Carrying a message as they walk

It’s on a road outside the Corporation office in Thiruvananthapuram. An Uthraksham Indian Elm has quietly grown on the footpath. Anitha Sharma and her friends of Tree Walk, a group of plant lovers, spotted the tree, amazed to see this rare plant on the roadside. They decided to conduct another walk on Sunday, after a small gap, to watch and learn about the summer trees along a small stretch of the capital city.

“We will start from the Indian elm on this road, and go on till the Cat’s claw vine found at the nursery inside the Model School. Along the way there are more trees — tabebuia, poomaridu (cape myrtle), gulmohar, and others in bloom, pouring a colourful cover on that small road. “Uthraksham is the most rare one among these. Somebody appears to have planted it there. But what happens in the case of such trees planted on the roads are, they are not given the ideal conditions to grow. It is on a fully tiled road. Two or three years ago, another big tree that grew up on this stretch fell, because it couldn’t stand there.  So we need to be sensitive and take into consideration all these factors before planting a tree. Otherwise it could become a dangerous tree in future and fall on someone. Today’s tree walk also has that message to give,” Anitha adds.

The tree walk will begin from KSEB entrance at 7 am on Sunday. Those who’d like to join may call 9447078113.