 students of the B.K.S. Vidhya Bhavan on a guided tour of heritage trees.

Prof. A. Ramalingam, convener of the committee; K.B. Sadananad, botanist; and Manu of the Mysore Amateur Naturalists, accompanied them.