YEAR 2018-2019

 A group of 35 enthusiastic and hard working volunteers from DCB Banglalore gathered at Butterfly Park and FRLHT for plantation on 20th December 2019. Employees planted 100 butterfly attracting nectar and host plant saplings to create a butterfly garden. The group was divided into two, led by Dr. Ganesh Babu and Mr. Madhusudan Sukla. They met at 9 am, thereafter a brief orientation of nature trail was conducted in the park, they also learn about medicinal herbs. The team Dee-weeded the pathways and dig around the plants to retain water. They made many bug hotels and trellis, these creations were interesting and something new for the employees. 

  The Chimbai Beach Marine Survey was conducted  at Chimbai Beach from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. by marine biologists Mr Abuthagir and Mr Satish. Around 30 species of marine organisms were sighted during the survey including terapon fish, Gafrarium divaricatum, Cantharus spiralis, Pistol shrimp, Murex shell etc The highlight of the survey was the sea snake (Enhydrina schistosa) .  

 On 13th December we organised a clean-up activity and jungle safari at Hyderabad's Mahavir Harina Vanasthali National Park. The clean up activity started at 11 am and with the help of 44 hard working volunteers from Goodera it was finished till 2 pm. De-weeding was done simultaneously with cleaning. The event was successful as the volunteers cleaned the complete park and collected 65 Kg of waste. Mahavir Haritha national park is Telangana's biggest national park. We can find deer and black bug here. After lunch volunteers were taken for Jungle Safari where they were overjoyed to see deer and black bug.  

 In collaboration with Goodera today total 49 Volunteers came Nizampet lake for the Clean-up and De-weeding activity. Volunteers did a very good job and collected around 65 kg waste.  

 We developed our fifth butterfly garden at the Government High School, Secunderabad, Telangana in collaboration with United Way Mumbai. Altogether 24 employees of FedEx planted 100 butterfly nectar and larval host plant saplings to create the butterfly garden. The programme was conducted by Mr. Gopal Bharti  

  We developed our fourth butterfly garden around the campus of CHIP House in collaboration with United Way Mumbai. Altogether 20 employees of FedEx planted 100 butterfly nectar and larval host plant saplings to create the butterfly garden. The programme was conducted by Mr. Arjan Basu. This was the most challenging site as the site identified for greening was illegal dumping site for rubble. The site was continuously cleaned as the locals regularly dumped the waste. The NGO CHIP is hopeful, by seeing butterflies, people will stop littering the space. The site is most unlikely to set up a butterfly garden, said our site partner- Arjan Basu and just later a tiny grass yellow butterfly came and laid her egg on newly planted butterfly garden. It was like a blessing to the garden and in way telling us that - sab thik ho jayega..hum hai to kya gum hai :-)  

 We created our third butterfly garden today at the Hope Foundation School in Bangalore in collaboration with United Way Mumbai. Altogether 30 employees of FedEx planted 100 nectar and larval host plants of the butterflies to create the butterfly garden in the school premises. The programme was conducted by Mr. Madhusudhan Shukla. It started with a introduction on butterfly, their importance and butterfly garden followed by ground preparation, sapling plantation and watering of plants. The programme ended with an awareness session on butterflies for the school students.  

 We embarked on establishment of school butterfly gardens in eight cities. First butterfly garden was established in Prajanabodhi School in Pune. 23 employees of Fedx helped in setting up this garden. This event was coordinated by United Way Mumbai. Next month we plan to set up remaining gardens in other cities.     

  23 employees of DCB Bank participated in the Plantation and Habitat Restoration at Aarey Workers Colony Butterfly Garden. The garden was created by Mr Vinay Atalye and Mr Sandeep Atalye.  The programme started around 9 am with a brief introduction from Ms Wilma and a Nature Trail lead by her. Employees were engaged in activities like de-wedding of a plot in the butterfly garden after which the planted butterfly attracting plants like bryophyllum, exora, oleander, Passion flower.  It was a great physical activity with a fresh breath of air away from the city buzz.   

 In collaboration with United Way Mumba,  93 employees of DBS Bank skipped their normal table job and turned Farmers for the Day. It was a part of their Employee Volunteering Programme conducted by Ladybird Environmental Consulting & United Way Mumbai at the Yusuf Mehrally Centre, Tara. They carried out activities like dewedding, mulching, making raised beds, planting vegetable saplings on the bed, planting tree saplings etc. We were overwhelmed that inspite of the rains the employees did not stop and kept working with all their mind, body and soul. . After the activities they had a brief session on How to Make Compost at Home ? by the authorities of YMC Centre . It was a nice Agro Day that brought everyone’s roots closer to soil understanding the hardwork that goes in our food and the importance of organic farming in today’s world  

 Our marine biologists Abuthagir and Satish were at the Chimbai Beach for their fortnightly surveys which they conduct for our project- Chimbai Beach Rejuvenation Project. The day was very productive as they came across nearly more than 30 species. The highlight of survey was False Pillow Coral which was first time sighted during our surveys in past 6 monthsThe tide was so good so it exposed many species. They conducted 4 hour survey using belt transect method.   

 Total 13 employees of DCB Bank volunteered in cleanup up of the front yard of the school name Agrasar Bachpan in Gurgoan. All the volunteers first visited the school and spent some time with the students. Thereafter they were given tools and the other required materials for the collection of the waste. The site was filled with trash all over and the volunteers did a very great job and collected around 50 kgs waste including plastics majorly followed by cardboards and the cloths materials.   

 Chimbai Beach Survey was conducted by Ladybird Environmental Consultancy on 15 October 2019 between 5.30 Pm to 7 Pm. More than 32 species were sighted in the survey. The dominant group were rock shells, Barnacles, Cerithrids Shells We also got to see Croaker Fish, well grown rock shell gastropod eggs, Catfish and 2 varieties of tiny eggs overlapping each other. To our dismay we found many dead clams. It may be due to low Dissolved Oxygen and BOD as the sight parallel to Chimbai Beach is heavily polluted. Yet the low tide side diversity is quite impressive.   

