Educational Section
The park is presently involved in number of activities related to Nature Conservation and Environmental Education. The park has different sections to explain the various aspects of nature education.
- Butterfly Garden: Study of butterflies includes knowing their local host plants, the flowers they visit and pollinate, their survival strategies like camouflaging and mimicry and whatnot. In the congested city like Mumbai, creation of butterfly garden was also very instrumental in conservation of (and thereby increase in number of) butterfly at MNP. It is delight for the eyes to have them in such huge numbers, today the total count has reached to 85 species. Butterflies are indicator of good quality of air (something which is always missing in big cities like Mumbai) and therefore creating a Butterfly Park is an education maintaining a better quality of the air.
- Nakshatra Van: Ancient Indians believed in astrology (many still do!). Indian astrology classifies a human being into 27 group as they are considered as born under specific constellation-the Nakshatras. There are 27 constellation’s, and each has one plant (tree, shrub or herb) associated with it. Whatever be the merits of their beliefs regarding the heavens, there is no doubt that here on earth its proponents were meticulous documents of nature. More in keeping with the emotional connections that are associated with such myths than any science, different trees and plants finding mention in ancient texts have been planted in a circular garden, called the “Nakshatra van”. Many visitors find this to be an inexplicably peaceful part of the park and can be seen quietly meditating under the shade of its now well-developed trees.
- Rain Water Harvesting: During the dry months of winter and summer, the MNP requires an average of 45000 to 1 lakh litre of water daily, most of it for irrigation purposes. This makes the Nature Park depends mostly on the municipal water supply, with some of the demand met from other sources. The Rainwater Harvesting Projects has been conceived and designed to make the MNP almost completely self-reliant for its water requirements. When fully operational it will ensure that nearly 2.5 crore litres of water is collected from the surrounding landscape, including the rooftop of the Education Centre Building. The storage pond will also result in wetland habitat of nearly an acre in extent and help attract additional fauna. This important project also makes a perfect back drop for setting up platform to provide information and as demonstration site, on rain water harvesting.
- Wooded area section: This section gives an idea about the role of trees and forest in ecological balance, biodiversity and the association of humans. It is the largest section in the park with a variety of trees, climbers, grasses and shrubs.
- Nursery section: There is good demand for various medicinal plants and plant material. A small plot allotted in the park is maintained as a nursery for raising and nurturing the seedlings. This also helps to explain various visitors about the seeds, germination, seedling care etc. The seedling raised here are also available for sale to the public.
- Medicinal plants section: As such there is no plant or tree in this world that does not have any medicinal value, but there are certain plants that are widely used in the traditional medicines systems (e. Ayurvedic, Unani, Homeopathic, etc.). These plants are raised in the nursery and sale to those interesting in growing them.
- Palm section: Palms are woody monocotyledons belonging to the plant family Arecaceae (Palmae). Palms are vital component of the tropical forest ecosystem. With their graceful architecture, palms form characteristic features of some tropical habitats. Palms are managed by the indigenous populations for food, fodder, handicrafts, thatches and construction materials. Owing to their aesthetic value, palms are cultivated for both indoor and outdoor decoration. At MNP, there are 11 species of palm planted in this section.
- Fruits tree section: To provide an idea about the role that vegetation (i.e. plants and trees) play in our day-to-day food requirements, this section is used as demonstration to the visitors.
- Vermicomposting section: Organic farming has been practice in India since time immemorial. For generation, our farmers have followed simple eco-friendly farming techniques. One such practice is to allow earthworms to treat the soil. At the MNP, we have a separate section where organic waste is converted into vermicompost. A demonstration is given to the visitors to help them understand the significant role that earthworms play in garbage disposal. Vermicompost manure is available for sale.
- Aromatic and Spices Section: In this section plants which we use daily in our spices are planted and along with that plants used in perfumery and soap industry for aroma are also planted in this section.