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Goregaon resident transforms a barren land into a butterfly garden

Goregaon resident Sandeep Athalye’s dream to create a butterfly garden in Aarey is bearing fruit as 10 species of butterflies have already made it their home

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10 species of butterflies have already made this garden their home
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In our May 27 issue, we carried a story wherein we highlighted how Goregaon resident Sandeep Athalye started an initiative to create a butterfly garden inside Aarey Milk Colony, in memory of his father. Four months later, with the help of friends and family, the cumulative hard work has paid off and today, one can see a sprawling garden with butterflies hovering all over. What started as an attempt by planting 70 saplings, in four months, has resulted in large wild plants, creating a biodiversity hotspot within Aarey. 

 


The plot during the plantation drive (left) in May and the fully-grown plants and flowers that have bloomed presently (right)

 

A wild garden

Athalye shares, “Though the idea was to create a butterfly garden, we didn’t want it to look like a manicured garden. We wanted it to look and feel like a wild forest, much like how Aarey really is.” This biodiversity hotspot was created step by step, with the first step being sowing nectar plants like Blue Jamaican Spike and Lantana among others, which are known to attract butterflies. So far, around 10 different species of butterflies have been spotted here. “We hope we get to see more species of butterflies once we plant more varieties of plants,” he added. Common Tiger and Grass Yellow are the two butterfly species that have been most commonly spotted in this garden. 

Future plans

More number of nectar plants will be planted in the future. Moreover, this small portion of land is being ‘flower fenced’ by growing bougainvillea on the garden’s periphery. “There’s more work to be done, for example, the soil needs to be attended to and once the monsoon is over, watering these plants will also need to be taken care of,” he added. By December this year, the garden should be completely ready and fenced up, with the help of the tribals living in Aarey. “Once it is ready, I plan to get people to visit the garden, especially students,” Athalye concluded.  

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