American science fiction author RA Heinlein had once said: “Butterflies are self-propelled flowers”. Here’s a chance to experience the beauty of these vibrant creatures because it’s the Butterfly Month in the capital.
A walk titled Breakfast with Butterflies is being set up on the premises of Butterfly park at Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary. Basically, a short walk around the sanctuary followed by breakfast.
This initiative is a collaboration between the Bombay National History Society, Butterfly Research Centre of Bhimtal, Ninox-Owl About Nature, The Delight Factory and the Department of Forests and Wildlife GNCT of Delhi.
The sanctuary is managed by Conservation Education Centre, a project of BNHS funded by Delhi Forest Department. The butterfly park situated inside the sanctuary was inaugurated on June 5, 2017, and this year marks the third walk.
Sohail Madan, ecologist at BNHS, says, “Butterflies are windows into urban wildlife. And this is a step towards promoting urban wildlife. We want people to realise what kind of creatures they share the city with. We divide participants into groups and assign an educator to each team. We have 7-8 educators from BNHS, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University and NINOX.”
Abhishek Gulshan, founder of the nature education and awareness initiative NINOX - Owl about Nature, who is one of the educators on the walk, says, “It’s an interactive event for nature and butterfly enthusiasts. They will be explained about the species present there and the life cycle of a butterfly. It will not only be an educational event but a fun activity.”
A total of 90 butterfly species have been recorded in the park. “We provide a natural habitat for them to breed here. Each species needs a different kind of host plant to lay its eggs on. When the eggs hatch, the caterpillar comes out and eats the leaves of that plant. If you provide them with host plants, butterflies will automatically come. We have also created 28 butterfly gardens at Delhi schools and RWAs aiming at creation of a butterfly corridor.”
Organisers are expecting a footfall of over 100, and registrations are open till Saturday.
“We want to encourage more and more people to attend the event and ask us whatever questions they have in mind,” adds Gulshan.
ON: September 8, 7:30am to 11:30am
AT: Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary, Asola, New Delhi
The butterfly effect
Conservation Education Centre’s upcoming events: School and Campus Count, Friday with Moths, Butterfly Photography Workshop, Big Butterfly Count, Butterfly Symposium, Butterfly Gardening Workshop, Origami, Be a Scientist for a Day, Caterpillar Week, and School and College Programme. All events are free. For more info, visit: cecdelhi.org For registrations, send mail to: cecbnhsdelhi@bnhs.org