  Total 37 employees from DCB Bank in Jodhpur, Rajasthan participated in the Cleanup Drive at Kaylana Lake and Goreshwar Mahadev Temple. The programme started in the morning with a short introduction and the nature trail in the area in and around the lake to the Goreshwar Mahadev Temple conducted by Mr. Sharad Purohit who is a Hindi Literature professor but a nature enthusiast and expert in birding. In the nature trail, the participants learned about the different types of birds and watched their behaviors. Everybody enjoyed the nature trail. After the trail they all were engaged in the cleanup of the area in and around the temple and the lake and also learned the importance of doing the cleanup and its positive impacts on nature. The cleanup was carried out in groups as each group collected the segregated waste.   

 Chimbai beach survey was conducted by Ladybird Environmental Consultancy on 30 September 2019 between 6.15 am to 8.30 am. In the drizzling morning with sunrise the fisherfolks are busy with the net mendings and gleaners are busy with the shells collection and we are busy with surveys. The gleaner collected around 2kg of Gafrarium divaricatum for feeding his family The survey started with rescue of moray eel which trapped away from the tide pool .. Around 20 species spotted into our eyes.. We do spotted couple of wildlife act scheduled species in the beach Volegalea cochlidium (Linnaeus, 1758)(melongidae shell) today.... There is a construction going on the beach which creates sedimentation near to the small mangrove patch.   

 The event started with an introduction by Ms Wilma D' Cunha, Environmental Officer, Ladybird Environmental Consultancy followed by a Marine Walk by Ms Wilma and Ms Sonia who guided the group in exploring the beauty of the unseen marine world.. This was followed by the Beach Cleanup activity.. Heavy rains could not bend the enthusiasm of the volunteers.... And in just 2 hours the group of 22 collected around 130kgs of waste from the Rocky Beach !!! The waste was collected in a segregated manner after which it was handed over to municipal cleaning authorities... The event ended with volunteers engaging common public in a Perception Survey... Bringing us back to the first line of the post. are their great stories to help turn potential customers into loyal ones.  

 Survey by Abuthagir and his team in drizzling morning sighted around 25 species. Most of the sighted species were berried (egg bearing) such as Crabs , Pistol shrimps and Muricids gastropods eggs on the rocks with brilliant colourations were very attractive. Every Rock underneath carried a microecosystem with mix of Chitons, Amphipods, Barnacles, small crabs and many..with this we conclude Marine survey was just like the treasure hunt for our eyes ,get to know about and wonder about many microecosystems. Amongst the rains the fishermen were gleaning for rock oysters for food. Besides these species there was load of plastic trash which is the sorry state of our beaches  promote it here to get customers excited about getting a sweet deal.  

   It was a fantastic Saturday where we planted 30 butterfly attracting plants at Govt. School in Jeevan Bhima Nagar in Bangalore. The event was participated by 15 employees of Society Generale and 50 students.The eager and cheerful children and equally enthusiastic corporate volunteers made the Butterfly plantation event to remember. Trivias and stories of plants during the garden tour awed both children and adults alike. Then it was time to get the hands dirty. Planting butterfly attracting plants imparted practical knowledge of butterfly, its metamorphosis, behaviour, importance etc. Icing on the cake was the female mormon "inaugurating" the Butterfly garden. The event was conducted by Madhusudan Shukla our Bangalore Partner in collaboration with Magic Bus.   

 On 13 September 2019 total 54 volunteers from Wells Fargo came for the volunteering programme at the Nizampet Lake Hyderabad. Program started at 9 am wit a small introduction. Volunteers were divided into two groups. They started with De-Weeding activity at the lake.    

 As part of our Chimbai Beach Rejuvenation Project in Bandra, yesterday we conducted a beach perception survey for visitors at Joggers Park. The aim was to capture views of the urban people towards the beach and match it against our previous perception surveys that we conducted for local fishing communities. And if the status of the beach improves, will they use it for their regular walks then.The survey was conducted by 47 college students in collaboration with United Way Mumbai. 132 local citizens were interviewed. The major poblems faced are lack of awareness among the citizens towards the cleanliness of the beach. Citizens also suggested that there should be strict laws imposed on all illegal activities that takes place on the beach. Some of them had not yet heard the name of the beach too and some aren't aware of the rejuvenation activities that are taking place on the beach. We are hopeful after our marine awareness programmes which we plan to start next months, things might be different in coming years.  

Customers have questions, you have answers. Display the most frequently asked questions, so everybody benefits.

 Total  10 employees volunteers from DBC came  for the plantation and de-weeding activity. The programme had start at 9 am and ended by 12 pm. after a brief introduction  program started, a nature trail around the Butterfly park. The volunteers learnt about  plants, and butterfly species. They removed all the invasive species. They enjoyed the event an had smile on their face 

 On 29 June we conducted most challenging corporate volunteering programme in Bannerghatta National Park. The challenge was to provide meaningful engagement for 200 employees of Toyota. Goodera approached us for this challenge. We have no idea how they thought we could deliver this. We however took this plunge alongwith our Bangalore partner Madhusudhan Shukla. We designed 7 activities based on the requirement of Forest Dept.  

 On 22 June 2019 we conducted a marine survey for the corporate employees in collaboration with United Way Mumbai for 41 employees. This survey was conducted on Chimbai Beach Bandra. The survey started early in the morning by 7:30 a.m. where the emoloyees were divided into two groups where they conducted two different surveys - Microplastic Survey and Crab Hole Count, Crab Count.  

 On 14 June 2019 total 31 volunteers from Tata communication came for the volunteering programme at Nizampet lake. The program started at 8 am with a lake tour. They were told about different plants and its importance. The volunteers were divided into four teams. They started with cleaning-up the lake they collected total 30 trash bag wastes. They worked really hard. They collected a lot of garbage and made sure the lake once again look beautiful. 

 A clean up drive was conducted by in collaboration with iNaturewatch Foundation and organized by Goodera for TATA Communication employees in Delhi. Total  29 volunteers of were a part of it. The clean up started with a nature trail and a sensitization session. Inspite of the high temperature of 46 degrees, the volunteers were enthusiastic and collected around 10-12 kgs of trash.  The volunteers were surprised with the less amount of waste in the sanctuary which shows that people have become waste conscious. 

