Bengaluru just got its first vertical garden, all thanks to a group of concerned citizens
Bengaluru may be well on its way to reclaiming its title of "Garden City." The city just got its first vertical garden, and it's all thanks to the efforts of a few concerned citizens.
SayTrees is, in their own words, a group of "ordinary people extraordinarily determined to protect the environment." On Friday, they helped install Bengaluru's first vertical garden on one of the pillars of the Hosur Road flyover. The NGO hopes it will help curb pollution in the city and beautify it as well. Bengaluru's residents are giving the initiative a big thumbs up on social media.
SayTrees installed Bengaluru's first vertical garden on one of the pillars of the Hosur Road flyover
Over 3,500 saplings of 10 different species have already been planted in the organic garden, explains SayTrees in a
Facebook post. An automated drip irrigation system will water these saplings every day, so it is sustainable. The organisation's volunteers will maintain the saplings. The garden on each side of the pillar is designed to increase its aesthetic value. SayTrees says it aims to cover all pillars of the over 9-kilometre flyover with similar vertical gardens and hopes
SayTrees hopes corporates will come forward to fund similar vertical gardens on the flyover's remaining pillars
SayTrees explains they are a motley group of individuals - "software engineers at work and passionate tree lovers at heart." On Facebook, they write the state government was not involved in the project but they took prior approval from relevant authorities before starting on it.
SayTrees says that apart from reducing smog and heat and cleaning the air of pollutants, vertical gardens also create habitats for birds and beneficial insects.
Here's how the city's residents feel about the initiative:
Read SayTrees's entire Facebook post here:
Impressed netizens are calling for similar initiatives in New Delhi and Mumbai, among other cities.