An app to keep track of planted saplings

For a city that has been losing trees to government projects on one hand and witnessing a number of plantation drives going wrong on the other, a mobile app that promises to monitor and capture a sapling’s life might just be the need of the hour. The app, to be launched on iOS and Android platforms in June first week, is named ‘Treeism’.

The app has been developed by the Vata Foundation with an aim to keep track of the saplings that they will start distributing between June and August this year.

`“We wanted to make up for all the plants and trees that we lost to development. We started an initiative to distribute one or two saplings to interested families so that this way the survival rate is higher. But, the news about this initiative went viral and there were many enquiries. We decided to not only get more than one lakh saplings, but also create an app for this initiative,” said Uday Krishna of Vata Foundation.

In a few days, temporary tree stations will be set up in various residential localities so as to distribute the saplings.

Some of those whose requests are being considered include colony associations, social groups and some voluntary institutes.

According to Mr. Krishna, this initiative has the power to bring a noticeable change in the city in just three years. At the time of handing over the sapling, the details of the person will be taken along with the picture of the sapling and uploaded on the app. The monthly progress of the sapling will also be up for everyone to track.

The Foundation members are also planning to give away awards for communities and individuals who keep the saplings healthy.

The Hindu Tech