Trees

Trees on, global warming gone.

How it all started

At the dawn of 2013, a Whitefield resident expressed some concerns before an influential neighbour about the fate of a tree. That set the former on a journey. The quest to save one tree set off a series of e-mail exchanges. Those culminated in a meeting off Whitefield Main Road on March 10, 2013, when 50 citizens came together to give shape and name to an initiative that would go beyond the saving of one tree, sowing a seed that has turned into a healthy plant in 7.5 years. By the time the group met in April, the seedling had risen enough to embrace other trees and plant new ones.

Neralu Whitefield Project

Fast forward to 2019. Another Whitefield resident witnessed the chopping of a majestic tree on Whitefield Main Road. The overnight act of removing an estimated 80-year-old tree surreptitiously triggered an outrage. WR volunteers met and brainstormed, giving rise to the Neralu Whitefield project - a tree census that covered around 1,500 roadside trees. Footpath trees on major roads of the area were counted and coded; from Hope Farm to ITPB, from Hoodi Circle to Kundalahalli Gate, from Varthur Kodi to Whitefield Police Station, and so on.

Nallurahalli Park

In 2015, Nallurahalli Rising identified a dilapidated plot of land owned by the government. Blessed with tall trees, it is located off the Nallurahalli–EPIP Road, not far from the Export Promotion Industrial Park (EPIP) and International Tech Park Bangalore (ITPB), home to the who’s who of the tech companies from across the globe.
Whitefield Rising extended its full support; volunteers toiled over several weekends. Not only the pathways and the benches were renovated, several new saplings were planted.
Over the years, WR lent support and publicized many a tree plantation events by Say Trees.

Say Trees and Whitefield Rising

On June 12, 2015, Tesco HSC, in partnership with Saytrees and Whitefield Rising, conducted an afforestation drive that saw 360 saplings planted on the bank of Sheelavanthakere Lake.

The drive saw the involvement of volunteers from Tesco HSC, SayTrees and Whitefield Rising, besides students of Inventure Academy and Nallurahalli Government School. Participants ranged from children aged six to adults as old as 84! Neem, Indian almond, mango, jackfruit, jacaranda, mahogany and silk cotton, were among the saplings planted.

The drive was part of Tesco’s project to plant 2,000 saplings, of which 240 were planted at WEPPIA premises in Whitefield around World Environment Day. Earlier, Tesco HSC had conducted three cleanliness drives in association with WEPPIA, Whitefield Rising and other organizations as part of the ongoing initiative to keep the neighbourhood safe, clean and green.

Our efforts to save the trees and flora of Whitefield continue. We have also supported multiple groups who advocate and watch out for the surviving trees in the city, including Bangalore Environment Trust who have been leading the charge in filing PILs in the High Court.