ecology@work

 Recycling Sapling Bags : Manjushri Parasnis : The lady who maintains my garden had a problem. She didn’t know what to do with all the plastic sapling bags that came from the plant nursery after she transplanted the saplings into the soil. She said she keeps collecting heaps of these, and by now there is a room full of the sapling bags. So, I told her to bring a bag full for me to think about... The street- tree! : Shubha Kulkarni : A tree like a tortoise, mostly lives for a long time. The immovability I think saves a lot of their energy, which leads to longer lives. And in that lifespan, I am sure they witness a lot. The tallest branch hosting the highest leaf, always trying to get the rays of the sun to the grounded roots reaching out to the sub surface water beneath- a tree is a total institution of life. With just taking enough and giving away everything else- this epitome of life has so much to teach us... Coastal 2.0 – ES Project Update : Parul Lakhani Ghuge : In 1995, WWF

 Experiment 1:   The lady who maintains my garden had a problem. She didn’t know what to do with all the plastic sapling bags that came from the plant nursery after she transplanted the saplings into the soil.    She said she keeps collecting heaps of these, and by now there is a room full of the sapling bags. So, I told her to bring a bag full for me to think about.   After she got sapling bags, we washed them. These bags now looked much better. But most of them were torn somewhere or the other while removing the saplings.   After that, one set was arranged very carefully on a sheet of newspaper such that they overlapped just slightly by about 1.0 cm.  Then, the sapling bags were covered with the other half of the newspaper sheet taking care that the bags did not move from their set position. This way, the bags didn’t touch any other surface to which it might stick on being heated.   As the iron was hot by then, pressed the set-up over the upper newspaper. Again, I had to take care th

 A tree like a tortoise, mostly lives for a long time. The immovability I think saves a lot of their energy, which leads to longer lives. And in that lifespan, I am sure they witness a lot. The tallest branch hosting the highest leaf, always trying to get the rays of the sun to the grounded roots reaching out to the sub surface water beneath- a tree is a total institution of life. With just taking enough and giving away everything else- this epitome of life has so much to teach us. Have always wondered, if humans could understand the language of trees, would life have been any different?  In urban spaces, the trees on our streets though I feel go through a lot more. Be it physical pollution- dust, dirt, carbon monoxide, or all the negative energy and tension we throw out on our streets every day from our busy and forever complicated lifestyles! On a two-wheeler or a cycle, you might to some extent understand what these creatures go through. Though a street tree on a highly traffic pron

In 1995, WWF India asked Shri. Prakash Gole to conduct an investigation to identify biodiversity hotspots on the sea coast between Mumbai and Goa, known as the Konkan coast. This west coast is under intense pressure of industrial, agricultural and allied development like tourism.  Shri Prakash Gole conducted a detailed survey of the coastline mapping the rich biodiversity of flora and fauna along with a study of the socio-economic conditions in this region. The report recommended five Biosphere Reserves for conservation of biodiversity and protection of the long term interests of the local people and their culture.  Under Coastal 2.0, The Ecological Society, Pune and Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune initiated the project envisage revisiting the Konkan coast to compare the findings with the previous study and analyse the changes over the last three decades and present recommendations for Conservation of Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism and Management of Natural reso

The Himalaya is a very large and globally important ecosystem which India and its neighboring countries share. With it's unique geology, natural history, flora, fauna, rivers, glaciers, other ecosystems and habitats, and a mosaic of man-nature relationships, Himalaya is part of India's unique ecological heritage. In other words, conservation of Himalayas should be important to all Indians, not just those residing near it, or the various government departments.  In view of this, I would like to suggest that there should be Himalayan Ecosystem Study and Conservation Groups in all major Indian cities and they should serve as magnets for researchers, enthusiasts, and students in those states.   These groups should be incubated/hosted by existing NGOs or like-minded people doing research in ecology and man-nature relationship. They should serve as a platform to present and share knowledge, debate important questions, seek policy formulation, and generally track the health of the Hi

Mumbai Butterfly Meet - 22nd & 23rd April 2023 : Dr Sanjeev Shevade : The open, green ambiance of the Maharashtra Nature Park was a perfect backdrop for the inaugural Mumbai Butterfly Meet, presented by the Vivant Untamed Earth Foundation, which was held on the 22nd & 23rd April 2023. We decided to look at the Butterflies as glamorous representatives of the largest group of animals on our planet namely the insects. Over the years, they have also found place in our art, literature, culture and come to occupy a very special position in our hearts. A thriving butterfly population is an indicator of the robustness of the health of an ecosystem... मिलेटस- देवधान्ये, जादुई धान्य, श्रीधान्य : संतोष बोबडे : एकदा तांदूळ आणि नाचणीचे (Finger Millet) भांडण लागते. नाचणी म्हणते मी सगळ्यात चांगली. तांदूळ म्हणतो मी महान. ते दोघे न्यायासाठी धर्मराजकडे जातात. राजा दोघांना तुरुंगात टाकतो. काही महिन्यांनी जेव्हा दोन्ही धान्यं बाहेर काढली जातात तेव्हा तांदूळ खराब झालेला असतो, मात्र नाचणी तशी

The open, green ambiance of the Maharashtra Nature Park was a perfect backdrop for the inaugural Mumbai Butterfly Meet, presented by the Vivant Untamed Earth Foundation, which was held on the 22nd & 23rd April 2023. We decided to look at the Butterflies as glamorous representatives of the largest group of animals on our planet namely the insects. Over the years, they have also found place in our art, literature, culture and come to occupy a very special position in our hearts. A thriving butterfly population is an indicator of the robustness of the health of an ecosystem.  The Butterfly Meet was principally to look at their ecological role and the rationale for their conservation, especially in an urban context. And as an extension, create a common meeting ground for butterfly lovers from Mumbai and the surrounding regions. To this end, we planned diverse activities to engage visitors across different age groups, from children to adults and from students to citizen scientists. Howe