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Appointment of Project Officer, Security Guard, Local Warden and Care Takers for Managing and Initiating the Achari Kunta Lake Rehabilitation Project.
iNaturewatch Foundation carried out the lake rejuvenation activities with the help of DCB Bank who funded the project and the local NGO partner, Prahari Trust. The lake rejuvenation project was scheduled to commence in the month of April 2020 and conclude by September 2021. However due to various factors, the project activities were impacted, causing a delay in the commencement and implementation works. One of the main reasons for its delay was the pandemic that put lives on halt all around the world. The other reason was the delay in permission from Municipal Corporation. It almost took us more than a month to get the permission letter for the project from the authorities. Our local partner from Prahari Trust approached the irrigation department in order to get the permission on 28 th June 2020 but it did not get approved. So again after 15 days we submitted another letter seeking permission. Several meetings were conducted with authorities. Our project coordinator Gopal Bharti left no stone unturned in convincing the authorities to give their approval on the project. During this time, survey was conducted by Gopal Bharti and Mr. Prasad. The data generated through the survey was used to develop the signage’s. We conducted butterfly and plant survey at Achari Kunta Lake on 16 th June 2020. We sighted 2 species of butterfly, 4 species of trees and 30 species of wildflowers. We also conducted meeting with local community. 10 days later, after conducting survey on the project site and seeking all important information the irrigation department gave us permission on 29 th July 2020 for our rehabilitation project. But our problems didn’t end here. The following quarter was the most difficult time for the project as all the works that were carried out in the first 6 months got washed away in the cyclonic rains. We had done some plantations, good deal of civil works, community activities, and yet we were back to square one. We had to restart the project once all hurdles were resolved. In span of six months we lost substantial time owing to Pandemic, Permissions and Cyclonic Rains. This has delayed our main activity of plantation. The team worked actively for first six months however after floods in October, the work was put on hold. We had to request for the project extension by three months. We had to suspended our activities in September 2020 as municipal corporation was carring out various repair works at the lake. During the period of inactivity, we conducted the biodiversity survey, regular lake and peripheral clean-up, established nursery and raised over 1093 saplings. During the time the local municipal corporation repaired the drain line, laid new lines, increased bund height and initiated boundary fencing work. But after the storm, we finally started seeing the clear sky. The government works initiated priorly were coming to an end, so with legal permission and access to the site the project plan was restarted. We resumed our activities in last week of March 2021 by initiating the pathway development work. The civil works began with pathway development and ground preparation. This was followed with plantation works. We completed plantation of 5000 saplings with help of labourers, DCB employees and community volunteers. Altogether around 133 volunteers joined in a clean-up drive and plantation activities. We planted 210 trees, 2105 shrubs and 2685 herbs. A total of 5000 species of plants were planted. Plantation works had been completed now at the project site with the installation of drip irrigation system. In the previous records 26 species of birds and 19 species of butterflies were recorded. To assess the diversity, we conducted biodiversity survey which revealed that the lake comprised about a total of 43 species of Birds, and 30 species of Butterflies, recorded so far at Achari Kunta Lake. As the rejuvenating activities were initiated, more 16 species of Birds, 23 species of Insects with an addition of 5 Reptiles, 2 Amphibians and 1 Mammal were recorded, which indicated it as the formation of a healthy ecosystem. In the second last quarter of the project, we conducted the biodiversity survey, did community engagement programmes, plantation review and signage development work. Altogether 96 participants were engaged in 3 programmes which included a Drawing competition for children, Deweeding and Floating Wetland Making volunteering activity. We recorded a total of 41 bird species, 47 insect species, 5 reptiles, 2 amphibian and 1 mammal. Finally we reached the end of this project nearing December 2021.
An ecosystem approach of this project has fruited into increasing students interests in the environment as they get an opportunity to observe butterfly life histories in their school premises as well as enhancement of the general ambience of the school campus. Along with the improvement of the environment, the gardens have also resulted in reducing the temperatures during summer. The butterfly habitats are now acting as an open-air garden for the students.
Divya Vidyalay, Jawhar is the only residential school for blind and special children living in the rural Adivasi region of Palghar District. Divya Vidyalay was founded by Smt. Pramila Tai Kokad in Thane District, under the Shree Gurudev Sanstha. In collaboration with Ladybird Environmental Consulting LLP, the butterfly habitat was developed for DCB Bank Ltd in October 2019. Approximately 3000 butterfly-attracting saplings of trees, shrubs, herbs and climbers were planted in the school premises. Gardeners were being appointed for maintaining the plants. Students also helped in the activities like de-weeding and removing the invasive species pertaining to the butterfly habitat. The duration of the project is from September 2018 to August 2021, with a review visit once every six months.
It was a year-long project for developing a butterfly habitat for Yusuf Meherally Centre at Tara for DCB Bank's CSR project. The project concluded on a greener note. The plantation helped to increase the floral diversity of the Yusuf Meharally Centre. The rich floral diversity led towards an increase in the faunal diversity such as birds, bees, and other insects groups besides butterflies. The total number of the plants has increased to 1356 from 1078, recorded priorly during the review done in March 2019. This increase is due to the regeneration of plants like Jamaican spike and miracle leaf. Altogether, there was just 2% mortality recorded. The healthy survival rate of the plants has enriched the habitat and makes it lushes green. Since the start of the project, there has been an increase in 10 butterfly species making 41 species in total. The garden was also visited by over more than 1750 students, teachers and citizens.
Before establishing the butterfly habitat, the school premises of Divya Vidyalaya in Jawhar was a barren land with a modest number of trees. After the plantation of 3000 butterfly-attracting saplings last year, the place now has turned into a lush green mini-forest pocket, transforming the barren land into a luscious green space by regularly improving the soil quality.
For the plantation reviewing purpose, Mr Isaac Kehimkar, Ms Priti Choghale and Mrs Nishtha Raut visited the habitat. The health of the plants was analysed and checked, and recorded simultaneously. During the plantation review process, approx. 0% mortality was recorded compared to previous records. The total number of plants surviving are 2498 plants (includes 1919 surviving and regenerated species, 579 newly grown saplings). The butterfly survey was also carried out at the project site, however, very few species of butterflies were sighted on Jamaican Blue Spike and Mexican Heather Plants.
Jawhar site: Before