 The World Environment Day celebrations continued as we built a check dam along the dry stream in Kharghar Valley. A group of 15 employees of DCB Bank volunteered in building this checkdam which will ensure the water remains there for longer once the monsoon arrives. They also carried out a clean up drive and tagged the trees planted by local residents. Inspite of the scorching heat, the team managed to pull through this difficult yet laborious task 

 On the occasion of World Environment Day on 4th June 2019 total 27 volunteers from Wells Fargo came for the event at Nizampet lake. The event started at 4pm, this was a two hours event. First all the volunteers made 350 fountain grass sapling bags after that they helped in seed ball making. Community people also came for the plantation total 30 plants planted by the community people.  

 On 29 May 2019. Our local coordinator Mr. Ishtiyak Ahamed conducted this session for a group of 42 employees. The participants are got an idea to adopt green lifestyles and growing one's own food is one of such city lifestyles. In a short span of an hour, Mr. Ishtiyak managed to give an overview about kitchen gardening through a introductory talk. Then hands-on session were conducted where the participants made pots of vegetable plants. They also prepared planters for fenugreek sprouts. The event was ended with a demonstration on composting kitchen waste 

On 27th May 20 participants from CRISIL Ltd. from Pune had participated. The workshop began with a short introduction on kitchen gardening the benefits, what to do and how. The next session started with the explanation of the type of soils and than how to go about in starting a kitchen garden using pots, how and where to place the pots, how to take care of them. Then after the demonstration they did the potting themselves and afterwards each person madea half liter bottles plant hangers with fenugreek seedlings. All were excited and happy at the end of the workshop.

 On 17th May, 25 employees of DCB bank in collaboration with iNaturewatch Foundation and with the help of the Lokhandwala locals conducted a cleanup of the Lokhandwala lake. It was a full day event where in the scorching heat everybody did their bit buy helping in cleaning the lake. Overall about 264 kg of waste was collected out of which 210 kg was plastic and paper and 44 kg was glass waste.  

  Total 40 employees of CRISIL Foundation in Mumbai had participated in the workshop on 15th May2019. They learnt that "Feed the soil" is like a mantra for organic gardener and the method to prepare the organic compost from the kitchen waste. They also learned and enjoyed the hands on activity on pot sapling plantation and making planters using pet bottles.  

 Total 27 corporate volunteers and 5 volunteers conducted a perception survey for the fishermen of Chimbai village. This was in collaboration with United Way Mumbai. These fishermen are as important as our farmers and its important to get them involved in reviving Chimbai beach...!!! The volunteers had a good time despite the heat they interacted with the fisherfolk and got their views and opinions.  

   A Kitchen Gardening workshop was conducted for CRISIL, Airoli. A group of 25 enthusiastic employees took part in it. The workshop enabled the employees to learn about composting, how to pot a plant and make planters. Overall the employees enjoyed the sessions. It was an interactive workshop and it was good to see the employees interested in this eco-friendly practice.  Growing your own greens is a very healthy practice and to be able to to it with minimal efforts is a boon. In a buzzing city like Mumbai,where time is money, the employees had a great time taking part in the activities and being a step closer to nature.  . 

  Today we conducted a Kitchen Garden workshop for the employees of  Morgan Stanley for about 50 participants. The workshop started with a brief to kitchen gardening by Mr. Isaac Kehimkar which was then followed by the demonstration and hands on activity by Ms. Wilma DCunha. They were shown the demonstration on composting using the kitchen waste and had a hands on activity on pot sapling plantation and planter making  

 Today we conducted a Kitchen Garden workshop for the employees of  Morgan Stanley for about 50 participants. The workshop started with a brief to kitchen gardening by Mr. Isaac Kehimkar which was then followed by the demonstration and hands on activity by Ms. Wilma DCunha. They were shown the demonstration on composting using the kitchen waste and had a hands on activity on pot sapling plantation and planter making.  

 Twenty six  volunteers from DCB Bank participated in the Nizampet lake for plantation, lake clean-up and Tree tagging . The activity started at sharp 9:30 in the morning with brief intoduction about the lake and its importance. This was full day programme. Employees participated with full enthusiasm.They removed all plastics materials from the area, and lastly planted 30 trees including Singapur cherry, Neem and Pongam. With today's activity no.of trees have been increased in the lake area.   

 On 25 January 2019, 32 volunteers from Wells Fargo India Solution Pvt. Ltd. participated in the habitat restoration works in Nizampet Lake, Hyderabad. The programme started with a small tour exploring the flora and the fauna in and around the lake. After the tour the participants were divided into groups where they helped in the cleaning of the lake, de-weeding of invasive plants and tied strings to support the climbers to climb up the fence.  

 On 25 January 2019, we conducted a Clean -up Drive in Mangroves at Bhandup Pumping Station. 14 Employees of DCB Bank had participated in the Cleanup. We started the day with clean-up up followed by the  trail exploring the mangrove flora and the fauna were we saw many wetland birds and the highlight was the flamingoes. In total, we collected 233 kgs of waste of which 120 kgs was glass bottles, 42 kgs of plastics, 36 kgs of thermacol and 35 kgs of paper and cloths. In total, we collected about 155 kgs of recyclable waste and 78 kgs of non-recyclable waste.   

On 22 January 2019, 39 volunteers from DCB bank enthusiastically participated in the Employee Engagement Programme. It was a full day programme the programme which started with a nature trail exploring the flora and fauna of the Nizampet Lake. The nature trail was then followed by the plantation and activities. They planted around 50  different trees around the lake to increase the green cover of the lake. They also planted 200 plant cuttings of Wedelia. And lastly, they tagged 100 trees. 

 On 19 January 2019, 27 employees of DCB Bank had participated in the in creating a pollinators garden in Cheshire Home, Andheri. We started the programme at 9 in the morning with a farm tour by Mr. Julis Rego. Further, the group was divided into two where they carried out different activities like ground preparation, plantation, preparing trellis, transplantation of saplings and prepared bird homes for sparrows. 

