TreeTrail: Bengaluru Tree Walks Curated by Local Gemma

This is a small walking app called TreeTrail that focuses on finding trees in Bengaluru. Instead of tracking steps or burning calories, the app encourages users to explore a map full of trees and learn interesting facts about them through local AI-generated trivia. The app uses data from the BBMP tree census, which contains 72,456 mapped trees across the city. When you open the app, you can see the 450 nearest trees to your location.

The basic flow of the app is simple: choose a pocket, explore the trees, select a few, and curate a loop. For example, you can start in Basavanagudi, and as you tap on trees, you'll receive short pieces of context about them. Once you've selected a few trees, you can save or export the loop as GPX, which you can take with you on a walk.

One unique feature of TreeTrail is the observation prompts at each stop. These prompts encourage you to notice things like the leaves, bark, and canopy shape of the trees, transforming a simple walk into an engaging experience. The AI behind the trivia runs locally on your laptop using Gemma 3 4B, so there are no hosted inference calls or per-query AI bills.

TreeTrail also offers an optional OpenStreetMap mode, which provides a different kind of open data source. This mode gives you access to continuously editable community maps for places like Lalbagh, Cubbon Park, and Indiranagar. The app labels the source of each tree, so you know where the data comes from.

The project's data story is the main point. By making the BBMP tree census human-scale, the app allows users to interact with the data directly. BBMP collects and maps the trees, and TreeTrail simply makes this data more accessible and interesting. The app doesn't provide walking directions or real-time research about individual trees, but it does offer observation prompts and a unique way to engage with the natural world.