Help Puttenahalli Lake this weekend

I hope many of you are going to volunteer to work at our lake this weekend! Please email your availability by tomorrow, Thursday, so that we can coordinate the activities better. We have pushed back the timings by a half hour. It will now be from 7.30 a.m. to 9.30 a.m. 

Since I will be travelling from tomorrow for a week, please email confirmation of your participation to <puttenahalli.lake@gmail.com>, marking a copy to "Ramaswamy OP" <opr.sulo@gmail.com>, "Nupur Jain" <nupur21@gmail.com>.

Volunteers at the lake, 30-Jun-2013 (Pic: OP Ramaswamy)

Thank you for supporting our neighbourhood lake!

Best

Usha

Scheduling volunteering activities at the Lake

Over the last few weeks, we've been having enough volunteers visit the lake on weekends, so we've been able to get some of our gardeners' work done, in their absence. However, no volunteer came today until 7:20 a.m. and hence it was decided to call off work. Karthik from Marathahalli reached the venue around 7:25 a.m. As he is also collecting clothes for Uttarakhand relief, we did that work instead and his long drive was not entirely wasted. 

We've now decided to do some pre-planning for the volunteer weekends, so that in future we won't have to cancel any sessions. We request volunteers to inform us by the Thursday of the week if they will be giving their time on Saturday/Sunday. The weekend activity will depend on the number of people available. By Friday we will confirm individually to all those who responded so that you may also make your weekend plans accordingly.

Tomorrow's session (Sunday 28th July 2013) stands cancelled. 

Best wishes

Usha 

The weekend that was

Bosch Volunteers at the lake

Saturday, 22nd June 2013

The volunteers who come to work at the lake have always impressed us with their dedication and hard labour. The group of 30 Bosch employees who came to Puttenahalli Lake this past Saturday was no less. After a brief introduction and welcome, they set to work in two teams as planters and diggers. 

The planters had a short stretch of flower bed in which to plant Lantana. Nupur guided them on how to take out the plant out of the pot with its roots intact, planting it in the pit and packing the soil around the base. The others grabbed spades, pick axe and even heavy crowbars to loosen the soil so that their friends could pull out the weeds. Their work was initially confined to the ground around the exercise bars but their pace was so swift that in no time the leaf composter was filled to the brim. They dug out rocks hidden below the ground and made a heap of them. Clearing the hard ground around the the base of the two Mahogany trees was done in a jiffy. They dug a pit around the base and planted Portulaca. Our PNLIT stone was surrounded with Portulaca as well. 

We then set the eager beavers of planters and diggers to clear the side of the walking track overgrown with weeds. Once cleared, they planted rows of white lilies. What we particularly liked about their approach was that they took the trouble to clear up as well. They swept the place, gathered stones, plastic and trash and piled garden waste in the wheel barrow and took it all the way to the corner plot reserved for composting. 

Special mention must be made of the quartet who, led by Ravi Suresh, quietly worked within the inner grill clearing the weeds around the plants which other volunteers had planted a couple of weeks ago. 

By 10 o'clock when they decided to put spades down, it was with a great deal of satisfaction, both for them and for us. Their leaving was on a high note with Manjunath Phadnis sweeping into the car park in his personal auto! Sporting the Bosch sticker and the CNG label, his auto is by far one of the best maintained we'd ever seen in the city. Nupur took a ride in it home and gave her thumbs up wholeheartedly. It was for the first time that she also didn't have to wrangle with the driver! 

The Bosch volunteer group

The planting group

Clearing and cleaning

Clearing the base around a Mahogany

Far from the crowd

The Bosch touch

More pictures on picasaweb can be seen here.

Walk with a Changemaker

Sunday, 23rd June 2013

The walk, organised by the Bangalore Chapter of Rang De Rang De was done around Puttenahalli Lake, with me representing PNLIT. Some 35 people from across the city and the neighbourhood had assembled for the walk which began at 11 a.m. and ended at 12.30 p.m. I took them through the PNLIT journey from the early "save the lake" days to now being recognized as a "Change Maker." This has been a journey in which we've been so ably supported by all our donors and volunteers. Two highlights about the walk will stay in my mind for a long time. 