 On 11 January 2019, 86 employees of DCB Bank volunteered on whole range of works that helped YMC enormously. Some worked in the Butterfly Habitat where they counted surviving plants, added mulch, prepared temporary name tags, collected seeds and bagged them and made a pond. Other teams worked in the community farms where elevated plant beds were made out of dried weeds, harvested turmeric fields, de-weeded, mulched plant beds, prepared new sapling bags and more. Other teams worked on painting gates and walls, recycling plastic and glass bottles by decorating them to be used for gardening and boundary making. 

 On this day  24 employees from Wells Fargo India Solutins Pvt.Ltd. had volunteered to help in the maintenance of the Nizampet Lake, Hyderabad. They carried out activities like  deweeding and removing the invasive species and soil loosening. This enhanced the beauty of the lake as well as it will contribute to the better growth of the plants. as mulching is very important for the plants.

 Yesterday 25 volunteers from Wells Fargo India Solution participated in the Nizampet Lake clean up and plantation activity. The activity started at sharp 9:30 in the morning with brief intoduction about the lake and its importance. Volunteers participated with full enthusiasm. They removed all stones and plastics meterial from the area, did deweeding and lastly planted trees. With yesterday's activity no.of trees have been increased in the lake area.

 Today Deepotsavam event was organised a Nizampet Lake. The event started with deweeding and lake cleanup activity, which was done by Wells Fargo Indioa Solutions volunteers. After that cultural event was held in which alongwith community people,a local government school students also participated. Colourful rangolis and diyas made the lake area beautiful. Children enjoyed a lot, they were given gifts. Its a first time that such event was organised in the Nizampet lake area.

 We did something different this weekend. We shared our journey with those who aspire to take similar path.  The workshop was designed to build a better understanding of CSR and clarity on the focus areas that are supported under CSR. Through the sessions, participants learnt the technique of developing CSR projects and sourcing the funds. 

Kitchen Gardening Workshop was held on 26 October 2018 in the office premises of Wells Fargo in Bangalore. More than 30 employees of Wells Fargo had participated in the workshop. The workshop  with a short introduction followed by the presentation. They were also shown a demonstration on compost making from ones own kitchen waste. They were also involved in hand-on activities like pot sapling plantation and making the of the planters from the waste recycled pet bottles. 

 We developed another butterfly habitat at Divya Vidyalay, Jawhar l in collaboration with DCB Bank. About 56 employees of DCB Bank had participated and helped the plantation works.  We planted about 3000 butterfly attracting plants of about 25 different species. It was a full day plantation programme. The participants were divided in to groups and were working of the field in plots. 

The week ended with 155 volunteers planting 1500 saplings in a 5-day span. It was indeed a tough task for the volunteers who helped in mixing manure with soil, wetting the plant beds for which they carried water long distances in buckets, carried saplings from storage point to their plant beds, planted required number of plants, again watered them, cleared the site of all trash and returned all their tools back to the base. While doing all this under harsh sun with no shade and no area to sit and relax. Kudos to the employees of Wells Fargo India who took up this task and fulfilled it with a smile. 

Taloja Lake is a perennial water body situated at the foothills of Kharghar hills. It is a catchment area for the runoff water with large number of water birds. From past few years the lake is suffering abuse in terms of big vehicles being washed at the shore of the lake.The local residents have approached us for restoration of the lake.Today we installed two floating wetlands in collaboration with Tata Consulting Engineers Limited as a first step towards protecting the lake. About 15 employees had participated. 

We developed another butterfly habitat at Yusuf Meherally Centre, Tara, Panvel in collaboration with DCB Bank. About 30 employees of DCB Bank had participated and helped the plantation works. We planted about 1000 butterfly attracting plants of about 20 different species. The garden would be used by the school students for education purpose.  

Forest clean-up drive was organised at the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary on 15 September 2018 in collaboration with CRISIL Foundation as part of employee engagement programme with CEC-Delhi. 17 employees had participated in the clean-up drive. The programme started with a trail exploring the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary  then followed by the clean-up drive.

 On the occasion of the Van Mahotsav Week we conducted tree plantation drive in collaboration with DCB Bank in Sliding Stone Tree Park, Bangalore. About 37 employees had participated in the programme where nature trail was conducted by Mr. Rachit Singh. They got to learn many fascinating things about nature and spotted around 4 moths , 17 butterflies, 10 insects and spiders and 7 birds. After the trail, they planted 60 trees of peacock flower of about 2- 3 feet in height and geo-tagged the trees using the mobile app. 

A workshop on recycling plastic bottles was conducted for the employees of CRISIL Foundation on 28 June 2018. During the workshop 30 participants learned to convert the waste pet bottles into different types of planters. They made 70 planters by recycling 35 waste pet bottles. They planted different plant saplings like Aloe vera, bryophyllum, mint in the planters. 

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On 23 June 2018, 28 volunteers form CRISIL helped in the conservation works of Baner Hill in Pune. It was a half day programme wherein the volunteers carried out contour trench digging for conserving the hills. The programme started in the morning at 9 a.m. The volunteers trekked uphill and carried out trench digging activity on the slopes. 

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 On 19 June 2018 we conducted a full day Lake Clean-up drive in Gurgaon for the employees of DCB Bank at the Damdama Lake. 30 employees participated in the lake clean-up activity wherein the participants collected the non-biodegradable waste like plastic bags etc from the edges of the lake and the surrounding area. 

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Habitat Restoration works was conducted by the employees of Wells Fargo in Sliding Stone Tree Park, Bangalore. All together 62 volunteers had participated. The volunteers would come at the park by nine in the morning and would start the restoration works. They conducted activities like de-weeding and removing of the invasive species from the habitat.

