
More than 200 volunteers joined the first activity of #IamBengaluru, Volunteer for Parks, an initiative by The Times of India, at a BDA park in Banashankari 6th Stage on Saturday. Participants planted…
More than 200 volunteers joined the first activity of #IamBengaluru, Volunteer for Parks, an initiative by The Times of India, at a BDA park in Banashankari 6th Stage on Saturday. Participants planted saplings, cleaned, and gardened. The drive continues Sunday across 14 locations, organised with NGO partners Adamya Chetana Foundation, Youth for Seva, and Women of Wisdom.

Tejaswini Ananthkumar of Adamya Chetana said tree planting should have begun decades ago but urged action now. Residents can register at iambengaluru.co.in. The initiative aims to turn sporadic volunteering into sustained civic action for Bengaluru’s green spaces.

This initiative counters the lazy narrative that Bengalureans have given up on their city. The turnout of 200 volunteers on day one shows civic pride is alive. Still, planting saplings is the easy part. The real test is whether these trees are watered and protected months later. A single question for the organisers: will the platform track survival rates of each sapling planted? That number will show if this is a movement or a photo-op.
Sources (2): timesofindia.indiatimes.com, timesofindia.indiatimes.com (2)
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.