An opportunity to reap the benefits of gardening

People who participate in community gardening have a significantly lower body mass index (BMI), as well as lower odds of being overweight, than their non-gardening neighbours and siblings. This is according to a study by Dr Cathleen Zick (Professor of Family and Consumer Studies) and her colleagues from the University of Utah, USA, published on April 18, 2013 in the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH). 

The study concluded that "Community gardens may be a valuable element of land use diversity that merits consideration by public health officials who want to identify neighborhood features that promote health." More details of the research can be found on the website of AJPH and the news report in The Daily Utah Chronicle.

While the above study was restricted to adults, it would not be incorrect to extend the benefits of gardening to children too!

Volunteers on 13th Apr 2013 (Pic: OP Ramaswamy)

If your child is inclined towards gardening, here's an opportunity for him/her to spend one hour everyday in a pleasurable activity during the summer holidays. PNLIT is looking for children (age 10 and above) to take care of the flowering plants in the garden at Puttenahalli Lake. Let them discover the magic of nature! They will have to come daily at about 4 p.m., do some deweeding and watering of the plants. 

Please contact Mr. O P Ramaswamy at opr.sulo@gmail.com.

Volunteers' weekend

What a morning it was today! About 15 employees from Adobe, office at Dairy Circle, joined our resident volunteers and some children to create magic in a span of less than 4 hours. From 7.15 a.m. to 11 a.m., everybody spread out, formed teams and accomplished their assigned chore quickly, beautifully. 

These were the jobs they did today:

- Sand papered and painted four dust bins 

- Cleared out the rubble and waste along a stretch as preliminary to setting up a flower border. Dug a trench about one foot deep and nearly three feet wide. With the stones and mud, they made a bund along the fence, This needed quite some effort because the ground was rock hard. 

- Collected and made a pile of dry waste. 

- Vinay and Hariharan planted stakes for some trees which were growing tall and lanky. 

- The duo moved on to clean a silt trap. 

- Once done, they moved on again to fix a hollow pipe into the ground into which the bar of the garden gate latch would fit in snugly. We found that someone had pushed open the garden gate, hence this precaution.

- Four children plucked out weeds from the garden.

- Two others painted the smaller dust bins on the inner grill, a bright orange. These two were on a visit to their uncle's during the summer hold. 

- Restless for more work, Adobe volunteers offered to paint another two dust bins on the coconut grove side. One had been burnt by miscreants and was looking quite an eyesore. By the time these volunteers finished, the dust bins were looking as bright and cheerful as the painters themselves.

Sun or no sun, the enthusiasm of the volunteers, residents and visitors, was truly incredible. While leaving they asked if they could come and work tomorrow as well but my friends at PNLIT and I are pooped just watching them work in the hot sun. WE need a break tomorrow.

So all, please note - NO Volunteering tomorrow (21st Apr 2013)!! We shall inform you of the next session. Watch this space! :-)

Volunteers, there's only one word to describe you - amazing!

Usha

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

Hope and Colours at Puttenahalli Lake

In this season of colours, our lake bed may seem drab, devoid of water but for us at PNLIT, it is a sign of hope. The brown piles of drying Salvinia is the final leg of a battle we've been fighting since Aug. last year to remove the invasive fern Salvinia Molesta and to infuse new life into the lake. The way the BBMP's JCB and the men are working, we are hopeful that the last of the Salvinia will be removed by the end of the week. THEN we can welcome the rain to fill up the lake.

In spite of our preoccupation with the lake bed, we did not miss the riot of colours on the embankment. Some of the trees we'd planted in July 2010 have begun flowering and how lovely they look! A selection of photos of trees that began flowering this year are attached. A few like the tall Markhamia Lutea have been showering yellow flowers on the walking track for a year or more. The Bougainvillea has been a blaze of scorching pink and violet while preventing miscreants from cutting through the fence.

We are now setting up a small garden within an enclosure behind the Gazebo. Very soon there'll be a burst of colours here as well since most of these are flowering plants such as Hibiscus, Canna (both in two colours), Nerium, Euphorbia and others.