 Twenty seven employees  learned unique way of recycling plastic bottles by converting them in to bird homes. The workshop started with the presentation on bird architecture and then a brief talk. This was followed by a demonstration on preparing the bird nests using recycled oil cans and pet bottles. Each employee prepared one bird nest and then painted them.  See photos here 

A Bird Nest Making Workshop was conducted for 21 employees of CRISIL Foundation in Chennai on 25 May 2018. The programme started with a presentation on Bird Architecture followed by a brief talk on how to locate a suitable place to put up the nest, how we can attract birds to come and visit the place, how a simple seed dispenser can be made, what seeds to keep which the bird-like. After this, the employees were given a demonstration on preparing the bird nests using recycled oil cans and pet bottles. Each employee prepared one bird nest and got them camouflaging painted.

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We conducted our third Kitchen Gardening Workshop for the month of May on 18 May 2018 for the employees of CRISIL Foundation in Pune. About 16 employees had participated in the workshop. The workshop began with a presentation explaining various aspects related to gardening. This was  followed by the demonstration of compost making using kitchen waste. They also learned and carried out hands-on activity on sapling plantation and preparing planters from recycled pet bottles. At the end of the workshop, we conducted a small quiz. 

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 We conducted a Kitchen Gardening Workshop for 15 employees of CRISIL in Ahmedabad on 18 May 2018. During the workshop participants learned about how to set up a kitchen garden and grow herbs and other vegetable at home. They had a hands on session on planting sapling in pots. They learned how to recycle the plastic bottles and unused tins and can and convert them into planters. The workshop also covered a demonstration on converting kitchen waste to compost. The workshop ended with a quiz session wherein the winning team received seed packets to start their own kitchen garden. 

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 A Kitchen Gardening Workshop was conducted for 35 employees of CRISIL in Gurgaon on 17 May 2018. The workshop started with a presentation on Kitchen Gardening followed by a demonstration and hand on activity on how to plant a sapling in a pot. It also covered a demonstration on converting kitchen waste to compost. Participants also learned to make planter by recycling a pet bottles. The workshop ended with a quiz session wherein the winning team received seed packets to start their own kitchen garden. 

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 Twenty one employees of Galaxy Surfacants Ltd in Turbhe learnt to create glass gardens for their offices. Each took time and effort in landscaping their Terrarium. Overall a good stress busting activity for the participants who left with happy faces with a glass bowl filled with their joys.  See photos here 

The Field Guide to Indian Moths by Dr. V.Shubhalaxmi was released at behest of Dr. Asad Rahmani. An august gathering of 50 nature enthusiasts attended this event which began with felicitation of Chief Guest Dr. Asad Rahmani and Guest of Honour Mrs. Kalpana Reddy. Welcome address by Mr. Isaac Kehimkar, who emphasized the importance of the book followed by presentation of Dr. Shubha where she shared anecdotes and the her journey of book making.  The book was then released by the Chief Guest. The event ended with vote of thanks by Priti Choghale. The master of ceremony was Ms. Meenakshi Paul.

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As the theme for this years World Earth Day was ''END OF PLASTICS'' we conducted a clean-up drive in Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Borivali on 21 April 2018. The clean-up drive was participated by 20 employees of DCB Bank. The drive started with Avenue Tree Trail along the pathways of the forests using e-forestrail mobile app. On reaching upon the clean-up site the employees were divided into groups and were given gloves and garbage bags for collecting the wastes. We collected 24 bags of garbage wastes that included plastics, bottles, rugs etc. 

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We conducted our fifth programme on the occasion of the World Earth Day in Pune on 20 April 2018. The programme was conducted for the employees of CRISIL Foundation. The workshop started with the presentation and then a brief talk on how to locate a suitable place to put up the nest, how we can attract birds to come and visit the place, how a simple seed dispenser can be made, what seeds to keep which the bird-like. After this, the employees were given a demonstration on preparing the bird nests using recycled oil cans and pet bottles. Each employee prepared at least one bird nest and got them camouflaging painted 

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On the occasion of the World Earth Day, we conducted our fourth programme for the employees of CRISIL Foundation in Powai, Mumbai on 20 April 2018. About 55 employees had participated in the workshop. The workshop began with the presentation delivered by Mr. Isaac Kehimkar where the employees learned the different strategies of the making of the bird's nest. The employees then prepared bird's nest using re-cycled oil cans and the pet bottles. Each of the employees prepared at least one nest and got them painted beautifully. This would be then taken home by the employees and be installed in their localities. 

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This was our third programme for the day on 19 April 2017. This programme was in collaboration with the employees of DCB Bank in Ahmedabad. The programme started very early in the morning by 7 a.m.This was a clean-up drive of one of the river site in Ahmedabad. About 25 employees of DCB Bank  had participated in the drive. The employees were provided with masks, gloves and big garbage bags to collect the plastic wastes. They all collected 10 bags of garbage from in and around the river site.

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 On 19 April 2018 we conducted our second workshop in Gurgaon for the employees of CRISIL Foundation. The workshop was on Bird Architecture. 25 employees of CRISIL Foundation had participated in the workshop. The employees learned various different types of birds, their habitat and their style of making nests through the presentation. This was then followed by the demonstration of making the birds nest. All the employees prepared bird nest from the recycled oil cans and pet bottles. This nests would then be installed in their local residents. 

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 This World Earth Day we conducted our first workshop on 19 April 2018 on Kitchen Gardening for the employees of CRISIL Foundation in Chennai. About 45 employees had participated in the workshop. The workshop began with a presentation explaining various aspects related to gardening. This was then followed by the demonstration of compost making using kitchen waste. They also learned and carried out hands-on activity on sapling plantation and preparing panters from recycled pet bottles.At the end of the workshop, we conducted a small quiz. 

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This was our third programme for  the day where about 55 students and 25 volunteers of Tata Communication. The workshop started with the introduction of different types of bird nest followed by the demonstration on making the bird nest box and nesting material box. 

Further the students and the volunteers were divided into 12 teams where they prepared bird nest boxes from the oil cans and the big pet bottles. They also prepared nesting material box for the birds. Later they painted nest boxes. These nest boxes and the material box would be installed in their school premises. 

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 We conducted a review visit to the butterfly habitat at Shri Jayeshwar Vidyamandir, Jawhar on 27 March 2018. It was a pleasure to see the plants in bloom which was once a dry and barren land and now the place is full of myriad colours of flowers and butterflies. While interacting with the school principal and teachers we got to know that the butterfly habitat has not only attracted butterflies but has also helped in improving the soil quality. Apart from the butterflies, the habitat has also attracted birds, insects, amphibians and reptiles. It has also helped in improving the student's attendance. 

