India gets its first-ever moss garden in Uttarakhand’s Nainital district

India recently got its first moss garden inaugurated at Kumaon’s Nainital district. Spread across an area of around 10 ha, it has been developed by the research wing of the state’s forest department. The park was recently inaugurated by Rajendra Singh, Ramon Magsaysay awardee and well-known water conservation activist.

Reportedly, it took nearly a year to build this moss garden. During the inauguration, Water Man of India Rajendra Singh lauded the efforts of Uttarakhand Forest Department, and stated that this is a good initiative that will go a long way to mend relationships between man and nature.
He also emphasized that now is the time to rekindle the relationship between people and nature, and that if we don’t take any initiative to rectify our errors now, we will be moving towards the path of destruction.
The primary aim while developing the moss garden was to conserve the various species of moss and other bryophytes, and spread awareness among people about its significance in the environment, apart from creating a recreation spot for tourists. Elaborating more on India’s first moss garden, Chief Conservator of Forest Sanjiv Chaturvedi said that the project was approved in July last year under the CAMPA (State Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority) scheme by the Research Advisory Committee of Uttarakhand Forest Department.
This garden is home to around 30 different species of moss and various other bryophyte species. Brachythecium Buchanani and Hyophila involuta (Cement Moss) are two moss species that feature in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) red list, Chaturvedi added. He also added that a moss trail of 1.2 km has also been set up, on which various moss species feature and scientific information regarding them is also displayed.