This is our floral thank you to our donors! We are using your donations not only for the trees or to set up the garden but also to effect many other changes at our lake. Please keep donating to PNLIT and avail of IT exemption under 80G.

 Golden Laburnum

Crepe Flower

African Tulip

 Tabebuia Argentea

Crepe Flower (in the foreground), Bougainvillea (in the background)

Garden enclosure

Garden plants awaiting planting

Text and pics: Usha Rajagopalan

Winning the Namma Bengaluru Award

In its fourth edition, with a record 61,000 nominations for nine categories in the prestigious Namma Bengaluru Award, 2012 (NBA) which recognizes the "unsung heroes; ordinary people who do extraordinary things so that the city can move forth in to the future" the odds of winning were stacked against everybody.

We had been shortlisted last year and the excitement continued this year as well. However, with a great deal of work yet to be done to make the lake ready for the monsoon, we tried not to think too much about the NBA. Our lake was in no condition to receive visitors but the organizers sent someone over to do a due diligence of PNLIT's work. Before we could meet him, he had already quizzed the two groups of men who were working at the lake. One group was digging a trench for the diversion channel to harvest rain water from the road and another was enabling a system by which we could draw water from the lake for the plants. We chatted and he left without taking a single note. More work is the best way to stop worrying or thinking of things beyond our control.

We were not the only busy ones, the Namma Bengaluru Foundation was following their own timeline. The Award function was on 16th March and the countdown must have begun to sift through the 53 short listed nominees and make their final selection.

It was the Award Day at last and we reached the venue well in time.

Malleswaram ground. What did it look like normally? Certainly not as it looked that evening. Colouful pandal, lights, volunteers, music, stalls, vigilant policemen and people streaming inside. The next few hours were surreal. We simply didn't know where to look! Do we see the dancers, the VIPs entering, the huge stage brightly lit (with Raghu Dixit's drums in silhouette), speed artist Vilas Nayak who won as much applause for hailing from Malleswaram as for his swift but dramatic creation of Kempe Gowda 1, bearing a shield and sword or of "Bangarada Manushya" Dr. Raj Kumar?

The stage was set for announcing the winner in each category. Fellow trustees Nupur Jain and O.P. Ramaswamy sitting on either side of me were a study in contrast. Nupur was on the edge of the seat, clearly unable to control her tension. OPR was his usual calm and composed self. Beyond him sat Prasanna in deep conversation with PNLIT well wisher Jagadeesh Maiya who had come to cheer us just in case we won. Unable to join us in person, trustee Arathi Manay watched the webcast in Mumbai biting her nails perhaps! She had the presence of mind, however, to forward the link to the PNLIT e-group, several of whom watched the live streaming as well.

The NBA trophy

The winners in several categories had been announced. All individuals. What if we won? Would all of us go up to receive the award? What would we do afterwards? There were only 11 chairs for the winners on the dais. We have to give a speech? Oh, oh. Questions, mumbled answers, rising tension as the nominees in our category "Citizen Groups/NGO" were named.

Eleven names, the maximum in any category. Each one highly deserving of The Award. Who was going to be the lucky one? Show host Vasanthi Hariprakash invited a dignitary to announce the winner. We were far too tensed to remember his name but we needed to hear only the first word from his lips to cheer and jump from our seats! When we went up to the dais, it was in a daze, not hearing the applause, not seeing anyone but the Chief Guest, Prof G Venkatasubbaiah, all of 100 years, renowned Kannada lexicographer who handed over the trophy, replica of Kempe Gowda's tower (which had marked the four boundaries of the city) and an envelope. A battery of photographers froze that moment, a milestone for PNLIT.

PNLIT receiving the award

Winners all!

As Chairperson, I delivered a speech which was short but after the really brief ones by earlier winners, I seemed to speak forever! I'd like to repeat the thought with which I concluded - A Big Thank you to the Environment Cell, BBMP and to each individual who helped us along the way. Their names are too many to be listed here but we are so grateful to them and to all our volunteers and donors who are helping us transform the lake and finally to our families for tolerating our madness, our obsession with lake restoration.