We had put up a small photographic exhibition showing the plight of vanishing lakes in the city; of Puttenahalli Lake before, during and after restoration and of the rich aquatic life it supports. This attracted attention not only of the Walk participants but also several others who saw the photographs and left. One man however, tall, bearded, with a towel tied around his salt and pepper hair stayed on while I made the presentation. 

Talking about our effort to fill the lake with rain water, I went closer to the grill where the man stood, to show the group the newly installed diversion channel. I thought he would leave at least then but no, he didn't. Instead he heard the narration and began walking with us. Finally, he said in Kannada, "Though you were speaking in English, I could follow a little. You were talking about clearing the lake. Yes, it does need to be kept clean." Without waiting for a response, he walked away. This is an affirmation that I will cherish but how I wish my fluency in Kannada was better!

Another memorable moment was with Soumya and her daughter, among the first people to reach the lake. The girl of about 7 years was clearly delighted to be there. Soumya explained that the child had visited the lake in a trip organized by her play school a couple of years ago or so. Since then, every time she went past the lake, she had insisted on her parents stopping the car and bringing her inside. She validates our belief in promoting conservation through children. 

An appeal especially to parents living in the vicinity - please bring your children to lake and introduce them to Nature. It is a lesson they will treasure for life. 

An attentive audience

Best

Usha

Photos: Nupur Jain

Last weekend, volunteers needed this weekend too

Volunteers in action last weekend - not many but very focussed and they did a good job. 

Volunteering jobs for this weekend

- Help set up a flower bed. Work involves digging, piling stones.

- De-weeding at the garden. Light manual work
- Painting the dust bins which were burnt by some miscreants last week. See pic. If you know how to go about it, you are very welcome to share your expertise with us! Work involves scraping charred bin and painting. 

- If SWM is your forte, help us segregate the waste. Work involves segregating dry waste only.

7 a.m. to 9 a.m. 

Puttenahalli Lake 

Please bring your cap and drinking water. 

Pics: Usha Rajagopalan

This weekend's gardening

I guess the heat was too much and not many volunteers turned up this weekend. Those who did brave the sun did a wonderful job though. Yesterday, 6th April, some eight of us were scattered on the lake bed, bent over or squatting on the ground. We were searching for lurking bits of the Salvinia between the cracks and under stones since even a teeny bit is enough for it to sprout and cover the water in no time. 

Fresh Salvinia spotted earlier in the week (Pic: Nupur Jain)

Searching for Salvinia (Pic: Usha Rajagopalan)

It was back breaking work all right but we didn't realize just how much Salvinia we had collected till we saw how OPR had got it packed into a plastic sack and filled a big plastic bucket. If ever we were happy to see a plant browning and dying, it was the Salvinia. :-)

Their enthusiasm soaring high, Arvind Venkatadri from Brigade Millennium, Shankar Iyer from South City and Grishma from Jayanagar 4th block started work as early 6.15 a.m. this morning. Each working in his/her space, the only time they got together was to come out after a good one hour or so. By then, the other volunteers were assembling, ready to start work. 

We decided to water our little garden near the Gazebo and pluck out the weeds. A few women walkers saw us at work and joined us. How gratifying it is to know that more and more people are beginning to accept the lake as their own and are slowly taking a little responsibility for it.  

Working in the Gazebo Garden (Pic: Usha Rajagopalan)

As the number of volunteers was less, we were not able to do some other chores such as painting our new dust bins, clearing the front (near the cycle stand) and making it ready for planting, etc. So those who had intended to work at the lake this weekend but were unable to, join us next weekend! Those of you who have never worked in a garden, come and try it out. Get your kids along as well. Have gardening fun next weekend at our Puttenahalli Lake.

Usha

The weekend is here again!

Volunteers who attended last weekend's deweeding sessions at Puttenahalli Lake admit it was hard, but satisfying work. Though we had dissuaded children from "working", there were several who accompanied their parents and finally joined in.

Here is what some of the volunteers had to say, after putting in a good few hours last Sat/ Sun morning.

Shankar Iyer

It was a great feeling to get down to the surface of the lake and  "de-weed." I had a feeling that Mother Nature was asking for a small assistance  from our side to help her bloom and extend "her healing effects of calmness" on us for the coming monsoon season..!

