A group of environmentally conscientious Kerala residents have created an app to track the growth and survival of thousands neglected saplings planted during plantation drives. Tree Tag, a greentech startup, developed an app that allows complete transparency in tree planting and care.
Consider collecting all the information on a sapling you’ve planted, including its geocode and current growth status, with the touch of a button. That is how the application Tree Tag has revolutionised the way trees are planted and cared for.
Tree Tag, launched by a startup of the same name, is an initiative by a few climate-conscious individuals to increase transparency in tree-planting and secure the survival of trees. According to the people behind the effort, this will go a long way toward helping to carbon neutral aspirations.
The one-of-a-kind nature-based solution firm is registered at the Government Engineering College’s Technology Business Incubator in Thiruvananthapuram.
The NGO Thanal and Vydyuthi Energy Services are on board. Abhijith Kumar Meenakumari, Aashutosh B Sai, Mohamed Wazeer, and Anoop Babu are the startup’s directors.
Wazeer, Tree Tag’s co-founder, added, “We’ve been planting trees through various drives for a long time. However, there is no method in place to monitor their survival. This platform will keep track of their whereabouts.”
Anyone can sponsor a tree using the application. At a cost of Rs 170 per tree. The sponsored trees, whether from people or corporations, will be planted by the NGOs associated with the application. The benefactor will be updated once a month until the tree achieves the age of six months. Later, until three years after planting, the update, which includes images and growth statistics, will be sent every year.
Other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have expressed interest in addition to Thanal, according to Wazeer. Since the application’s introduction in August, up to 800 trees have been planted across the state.
“Farmers plant the trees because they are better informed and can properly care for the vegetation. They can also make use of the fruits. The idea is to protect the trees,” Abhijith explained.
The initiative will result in digital transparency as well as the creation of a data bank of the trees planted. Abhijith says, “We want to chronicle all of the present trees in the following step,”
Tree Tag is also a free platform for the student community to help the environment by organising planting efforts. Furthermore, the trees’ phones can be used to tag them.
