Bengaluru, May 25: Counted among the largest preserves of the city’s botanical wealth, the lush, green campus of the Indian Institute of Science is two degrees cooler than the rest of Bengaluru, although it is situated in the heart of the city.

Wooded areas with creepers, climbers and large floral canopies occupy large sections of the grounds, keeping the temperature down even during the hot summer.

“Several experiments in planting a variety of trees have resulted in the IISc campus turning into a mini forest. While primates such as the slender loris are hard to spot even in forests around Bengaluru, a pair of them can be found at the IISc campus. A mini rainforest with 90 per cent of its tree species brought from the Western Ghats was created on the campus two decades ago. Even today you almost feel like you are in the ghats when you walk past this patch of forest on the campus,” says a botanist at the institute.

“As part of the centenary celebrations, an artificial lake was created by members of the Wetland and Energy Research Group of the IISc,” he adds.

The roads running through the campus reflect its natural ambience. There is the Mahogany Road, Gulmohar Marg, Niligiri Marg and Ashoka Marg to name a few.

Biodiversity experts point out that campuses like that of the IISc act as major carbon sinks and lung spaces. “The green campuses of GKVK, Bengaluru University and the Army Camp in Iblur are among the other important lung spaces of the city, which the government must preserve,” says one such expert.