Green walk

The capital city has always prided on its green cover and shady avenues. Over the years, much of the greenery has been denuded in the name of development and housing.

Recently a group of tree enthusiasts came up with a novel idea to make residents aware of the rich green cover that many of them take for granted. Called ‘The Tree Walk', the first one on May 13 had about 25 greens walking from Vanchiyoor to Uppalamoodu bridge.

“It was begun in memory of my mother, the late Dr. C. Thankam, who was a botanist and nature lover. She was head of the Department of Botany in the Government College for Women. She passed away in August last. My sister, Shanti, and I thought this was a good idea to pay homage to her,” says Anita, an environmentalist-educationist herself.

The idea is to groom a group of proactive people who value the trees that make the city one of the greenest in India. “Usually, when trees are cut down, a handful of familiar voices are raised in protest. Our hope is to make more residents tree-friendly, initiative a tree-planting drive and eventually persuade the authorities to plant more trees than those that are being chopped down for various reasons,” explains Anita.

Enthused by the success of the first ‘walk', the second walk is being organised on Sunday, May 27, from University Senate Hall to the Hanuman temple near the Legislative Assembly.

Tracing history

“We are calling it ‘Tracing history with a tree' because on this particular stretch there are a few trees that are not native to Kerala. Called the Manila Tamarind, these trees are native to Mexico and it should be quite interesting to find out how they came to Kerala or who planted them,” says Anita.

She hopes that this time around come local historians would also be tempted to join the walk that starts at 7 a.m. Contact: 9447078113, 9446102871