Meet the software professional who has planted over 35,000 trees in Bengaluru

The city of Bengaluru got Kapil Sharma- a software professional from Chattisgarh as its resident over 11 years ago.

And, that’s when its grass turned greener.

Perturbed by the decreasing green cover in the city, Kapil started taking out time on the weekends to plant trees across Bengaluru.

This was back in 2007. Eight years later, he has single-handedly planted over 35,000 saplings all over Bengaluru and organized numerous plantation drives apart from co-founding a NGO dedicated to saving the environment called ‘SayTrees.’

One of the main reasons he had moved to Bengalaru was because he loved its huge green spaces, pleasant weather and the canopies of trees within the city, but seeing them decline right in front of his eyes and the weather getting hotter due to the reduction of green cover, he decided it was time to do something.

He initially started with planting a few saplings near his house and on the way to his office, but realized that it was not enough.

He then approached the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) in order to get more information about places he could go and plant more saplings. Time became an issue as he had a full-time job and so he visited BBMP offices on Saturdays to find officials as passionate about the cause as he was.

Soon enough, Kapil was joined by like-minded environment enthusiasts in his endeavor which led to him starting the organization SayTrees.

His work starts with first zeroing in on a location for planting saplings and then approaching the government for permission. Once that hurdle is cleared, he works aggressively towards promotion of the tree plantation drive on social media spreading the word and in some cases getting more people to join him.

To ensure a high survival rate for the saplings, Kapil and his team take certain precautions during the plantation drive itself.

Firstly, they focus on planting saplings that are already 8 to 12 feet tall and two to three years old as these require lesser case and have a higher survival rate. Additionally, they also chose locations which do not see excessive human and animal intervention.

Kapil’s job is however not over as soon as the saplings are planted. He ensures that he takes care of them for as long as possible.

For a few months, the SayTrees team waters the saplings and regularly watches over them, beyond which they try engaging the local communities to take care of the plants.

‘Plant trees, plant hopes’ is the team’s motto. And, that’s exactly what they want you to be doing.

The next time you’re in Bengaluru marveling about its brilliant weather or enjoying the shade under a tree, you know which man to thank.

Image credit: SayTrees