A question posed by an audience member at a climate change webinar earlier this year has stayed with this writer. We campaign for greener cities and learn how to meticulously track the rising AQI. But when a tree is felled in our own building, how many of us know what to do next? It’s this gap between practical environment knowledge and the common man that has inspired a city-based duo to launch their new venture, Shared Ground.

Founders Riya Chadha and Bianca Kapur, who work in the urban planning and innovation spaces, believe that discourse around the environment can veer towards being too preachy. “Most conversations are for, between, and in the words of experts. You can’t lecture a layman on something he doesn’t understand. And if he doesn’t understand it, how will he protect it? We need to get more creative,” says Kapur.