PayPal joins Forests by Heartfulness in the plantation drive along the restored lake to enhance biodiversity
Bengaluru, 17th February 2023: Forests by Heartfulness inaugurated yet another restored lake at Chikka Thimmasandra village in Bangalore suburbs in association with multinational financial technology company PayPal today. The event began with a stone laying ceremony and inauguration on Day 1 by Padma Smt. Saalumarada Timakka – Indian environmentalist as the Chief Guest. Day 2 witnessed the presence and participation of Kannada film – Mr. Diganth and Ms. Aindritha Ray during the event, employees and leadership from PayPal and Heartfulness representatives and volunteers. The plantation area covers 11.5 acres of land with the aim of creating an ecosystem of endangered, local and indigenous plant species with main objective of attracting migratory birds and local wildlife. The initiative is supported by the Government of Karnataka in terms of granting the necessary approvals and frameworks.
The Chikka Thimmasandra lake is rainwater fed, however over a period of time, the lake turned shallow owing to formation of sediment and silt. Forests by Heartfulness began its work by first desilting and making bunds on the lake banks in 45 days-time. The water holding capacity has almost doubled by this intervention and we are expecting to see the lake filled up during the rainy season. Several saplings were sourced from Heartfulness nurseries encompassing a variety of species ranging from Limonia acidissima (Wood apple), Aegle marmelos (Stone apple), Ficus racemose (Atti mara), Arjuna terminalia (Matti tree), Ficus religiosa (Peepal tree), Prosopis Cineraria (Shami tree), Artocarpus heterophyllus (Jackfruit), Psidium guajava (Guava), Syzygium cumini (Jamun tree), Gasa gasa (Jamaican jerry) etc and planting along the bund side
At the stone laying ceremony Smt. Saalumarada Timakka said, “I have always found solace in planting trees. And so, I feel very honoured to inaugurate this beautiful project by Heartfulness. It is also special as it also plants the endangered species. The fact that corporates like PayPal are also coming forward to join plantation drives as this, shows how there is a collective thought on saving plants and saving the planet.”
This is the third plantation project taken up by Forests by Heartfulness in Bangalore. Last year corporates such as Zscaler and Bosch had joined hands with Heartfulness to create two mini-forests of 5000 saplings each. The program focusses not only on planting but providing after care for 3-years to ensure high level of survivability of saplings.
