[Urbanstudy] In Concrete Jungle near Koramangala, A Verdant Forest

[Vinay Baindur]

http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/In-Concrete-Jungle-A-Verdant-Forest/2016/05/01/article3409686.ece


In Concrete Jungle, A Verdant Forest

By Meera Bhardwaj

Published: 01st May 2016 05:31 AM

Last Updated: 01st May 2016

   - [image: Kakul Greens]
   Kakul Greens
   - [image: area in front of the main office]
   area in front of the main office




Over a decade and a half, the sprawling campus of the Army Service Corps
(ASC) on Old Airport Road has turned into a verdant forest with about
70,000 trees.

An urban forest development project has resulted in a rich collection of
120 native and rare species on a 200-acre expanse. Collaborating with the
army, student volunteers, and the state Forest Department, Eco Watch, an
NGO, planted nearly one lakh saplings between 2002 and 2004.

The project was supported by the Indo-Norwegian Environment Programme
(INEP). It was not easy to prepare the ground, recollects Akshay Heblikar,
environmentalist. “But today, this is one of the biggest carbon sinks in
one of the busiest sections of the city,” he says.

About 75-80 per cent of the saplings have survived, he estimates.
Volunteers from Eco Watch visited the nearby districts of Kolar, Tumakuru
and Bengaluru Rural, looking for native species. Students and botany
teachers from these districts also took part in the exercise.

Teachers from various government schools were trained in bio-diversity
conservation and identification of flora and fauna. In turn, they trained
their students. High school and college students scoured their districts to
find, tag and transplant native species. Each district had a collection
centre.

“The greatest challenge was getting the saplings. We selected only those
that thrive in the southern dry zone, and for that we had to delve into the
history of Bengaluru, going back 300 years,” Heblikar says.

The effort also helped the group establish bio-parks in two districts, with
the seedlings and saplings already collected. More than 75 varieties were
planted in a field, and then transplanted to the ASC. Native species were
preferred as many of them are hardy and need watering only for two to three
months.

A water hole was developed into a percolation pit, and helped water seep
into the sandy loamy soil, Heblikar told Express. Most trees at the ASC are
native to Bengaluru: tamarind, mango, ficus, fig, banyan and jackfruit.
They are characterised by huge canopies and attract birds with flowers and
fruits.

*Lost to Real Estate*

Bengaluru Urban district has a decreased forest cover of just 30 sq km. The
India State of Forest Report (ISFR) of 2015 says the city has lost its
verdant canopies in the name of development.

*What Soldiers See*

With the forest spreading, soldiers are thrilled to see many new species at
the Army Service Centre.

“We saw a snake devouring a hare,” a soldier told environmentalist Heblikar.

A scientist from IISc said 35 species of butterfly had been spotted under
this new forest cover, which also attracts a wide variety of birds.
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