We relived the excitement the next morning with our volunteers who'd come to work at the lake. The award belongs as much to them as to PNLIT.

Volunteers with the NBA trophy

For a more objective account of the NBA function, please see the report here.

Usha

March 22 is World Water Day. Don't take a rain check on it.

Reposting a message from The Alternative

This World Water Day, come engage with water in Bengaluru and how to save it.

Catch Every Drop Bengaluru

Bangalore is fast running out of water. There is no source today that can address the 1.3 billion litres of water that we need every day. Not the Cauvery river that is 100 kms away and provides for less than 50% of the population’s water needs. Not the private tankers that are scourging for water inside 4 lakhs borewells that go deeper and deeper everytime. Not the much exploited groundwater that was once recharged by 262 lakes and tanks that have now mostly vanished. If forecasts go right, at the current consumption rate, we have about 2 months of water supply left in the city.

The upcoming monsoon is our one chance to make sure the near future and after isn’t dry.

This World Water Day, 22nd and 23rd of March, we invite you to engage with water and how to save it – in your home, office, apartment and across the city.

March 22, 2013, Max Mueller Bhavan, Indiranagar, 6 pm - 9 pm
Water Matters: An interactive panel discussion featuring water experts - 1.3 billion litres/day in a drying city, where do we go from here? 
with Rohini Nilekani, Vishwanath Srikantaiah, Sekhar Raghavan and Usha Rajagopalan
What water means to me: A photo exhibition curated by Korkai, shot by citizens across India, through the Worth of Water online contest.

March 23, 2013, across the city
Savings on the house: Open Houses with water champions in homes and apartments across the city that have implemented model water conservation measures. 
The Lake Diaries: Photo walks along lakes in the city, led by professional photographers
Walk in the park: Guided tours and demos in the Rain Water Harvesting theme park, Cubbon Park and the Waste  Water Treatment Theme Park.

Come engage to save, harvest, recycle and refresh water in the city.

Log on to www.thealternative.in/catcheverydrop for everything that’s happening on 22^nd and 23^rd of March, plus tons of water conservation tips, ideas, success stories, expert insights and more!

Catch Every Drop is a campaign on water conservation in Bengaluru, run by The Alternative, a media platform for sustainable living, sponsored by Arghyam, with partners India Water Portal and Biome Environmental Solutions.

Namma Bengaluru Awards Night 16th March 2013

For the second consecutive year, PNLIT is one of the shortlisted nominees of the Namma Bengaluru Awards - for 2012!

The Namma Bengaluru Awards, instituted by the Namma Bengaluru Foundation, will be presented this Saturday 16th of March at 6 pm at the Malleshwaram Grounds. The awards will be given away in a glittering event of music, dance and entertainment. 

Total of 53 finalists in 9 categories will vie for the prestigious NBA.

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A 20 member jury, under the Chairmanship of Pradeep Kar, Founder, Chairman and Managing Director, Microland, consisted of prominent citizens of Bengaluru from the fields of art and culture, music, literature, law, media and environment. The jury, after serious deliberations spanning over four sessions over eight weeks, short-listed 53 finalists in nine categories. Of this, names of 11 winners will be announced on Saturday.

Internationally renowned audit and process firm KPMG were engaged as audit partners to ensure transparency in the process of nomination and selection of the winners.

"The Namma Bengaluru Awards selection process reached a different level this year. From the enormous number of nominations (61,000+) to the tremendous quality of nominations. It was truly a very difficult process to select one amongst the finalists, all of who deserved to win the award. It is truly gratifying to see the selfless commitment of these individuals and organizations, most of whom go unrecognized in their journeys. I am delighted that the Namma Bengaluru Foundation has chosen to recognize these selfless leaders/organisations, all of who are making an immense difference to our city, silently." said Pradeep Kar, at the final deliberation of the nominations today.
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Entry to the Awards function is free and citizens can come and enjoy an evening of pride, glitz and glamour. The entire awards ceremony will be webcast live.

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Read the full article with all the details and see the list of the 53 shortlisted nominees here.

Good luck PNLIT!

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