- Over 8000 trees are tagged under the Project Vruksha
- Trees are tagged with their age, height, girth, health and species
- Colour coding shows spots where trees can be planted
Do you want to know how many trees are on your street? Download the Vruksha App. Yes,there is an app for that too. And The Project Vruksha Foundation is behind the initiative.
Trees are often at the receiving end of urbanization and development. With the change in Bangalore’s climate and other signs of global warming becoming apparent, keeping track of the city’s green cover becomes important.
In an effort to create a treemap, the website –www.vruksha.com– and an app were recently launched to allow people to check out the green cover of any particular area in Bangalore. And the app is called the Vruksha App.
The Project Vruksha Foundation – An Overview
The Project Vruksha Foundation is an eco-initiative that strives to quantify the city’s biodiversity with the help of a scientific tree census. Founded by 4 friends, the initiative maps existing trees and publishes information about them for nature lovers as well as researchers. The project has mapped more than 8,000 trees in three wards; Byrasandra, Jayanagara, and Pattabhiramanagar.
The trees are tagged according to their species, age, height, girth, GPS location etc. In cases where a tree is damaged or diseased, this information is published as well so that they can be treated.
Read: Tulasi Gowda – Growing Forests One Tree At a Time
The Vruksha App
This is the first-of-its-kind tree mapping app in the world. The Vruksha app gives Bangalore residents a view of the number and type of trees in different parts of the city.
The trees are color-coded with green indicating a fully grown tree, yellow indicating a young tree that is still growing and red indicating a spot where trees can be planted. Trees are also tagged according to whether it needs pruning or if it is threatened by electric wires etc.
The app not only tells people about how many trees there are, but it also encourages them to plant more. Once planted, people can track the growth of their trees as and when changes are updated to the website and app. The app also gives people an idea of what kind of trees grow in the area and hence what should be planted.