Thane school garden made by students hotspot for butterflies

THANE: Winged beauties from the fringes of the

Yeoor hills

seem to found a green paradise to perch on with the garden of city-based Smt.

Sulochanadevi Singhania School

becoming the new

hotspot

for over a 100 varieties of

butterflies

.

Over the past five months, the garden of the school spread across 700 square feet seems to have undergone a massive transformation, blossoming into a haven for butterflies, nectar and host plants like that of lemon, rose, etc.

The ‘plant a sapling on every

student

’s birthday’ initiative, which was started by the school in June this year has resulted in the plantation of 500 floral plants in the campus, attracting not only winged beauties, but also a few unique birds.

Revathi Srinivasan, principal of the school, said, “We started an initiative in June wherein on the birthday of every student rather than distributing chocolates or biscuits among classmates, we thought of planting a sapling. Accordingly, the student brings a sapling from home on his/her birthday. The entire class stands in a circle and sings the birthday song while the plantation is being done. This gesture is symbolic to the birthday of the plant as well. Now we have more than 500 such saplings, which are attracting butterflies, sparrows, etc. It is like our own mini butterfly garden.”

With the help of this activity, the school also plans on conducting guided tours for their kids wherein experts will explain more about the species identified and also give an insight about their lifecycle.

“We have horticulture experts, who will guide the students and transform the activity into a learning laboratory. This will encourage kids to care for mother nature and show appreciation for the environment whilst learning about the creatures. The activity will also contribute in providing some sort of peace to the students from their routine,” added Srinivasan.

Even certain environment-conscious citizens, who have been instrumental in curating butterfly gardens in housing complexes are happy with the initiative and are proud of the young ones for being responsible towards nature from an early age.