If you walk through the H Pocket Market in Sarita Vihar, you will find that the area is bustling with activity at any given hour. While trying to make sense of the chaos, you might locate a tiny entrance gate and a vibrant boundary wall with Delhi's monuments painted on them.
On the other side of this gate is a small park that stands out from the other rather-cheerless parks in the vicinity. Adorned with artworks created using upcycled plastic bottles and discarded rubber tyres, this park is a prime example of how to utilise spaces to promote environment conservation.
An initiative by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), this 'Eco Mitra Park' is developed by Jasola Vihar-based Aarambh Trust for Women and Children and was inaugurated on March 2
"The idea behind this park is to use the things that usually go wasted and recycle them to create something that can beautify our surroundings. We have used these tires that are usually burnt and bottles that go to waste and are non-biodegradable. This is thus giving out a message of environment protection," shared Cheena Goyal, founder and president, Aarambh Trust for Women and Children.
"Our objective with the park is also reflected in the name 'Eco Mitra', which is an eco-friendly park. We tried to collect whatever waste product we could find around us to create something worthwhile," added Vinu Sharma, a founding member of the Trust along with Ishpreet Sahni.
Promoting the 3Rs
Prior to its renovation, this was an under-maintained and underutilised space. Now, this 2,000 sqft park has made use of scrap that has used upcycled art by the students volunteering with the Aarambh Youth Wing. While recycled bottles create a boundary fence for medium-sized plants growing in the park, rubber tyres that are painted in blue have been used to craft eco-friendly flowerpots.
"We have been advocating limited use of plastic. So these tyres that you see are being used for something useful and aren't just being burnt away," explains Nishant Goyal, an Aarambh volunteer. Along with bottles and tyres, the team has also used oil and curd cartons and discarded pipes to create beautiful structures.
Themed around Delhi, the boundary of this park has various famous monuments of the city - Jantar Mantar, Qutub Minar, Lotus Temple, and more-painted. The railing also displays the message of 'I love Delhi' written on three rubber tyres. "The idea was to help make this place a beautiful selfie point so that people sensitised about the need to keep their surroundings clean," explains Cheena.
Along with giving out a message of sustainability, the process of making this park - it was completed within 15 days - a reality also involved giving students a platform through which they can devise solutions to take the idea of environment conservatorship forward.
"A few students came up with this idea to create a replica of a well using tires. We decided to implement it as is. This gives students a push that something they thought of has now been implemented," concludes Nishant.
The model of this eco-friendly park will soon be replicated in other areas of the city as well in order to draw attention towards the 3Rs, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.