August 2022

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To commemorate the 75th anniversary of Independence Day, on August 12th, 28 student and staff volunteers from NSAM academy, Kharghar, planted 50 saplings of Touch me not, Neem, Bamboo green, and Giloy.

We engaged 22 DCB staff volunteers for a plantation drive at SGNP's Mulund Range on August 6, 2022. Even in the pouring rain, volunteers worked hard and joyfully. At the site, they planted 121 shrubs (Adulsa, Touch me not, Asparagus, and Vetiver grass) and ten herbs (Bamboo) along a deer grazing zone and a pollinator zone.

Dr V. Shubhalaxmi (Moth Lady of India), conducted the orientation programme for students enrolled in the Caterpillar Rearing Project. She explained on "Why Moths Matter?" to 150+ students from 16 Schools. This Orientation program was jointly hosted with Natures Mates, Diversity India and WWF. This program covered the details on the handling and conducting of the caterpillar project for students along with the necessary safety protocols to be followed by teachers and students. The goal of this Caterpillar Rearing Project is to instil a scientific mindset in school students. 

Our plantation drive got off to a roaring start on June 25! At our project site in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mulund Range, a strong group of 270 DCB volunteers supported us in planting 500 seedlings. The volunteers were also given the opportunity to a nature walk where our trail guides led them on a tour of the wonderful biodiversity of the region. They also fixed the tree guards and added compost to the existing plantation. We planted plants such as Pongam, Amaltas, Shivan, Amla, wild Jasmine, Wild Fig, Fishtail Palm, Adulsa, Bamboo, Karvanda, and others.

National Moth Week (NMW) is a global citizen-science project for recording moths. Held annually for nine days during the last full week and two weekends of July, i.e. from July 23 through 31. Usually adult moths are studied during this week, this time however moth caterpillars will also be studied. As a celebration of this week, we are launching the Moth Monitoring Programme for Schools. In its first year we are starting with Caterpillar Rearing Project for schools and eventually, we will progress to mothing events for schools. Dr V. Shubhalaxmi, Founder of iNaturewatch conceptulized this idea along with our partners from WWF, Natures Mate, National Moth Week and Diversity India. Learn more about Moth Monitoring Programme for Schools here.

Taloja Hill site celebrated World Environment Day by hosting a check dam building activity. A check dam is constructed to counteract erosion by reducing water flow velocity. Four check dams were built by DCB employee volunteers with the assistance of our on-site caretakers.

On the occasion of World Environment Day, our SGNP site organized a check-dam building and clean up drive activity. 44 enthusiastic employees of DCB bank joined us and were engaged in building two check dams and performed a cleanup drive by collecting 20 kgs of waste. Volunteers were provided with the necessary materials needed for the activity from our on-site caretakers. 

What better way to celebrate the 5th of June 2022, World Environment Day than to get together to volunteer in building and restoring habitats. Such activity was initiated at our Ambivli Biodiversity Park, where 294 sapling bags were made by 7 DCB bank employee volunteers along with two community volunteers. These sapling bags will later be propagated at our site nursery.

An online event conducted for KPMG India Corporate employees. 40 volunteers attended the event where our founder Dr V. Shubhalaxmi (Moth Lady of India) delivered a talk on the basics of kitchen Garden and also emphasized the benefits of the organic kitchen garden using single use plastic containers / wrappers. Kitchen Garden setup was demonstrated by our team member Nishtha using only household waste like single use plastic containers and vegetable waste.

We successfully launched our most expected app of the year, the Karnala e-Forestrails, on the eve of Earth Day. Shri Gaurav Mehta, CSR Head, DCB Bank Limited as our chief guest and Smt. Saroj Gavas, IFS, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Thane as our guest of honour attended the app launch ceremony in the lush forest of Karnala. DCB Bank provided funding for the app as part of their corporate social responsibility programme. Dr.V Shubhalaxmi, the founder of the iNaturewatch Foundation, conceptualized the idea. In collaboration with Maharashtra's Forest Department.

At Taloja Hill, we organised a seed collection drive. Five local volunteers and one DCB Bank employee joined us. Shri Gaurav Mehta, CSR Head, DCB Bank Ltd, also joined us. We collected seeds from various tree species to utilise in making sapling bags that will be replanted.

On the eve of Earth Day, our SGNP site hosted a seed collection drive. We were joined by one enthusiastic employee of DCB Bank. The volunteer harvested tree seeds. These seeds were then used to cultivate saplings for our site's upcoming nursery. Our on-site caretakers provided the volunteer with the necessary assistance.

In honor of Earth Day, we started building a Butterfly garden for KCorp charity foundation, Worli, with 21 TFS (travel food services) employees participating in the program. On three traffic islands, TFS employees assisted us in planting native butterfly-attracting seedlings. This garden will attract butterflies and other insects while also improving the area's aesthetic appeal.