It was also a great place for making new friends from the neighbourhood who had just pitched in with their assistance during their regular morning walk. I was delighted  to observe  children ( 5  to 15 years) scraping away and transferring the sackful of weeds energetically.

Even though de-weeding the entire lake surface is a challenging task to be completed before the onset of monsoon, but I believe anything  is possible provided we have the drive and the passion for it.

Personally I'm committed to it as I would like to have the same experience which I had last year walking around the Puttenhalli Lake. The lake in its pristine beauty with the birds landing smoothly on the calm surface of water,  fish frolicking around on the surface, brought calmness to the mind and emphasised that nature was still beautiful as it always has been.

The only effort we humans have to put forward is to create space for nature to bloom in the current concrete jungle of our city life!

Shome Sengupta 

The men and women, boys and girls of our neighbourhood are taking small steps in protecting and nurturing the lake. Planting trees to prevent soil erosion. Weeding the waterbed to let the soil breathe. And the reason we feel so enthusiastic is that we can see our actions as firm steps towards rejuvenating the lake. in our mind, we can see the ripples of water this monsoon, and a safe haven for migratory birds in the winter.

Shana Gokul 

It was nice to see a good number of volunteers who despite their busy schedules decided to spend some time for deweeding the lake. The work in itself was not easy but all of them put in their full effort and managed to clear a substantial portion of the lake in few hours.

I am glad that my 10 year old son showed interest to join as a volunteer for deweeding the lake. It is exam time, still, in his enthusiasm to join us he did all his studies the previous day itself. I could make out his excitement on seeing big earthworms, rescuing fishes, was listening when one of the volunteer was explaining about the fish, though he was exhausted being in the sun, he enjoyed himself thoroughly and at the same time helped in whatever way he could. I am glad that I could take him to close to nature and experience it first-hand.

I am definitely coming next week with my son again and I wish more volunteers could join us in the next week's cleaning session.

Vidula K

Deweeding the Puttenahalli lake was a hands-on experience, rather unique and not given to all. We were a group of people on the lake bed, under the rising and heating sun uprooting the weed that was quietly killing the lake. I didn't know the others till afterwards but for those two hours or so we, one child of 6 years and the rest of us, adults worked in unison with determination and absolute love for our neighbourhood lake. I will go again next weekend and do my share to ensure that the killing weed is removed, that the fish have more room to swim, that sunlight falls on the water, that our lake thrives once again. 

Please join us again at Puttenahalli Lake this weekend - 

Saturday 16th March and Sunday 17th March 

7 a.m. to 10 a.m. 

Please bring a cap and drinking water for yourself. 

Report on the volunteering weekend at Puttenahalli Lake

Saturday, 9th March 2013

With some 20 volunteers responding to our call to remove the drying aquatic weed from the lake bed, it was a most satisfying morning today!

Their enthusiasm was infectious and several people stopped jogging/walking to see what they were doing, then joined them to remove the drying Salvinia Molesta. Working with a rake, a spade or simply scooping up the weed with bare hands, they filled plastic bags, formed a line on the slope, handed each bag over the grill where others waited to cart them away. The dry Salvinia can be used for mulching or composting. We have opted to compost them by laying them along the boundary fence.

Despite working hard for over two hours, only a patch of ground has been cleared. With more of you joining us tomorrow (and on subsequent weekends) we should be able to accomplish our mission of clearing the lake bed and getting it ready for the monsoon. 

Scooping the weed

More hands, less work

Aerial view

Hauling the weed

Waiting to be carted

Young helpers

Cleared patch

Sunday, 10th March 2013

Another good morning at the lake today with some new volunteers joining us. 

Y/day's experienced hands were surprised to see fish in parts of the lake, below the weed. A few were dead but thankfully, most were alive. It was not possible to pull the weed out since the fish were coming with it so the kind souls made holes in the Salvinia for the fish to breathe. A couple of volunteers transferred the fish to the pools of water, carrying them in a bucket of water. It must have been a poignant moment for our volunteers renewed their effort to pull out more Salvinia and clean the ground. 

It was a hot morning but all of us felt the satisfaction of having done a good job. 

Dedicated work

Slow and steady

Heart felt thanks to all volunteers. We look forward to having you over next weekend. Do share your experience in this forum and with your family and friends and get them over as well! 

Report and pics: Usha Rajagopalan