As more people migrate to Chennai city in search of opportunities and livelihood, it has become increasingly important to prioritise the city residents’ access to green spaces. Not just for the sake of climate resilience or preserving biodiversity and endemic species, but to also provide residents clean and fresh air to breathe, to offer respite from the heat, dust, and motor-vehicle fumes, and to enable spiritual connections with the ground beneath our feet.
Spanning over 260 acres — adjoining the Adyar river and the Bay of Bengal — stands the Theosophical Society, one of Chennai’s last and largest green spaces, with a Great Banyan tree believed to be over 450 years old. It also houses rare plants and trees including the mangrove palm, cannonball tree and the African baobab — whose fruits, leaves, and bark, feed a wide range of insect and bird species.
Golden jackals, mongoose, Indian flying fox, painted storks, pelicans, and spotted owlets are among the many animals and birds that are frequently spotted here. To put things in perspective, fauna lists displayed at the 149th International Convention of Theosophists, held at their global headquarters in Besant Nagar, listed 12 mammals, 52 birds, 6 amphibians, 14 reptiles, and over 100 insect species — from butterfly, dragonfly, wasp, beetle, ant, to spiders — that call Theosophical Society their home. Many of which are only found here, after much of Chennai’s natural habitat has been lost to housing and infrastructure.
This sprawling green space shows how wild the city once was and how wild it could be.
Although establishing large green spaces such as this within a densely populated city is unrealistic, efforts could be made at a smaller, but equally meaningful scale. Upcoming development projects can adopt a landscaping model that prioritises diversity in trees and plants over purely ornamental and aesthetic values. That could both improve biodiversity and benefit the people residing in surrounding neighbourhoods.
Greening of rooftops is known to serve a similar purpose, while also absorbing excess water during periods of heavy rainfall. Homeowners can opt for planting more fruiting trees in their gardens, including mahua, jamun, fig, almond, neem, and golden shower trees which are relatively low-maintenance, provide shade, and attract a wide range of species.
Understanding urban spaces with this framework would not only strengthen local ecosystems, but champion coexistence between Chennai’s human and non-human residents.
(Abhinav Sitaraman/Sita is an ecologist and photographer, having done research on mammals at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, worked as a pest control technician, and is a scuba diver off Chennai’s coastline. His focus is on urban wildlife, human-animal interactions, grassroots activism, and sustainable design.)