A Nature Trail at Maharashtra Nature Park by Prashant Gokarankar

GreenLine celebrated World Biodiversity Day by organising a nature trail at Maharashtra Nature Park, which was led by expert Prashant Gokarankar. Many admirers of nature joined us on this trail to experience and relive the urban biodiversity that surrounds us. The event included a plethora of information about the park's floral and faunal diversity. Starting with the Samudra phal tree (Barringtonia acutangula) and advancing to learning about different butterflies and their larval host plants.

The park itself has an interesting history. The Maharashtra government's urban development department established a Project Group under MMRDA in September 1979 for the development of MNP on 37 acres. In 1983, Dr. Salim Ali, a world-renowned ornithologist, was the first to plant a sapling at MNP. The plantation drives then picked up the children, who were mostly students from schools and colleges. They helped to plant the saplings and care for them until they matured into trees. This is how the MNP woodlands came to be.

This trail starts at the Butterfly Garden and extends for about 400 metres, passing through the Nakshatra Van, Rainwater Harvesting, and 100 metres of woodland. The path leads from the Rainwater Harvesting Pond to the Nursery. On one side, it offers views of scrub and light woodland, while on the other, it overlooks the creek.

The trail was a one-of-a-kind experience for the participants to get to know their surroundings and experience things first-hand. The event was a huge success, with 21 people joining us in discovering Mumbai's urban biodiversity.