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This was our first programme conducted on 17 March,2018 in  Bangalore which was in collaboration with DCB Bank.It was a full day programme which started at 9 a.m. in the morning with a introduction followed by the clean up of the Talaghattapura Lake. About 17 employees had volunterred in the programme and helped in cleaning of the lake  and the lake premises. We thank Mr. Madhusudhan Shukla and team for helping us in conducting the programme.

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On 16 March, we conducted a stream clean-up programme at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Borivali  in collaboration with the employees of DCB bank. The programme started with a brief introduction to the World Water Day and the Sanjay Gandhi National Park followed by the clean-up activity.31 employees attended the programme and helped in cleaning the dried stream by collecting the non-biodegradable waste like plastic bags, bottles, glass, thermacol etc from the stream. 

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This was our second employee engagement  programme that we had conducted for the employees of DCB Bank at Kharghar Valley. About 20 participants had helped in building the bund. The programme started in the moring at 9 .m. with an introduction followed by group formation and carring out bund building. Everyone participated enthusiastically. The also helped in preparing the tree tags and getting them installed on the respective trees. 

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On 16 March, 25 volunteers form DCB Bank helped in the conservation works of Baner Hill in Pune. It was a full day programme wherein the volunteers carried out different activities for conserving the hills. The programme started in the morning at 9 a.m. The volunteers trekked uphill and carried out activities like watering the plants, doing mulching and later digging the trenches on the slopes. 

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On 20 January 2018 we conducted a full day Lake Clean-up drive in Kolkata for the employees of DCB Bank at the Dhakuria lake. Thirteen employees participated in the lake clean-up activity wherein the participants collected the non-biodegradable waste like plastic bags etc from the edges of the lake and from the water. The employees were provided various types of tools for the same. After the clean up they were taken on a nature trail to learn about the local flora and fauna. 

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A full day Employee Engagement Programme for habitat restoration work at Sundarvan, Ahmedabad was conducted on 20 January 2018 for the employees of DCB Bank. The programme started with a nature trail wherein the participants explored the wilderness and learned about the local flora and fauna. After the trail, the participants were divided into groups and were given tools to carry out the clean-up activity of the nature trails. Along with the clean-up they also carried out the de-weeding activity. 

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A bird architecture workshop was conducted for 30 employees of Standard Chartered Bank. The programme started with a nature trail conducted by Mr. Isaac Kehimkar and Mrs. Sarita, wherein the employees learned about the local flora and fauna. Post trail, the participants prepared bird nests and bird nest material boxes from recycled PET bottles. 

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A kitchen gardening workshop was conducted for the employees of CRISIL Foundation at their office premises in Gurgaon. It was held in collaboration with Bombay Natural History Society and was attended by 56  employees. The workshop started with a presentation explaining the basics, followed by a demonstration on compost making from one's own kitchen waste. The employees got a hands on experience learning the techniques of planting a sapling in the pot and to prepare planters using recycled PET bottles.

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A Habitat Restoration Programme was conducted at Urban Haat for the employees of CRISIL Foundation. The programme witnessed a huge participation from 75 employees. After a brief introduction, the participants were divided into two groups. The first group started with a nature trail, exploring the flora and fauna of Urban Haat whereas the other group carried out activities like deweeding, preparing plant clippings and planting them. About 100 trees were tagged. They planted about 108 plant clippings of Jamaican Spike and 50 of Bryophyllum.

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A Bird Architecture Workshop was conducted for Standard Chartered Bank at Maharashtra Nature Park. It was attended by 30 participants. The Introduction session was followed by a nature trail conducted by Mr. Isaac Kehimkar and Mrs. Sarita. The nature trail gave an insight about various types of flora and fauna found in the park. The participants were then divided into groups where they prepared bird nest and bird nest material box from the recycled PET bottles.

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A Habitat Restoration programme was conducted in collaboration with Vasundhara Foundation for 35 employees of CRISIL Foundation. The programme began with a nature trail exploring some parts of Baner hills. This was followed by the activities like deweeding, removal of invasive species, mulching etc.

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A kitchen gardening workshop was conducted for 38 employees of Wells Fargo in Bangalore and Hyderabad. The programme started with a presentation on the basics of kitchen gardening, followed by a demonstration on compost making using one's own kitchen waste and planting a sapling in a pot. The employees carried out hands on activities like pot sapling and making planters use PET bottles. We thank Mr. Naresh Karikanti and Rama Rani for conducting the workshop.

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A half day programme was conducted for a group of more than 40 students of Vivekanand Bal Trust orphanage. This was sponsored by Parksons Packaging Company and was executed on behalf of local NGO- Catalysts for Social Action. There were all together 60 participants including corporate employees and students. The programme started with a Nature trail amidst heavy downpour. This was followed by activities such as deweeding on nature trails and butterfly gardens. The programme concluded by each one planting one butterfly attracting plant at the site.

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On 5 August 2017 in collaboration with nature mates we had conducted a habitat restoration programme for DCB Bank, Bhopal.18 employees had participated in the restoration works. The programme started with an introduction and then the participants were involved in carrying out activities like de-weeding, removing the invasive species and plantation.

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 Around 30 employees of DCB Bank volunteered in the restoration of the Butterfly Gardens at Urban Haat, CBD Belapur. The programme started by 9:30 a.m. with a short introduction followed by the activities like de-weeding, removing of the invasive species grown from both the gardens. They also prepared around 80 plant clippings of Jamaican Spike which were then planted in one of the butterfly garden. 52 new saplings bags were also been prepared by recycling milk bags were submitted to Urban Haat, CIDCO. 

