Report on Bioblitz at Puttenahalli Lake, Feb 19th, 2023

The morning of 19th Feb was as warm as it has been for the past few days. Bangalore is warming up and everywhere trees are shedding their leaves. It was no different at the Puttenahalli lake where I was with some others, for a bioblitz event. The event coordinator, Sapana briefly talked about the journey of the transformation of the lake - from what it was to what it is today.

Naturalist and PNLIT volunteer Kaustubh Rau led the walk and began by asking us to take a close look at anything that seemed interesting. And indeed there were so many little details that caught the attention of each of one of us be it the colour or the variegations of leaves, the shapes of flowers, the busy and fierce weaver ants, spider web with egg and cocooned prey in it, a leaf with some insect eggs on it, the pattern in which the branches of a tree were arranged, the names of the different trees and how or why they were named so or the different water birds with their distinct calls. All these observations led to further questioning and learning not only pertaining to flora & fauna but connected to other areas of history, geography, and economy.

With PNLIT Trustee Nupur joining us, the commitment and sense of ownership were evident when she and Sapana spoke about certain trees. How many of us will have such stories to share? I wondered. We, the participants, were lucky too to get these few hours to stop thinking of our own lives and observe the world and lives of our co habitants at the lake. I hope to come back and see the changes that happen during the different seasons.

Thank you for this experience.

Archna, J.P Nagar

Pic Credits: SK Srinivas and Aishwarya S