The great clean up at the lake

Volunteers from RBEI at the lake, 5th Nov. 2016

Our lake cleaners Puttaswamy and Ramakrishna had been removing the weeds from the water and piling them on the slope. However, they were not so keen to remove the drying weed from the slope since it was so much more difficult. Where they lay, the alligator weed and salvinia molesta would no doubt enrich the soil  but the alligator weed would begin to sprout. We were therefore keen on removing it while also making space for more weeds. When our CSR partner Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions Private Limited (RBEI) asked if their volunteers could work at the lake, we grabbed the opportunity. On Sat. 5th Nov. the first of the 25 Bosch volunteers arrived at the lake at 8 a.m. and we set them to the task of removing the weeds from the slope.

Our staff

Gardeners, Jayanna and Ramu, Puttaswamy and Ramakrishna filled baskets with the drying weeds which volunteers handed over the grill to their friends. They in turn emptied the baskets between the trees within the boundary fence. As and when more volunteers joined, they did likewise. One of them, Deepak had brought his 70 year old mother who matched his enthusiasm.

In no time it seemed, the volunteers had cleared one section and everyone moved to the next spot further down. This being the highest point of the lake bed, maximum weeds had been piled here and we needed all the help the volunteers could give to clear out this area. With great gusto everybody set to work.  

The slope is gradual here so more volunteers went to the water side and helped to fill the baskets. Some were emptied into our wheel barrows and cycle trolley which the volunteers wheeled away. By 10 a.m. we called for a break. We had arranged a sumptuous breakfast for the by now hungry volunteers. Seeing the amount of work they had done, our guys were keen on getting the entire spot cleared. The volunteers were only too happy to oblige. Post breakfast, they resumed work with greater energy. In about an hour they were scraping the ground and it was time to halt, mission accomplished!

Pics taken by Usha Rajagopalan and V. Srikrishnan

Hares in the Arekere Reserve Forest

The cleaning session at Arekere (Dorsani Palya) Reserve Forest on Sunday 29th June 2014 had many of the morning walkers join the effort. The extra hands really helped the volunteers (who have pledged their support to the clean-up campaign) do more than they had expected. 

However it was noticed that apart from plastic, a lot of rubbish, including wet waste, gets thrown from the road, over the compound wall. People are using this like a road side garbage dump! For a proper clean-up of this part, the group decided to engage paid labour or rag pickers.

The forest is known for its birds, butterflies and other insects. But mammals? The highlight of the morning, and the most surprising find was the spotting of wild hares in the forest. Prasanna, one of the volunteers wrote to the PNLIT email group, "Yes you can call it a miracle that these beautiful creatures are still surviving despite all odds". 

With stray dogs frequenting the area, Prasanna wonders how long the hares will survive. The Forest Department and others will need to make a focussed and concerted effort to keep the dogs out and preserve the habitat for the hares so that they can breed. In the huge 130-acre area, surely if there is a will, it should be possible, with the support of the Forest Department.  

We need to go beyond making the forest a beautiful place for walking and exercising. We need to save the hares that have made this their home. If you have any ideas on how the hares can be protected and would like to join the effort, please email  Prasanna Vynatheya .

Read about a rescued hare on the wrrc website here.

Weekend cleanup at Arekere Reserve Forest continues

​The incredible forest

Please join the Arekere (Dorsani Palya) Reserve Forest team on Sunday, 29th June 2014 at 7:00 a.m. The task at hand will be to continue cleaning up from where the volunteers stopped last week. For the exact location, please see the earlier post here. Children are most welcome to go along with their parents/ grandparents. 

Mr Saravanan, who is coordinating the cleanup efforts, had this to say about the start they made on 21st June:

It is quite interesting to see our first baby steps towards this cleanup drive. It was a successful and motivating event with remarkable response not only from our volunteers but also from public. There were about 40-50 people collected close to 35 bags of garbage.

Our sincere thanks to Dushyant, Sujatha, Arathi, Selvakumar, Usha & Manjunath, who put lot of efforts behind the scene. Also, special thanks go to Hariprasad representing forest department. Not to miss, enthusiastic Vishal showed real forest warden skills.   The list will go on and on....in nutshell.... THANK YOU ALL.

Words from Sanjay about this event:
It's said that Cleanliness is next to Godliness, and Nature is God... so we got a double deal last Saturday morning when we went to clean the forest. Though I must confess that much like the Indian police in a Bollywood movie, I went after everything was over, but managed to catch some of the volunteers before they went home.  It was a really lovely gathering with people of all ages and plenty of ladies too, enjoying hot steaming delicious idlis soaked in tasty chutney. There was a huge pile of garbage bags as evidence of all the work of that morning. 

​Some of the volunteers

The garbage

A yahoo group <dpfr_blr@yahoogroups.com> has been formed to keep the team in touch. If you would like to volunteer for Arekere Forest or stay posted about the cleanup progress, please subscribe to the group by email <dprf_blr-subscribe@yahoogroups.com> or get in touch with Saravanan <saravanan_ss@yahoo.com>.

Thanks to Saravanan for the pics.   

Volunteers required - Arekere (Dorsani Palya) Reserve Forest

The Arekere Reserve Forest is located in Arekere-Mico Layout (off Bannerghatta Rd), near Puttenahalli Lake. It is home to several species of birds, butterflies and other life forms. Information on the efforts to get it cleaned can be found on our blog post here.

Please see the message from Mr Saravanan, the coordinator of the clean up effort.

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Hi All,

We have the following events scheduled as part of forest restoration at Dorsani Palya Reserve Forest.

1. Cleaning the reserve forest scheduled on 21/06/2014 (Saturday) at 7 am onwards
2. Neighborhood campaign following Saturday (28/06/2014).

Your participation along with kids, friends and colleagues will encourage outdoor activities. This will also give you an opportunity to share your ideas/suggestions.

Thank you,   
Saravanan

To confirm your participation and for more info, please mail Saravanan <saravanan_ss@yahoo.com>.

This is to make arrangements for refreshments.