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Habitat restoration is an important and growing element of efforts to preserve our natural heritage and to protect and restore environment. On 15 July, 2017 CRISIL Foundation in collaboration with Ladybird Environmental Consulting conducted habitat restoration works in Alipore Forest, Kolkata. Alipore forest is a small patch of wilderness and home to several local birds and butterflies. Altogether 17 employees had participated in programme. The programme stated by 9 a.m with a nature walk where they spotted 20 – 22 different spices of birds and butterflies. After the walk the employees were divided into groups where they took up the activity of cleaning the nature trail. The waste collected was then disposed in the nearby public bins.

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Trees are very important to us in many ways. We cannot think of our existence without trees. On 15 July, 2017 the employees of DCB Bank in collaboration with Ladybird Environmental Consulting conducted a tree plantation drive along with the clean-up of the trail in Aranya Udyaan in Gandhinagar which is the part of GEER Foundation. There were altogether 17 employees of DCB Bank. The programme started by 9:30 a.m. where the employees were divided into two groups. One of the groups performed the activity of de-weeding and the other group was involved in cleaning the nature trail. After the clean-up activity the employees also planted different species of trees. They planted around 50 different saplings.

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Members of DCB Bank gathered at Lion Safari Park, Rabindra Sarobar on 21 July, 2017 at 9 am to participate in a Nature Trail Clean Up and Sapling Plantation activity. The volunteers

were taken on a Nature Walk where they were familiarized with the role Rabindra Sarobar plays in the midst of a concrete jungle and introduced to the various birds, butterflies and trees around them. They also cleaned the trail along which they walked. and together planted 50 saplings of Ixora chinensis (Rangan), Lantana Camara (Putush) and Murraya koenigii (Curry), plants which are considered important for butterflies both as a nectar source as well as larval host plants.

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We conducted Butterfly Awareness Programme at Sliding Stone Tree Park, Bangalore where the students learned about the butterflies and the bees which are not only good pollinators but an important part of the food chain of tropical forests. Some species of butterflies are also indicators of good health of the eco-system. The programme was attended by 50 students from Vidya Mandir High School. We thank Mr. Jaishankar for conducting this programme. 

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We conducted Kitchen Gardening Workshop for the employees of Wells Fargo in Bangalore and Hyderabad The session started with a short presentation which was continued by the demonstration on compost making using your own kitchen waste. Employees participated in planting a sapling, making a planter by reusing the plastic bottles. The programme ended with a short quiz session. 

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We conducted Kitchen Gardening Workshop for the employees of Wells Fargo in Bangalore and Hyderabad The session started with a short presentation which was continued by the demonstration on compost making using your own kitchen waste. Employees participated in planting a sapling, making a planter by reusing the plastic bottles. The programme ended with a short quiz session. 

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On 25 June, 2017 we had a Butterfly Awareness Programme which was participated by the 50 students from Ajantha Cultural Society. The expert Mr. Jaishankar took the students on a butterfly tour in the butterfly habitat where they learnt about the plants used by the butterflies and caterpillars and as a souvenir all the students were given Butterfly Sticker Sheets. 

We conducted second workshop for employees of Tata Communication Ltd. at their Fort office. It was first time that we put together a Kitchen Gardening Starter's Kit to reward best participants. 25 participants who joined the workshop prepared seedling planters and potted Brinjal plants. Many were trying their hand at gardening for first time. It was first for most of them to see the earthworms in the vermiculture. 

28 employees of Edelweiss Broking Ltd. helped in cleaning the edges of Seekana Lake in Chennai. The programme began with a Lake Safari where they learnt about the lake and the different types of migratory birds visiting the lake. Thereafter the group collected trash along the lake edges. There are several lakes in Chennai that are in need of restoration. We were happy to do our bit today. We are thankful to our partners from Environment Foundation of India. 

We had a Lake Clean-Up drive in Pashan Lake -Pune which was volunteered by the employees of CRISIL Foundation. The programme started by 9 a.m. with birdwatching along the trails of the lake where they spotted more than 15 different species of birds, inscets and fishes. They also learnt the importance of the lake and the migratory birds visiting this lake. After the trail the employees helped in the cleaning the nature trail and the lake premises. The garbage collected was the disposed in the bins nearby. 

Ladybird along with 65 nature enthusiastic form CRISIL Foundation took the initiative in developing the nature trail in Urban Haat. The progrmme started with exploring the monsoon floral and faunal diversity of the place. The participants were then divided were they developed  pathway of the nature trail by installing stones along with 400 cuttings of Wedelia plant, painted the pathway stones, prepared 100 tree tags for the butterfly garden and other trees around the trail and also help the reviewing the plants of the butterfly garden.

On the occasion of World Environment Day we conducted Kitchen Gardening Workshop for the employees of Tata Communication. All the employees participated enthusiastically and enjoyed the hand's on activity of doing plantation, making composting and preparing planters from the recycled pet bottles. They learnt how even a small change can help the nature which directly or indirectly helps us as we humans are not only connected with the nature but are also depends on the nature. 

Our buttterfly habitat at Sliding Stone Tree Park in Bangalore is flourishing with colourful flowers and plants and has now become a mini forest conserving the local butterflies, bees and birds. Today on this habitat we had a butterfly awareness programme for the 50 school students. The programme was conducted by our resources persons Mr.Nagaraj Shastri and Mr.Sanjeev Kumar who took the students on a Butterfly Tour and the Nature Trail around the park and concluded the programme with a short quiz session.The students were given Butterfly Sticker Sheets as souvenirs. 

World Environment Day was celebrated in collaboration with DCB Bank across three different location- Bangalore, Chennai and Pune. Overall 101 volunteers participated in the programme. As the theme suggested for this day was Connecting People with Nature we carried out many different activities where the participants were engaged in learning and serving nature by engaging in various activities like birdwatching, nature tail, butterfly tour, lake safari, nature trail clean up, making seedling bag, making sapling bags, de-weeding and removing the invasive species.

The workshop started with a presentation by Dr. V. Shubalaxmi that explained various aspects of gardening not only in large places but also the smallest places available such as balcony and window gril. Employees were also highlighted about the wildlife that would be visiting the kitchen garden once it is established but not to forget and be careful about the pests. Demonstration was given by Ms. Wilma D’Cunha on making of the compost out of the waste remains from the kitchen. Employees carried out seedling planting & were provided with a sapling, pot, garden tools, soil, manure and mulch.The programme concluded with a quiz competition.

