How to make a difference with your own patch of green
To step out in the sweltering summer heat, amid dust and smoke, is probably the last thing you would consider. The preferred option? Surely to stay indoors. But by mid-day, even our houses start turning into baking boxes, unless the air-conditioning is put on. Any respite seems bleak as we go around complaining about the increasingly deteriorating environment all around us.
But can we do something about it? Something apart from cursing the world’s superpowers for their irresponsible acts resulting in global warming, et al? As individual citizens, on our individual capacity, can we act responsibly and do our two bits to make a difference to our collective well-being? Perhaps we can. How? Read on….
First, to even start thinking on those lines, we need to look at the core of the issue: the basis of all environmental jeopardies is primarily the disharmony between nature and man-made forces. Hence, the best approach to find a working solution is to try and re-achieve this harmony, even if in a microcosmic proportion. Which means making it up for the lost greens on this earth through our own patch of green in our little backyard or balcony.
In fact, investing in a balcony jungle is one of the most trending urban hobbies of millennial’s across the globe right now. The kick one gets out of creating that little green island in one’s home is worth pursuing the hobby. Now, the positive effects of having a green finger is not just visual or aesthetic enhancement but also about bringing nature closer to us, reducing the heat island effect in a predominantly concrete jungle.
To take it a step further, if one can afford a little piece of land, landscape gardening can make a big change to the immediate environment. Because with each plant, with each blade of grass, with each tree comes a range of other life patterns (from butterflies and birds to bees and beetles) adding to the biodiversity of the surrounding area. And more the biodiversity, less are the chances of pollution and toxicity.
Now think of staying in a residential area or a gated community where the emphasis is on striking a balance between built and non-built spaces, where concrete doesn’t overtake the greens, where open areas with a green cover are not just a value-addition but the intrinsic nature of the property. Isn’t that a wonderful idea? How many of today’s urban citizens have the luxury of owning a personal house with an extended garden alongside? But what most can aspire for is owning an apartment in a gated residential community. Which is why the need to select such real estate properties based on their concrete-green ratio is so much essential.
Open areas with lots of greenery not only lends a refreshing charm to the property but also helps in bringing in the breeze, cooling the ambience and providing a soothing canopy for residents to bond with each other. Add to that your own personal balcony garden and one of the most delusional natural fragrances in a city — that of moist earth or petrichor — might become your daily reality.
Corporate