On 22 April, 2017 we carried out plantation programme in the Butterfly Garden at Urban Haat, CBD Belapur. The plantation was done by the employees of DBS Bank in collaboration with United Way of Mumbai. In total 72 saplings were been planted of Jamaican spike, Blood flower and Shoe flower. After plantation we had a tour in the garden by Dr. V. Shubhalaxmi who explained about the plants and the butterflies of the garden. Later everyone was taken on a nature trail in the woods were we explored the mini forest of Urban Haat. 

30 special students from Vikas Special School visited our Butterfly Habitat at Sliding Stone Tree Park. The students, parents, teachers and employees of Wells Fargo enjoyed the colourful trail since most of the butterfly plants were in full bloom and that it was teaming with 18 species of butterflies. The students were given butterfly stickers as soviniers.Thanks to our experts Nagraj Shashtri and Hemanth who conducted the programme. 

World Wetlands Day was celebrated in collaboration with United Way Mumbai for employees of DBS Bank at Rajiv Gandhi Joggers Park of Vashi Mini Seashore. 45 enthusiasts started with a nature trail wherein Dr.V.Shubhalaxmi  explored the flora and fauna of Vashi Mini Seashore and also documented the trees in the mobile app iTrees. Everyone then was divided into groups wherein they did different activities like developing 60 tree tags made out of waste and installed them, collected 7 bag of thrash from the trail route and planted 300 plant clippings.

We had our sixth Butterfly Awareness Programme weher the students learned about the marvelous species which are not only good pollinators and an important part of the food chain of tropical forests in the area but some species of butterflies are also indicators of the health of the eco-system. The programme was attended by 50 students from Parikrma Center for Learning. We thank Mr. Jaishankar and Mr. Arun for conducting this programme. 

Today we conducted Programme for 47 employees of CRISIL Foundation at the SGNP, Borivali. Every year we carry such activity wherein we collect fallen seeds during winter/summer and make seed bags that sprout next monsoon. The employees were also taken on a nature trail in Shilonda. They learnt about different trees and their seeds and collected them. The group then returned to Nature Information Centre wherein they developed 94 seed bags by transplanting the collected seeds. These bags were then given for NIC to take care and use the saplings for tree plantation programmes. 

Today 23 employees of CRISIL joined us at MNP to carryout the habitat restoration work at the Butterfly habitat. They did de-weeding activity and planted 75 cuttings of Lantana and Jamaican blue spike plants. 

 This is the second site at Urban Haat which was developed in collaboration with Mahindra Sustain Pvt Ltd. It has been just over a month that we created this butterfly garden. This was our first attempt of carrying out the plantation in heavy rains. However it is good to see that most of the plants have survived the onslaught of heavy rains and have also started flowering. 

 We celebrated Earthday through seed collection and sapling bag making drive inside Sanjay Gandhi National Park - SGNP with 31 alumni from U.S. Consulate General Mumbai. The theme of the Earth Day was 'Trees for Planet'. This being not a good season for planting trees we therefore planned a seed collection drive from the forest floor such as Ain and Silkcotton seeds and prepared sapling bags with the seeds inside them. 

 We had our fourth app – eForestrails launched at Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), Borivli. The app was launched by chief guest, Dr. Mohan Jha, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) of Mumbai region. The event was also graced by Shri. Vikas Gupta, Chief Conservator of Forest, SGNP; forest department members and group of nature enthusiasts. eForestrails is a product of Ladybird Environmental Consulting LLP is a series of nature based Mobile apps developed to promote cellphone nature tours widely across the wilderness of the India.  

On 16th April morning we conducted employee engagement programme for CRISIL employees with YUVA group in Bodhi Garden, Kharghar. We took them on nature trail of the garden wherein Dr. Shubhalaxmi engaged them with interesting facts about exotic and native trees. The group got to learn about the fine balance of nature and wildlife around us. Then was the fun time identifying different trees in the garden using our mobile app iTrees. We then engaged them in mulching and trail clean up activities followed by composting of the collected leaf litter. The fun day ended with lot of enthusiasm, chit-chat and snacks at the YUVA centre. 

 We conducted a Nature trail for 46 employees of Indus Ind Bank at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park on 19 March 2016 and a Tree walk for 50 employees of Chennai branch at Kotturpuram Tree Park, Chennai. 

Ladybird Environmental Consulting celebrated No TV Day in collaboration with Junior Writers Bug. A mix group of 15 participants turned up on a chily morning at Urban Haat. The programme included a birdwatching nature trail, followed by an individual activity on Beaks & Feets and a Kaun Banega Ornithologist quiz. The group sighted various city bird species such as Rose ringed parakeet,Tailor birds, flower peckers, Red vented bulbuls.  

We conducted the No TV Day programme at Sanjay Gandhi National Park for Hindustan Times. 7 kids and 15 adults had joined us early morning for the four hour bird watching programme. The trail was followed by an interactive session on Bird beak and feet adaptations and a Bird Quiz. During the programme participants learned about bird identification, adaptations, nests, calls etc. Racket-tailed drongo, Ashy drongo, Black drongo, Golden Fronted Leafbird, Red-whiskered bulbul, Eurasian golden oriole, Common Iora, Purple sunbird, Indian robin are some of the birds sighted during the walk. 

 A group of 30 people assembled at Urban Haat to learn all about tree. This include 10 special students from Skills and Abilities School. Within a small stretch of the walk more 30 species of trees were recorded. Some of the prominent were Sandpaper Tree, Coral Tree, Teak Tree, Haldu, Asan, Red Silk Cotton Tree, Devil's Tree, Pongam, Soccer Ball Tree, Tamarind, Gulmohur, Copper pod and so on. They learnt about the plant-animal association as well as plant-plant association. The group enjoyed the walk and were eager to participate in the future programmes as well. 

 We a group of 14 Facebook friends actually met face to face for a plantation drive, which we arranged at our Butterfly Habitat Site. We planted around 200 saplings. We also conducted a small nature trail for the participants about butterflies. It was good way of spending our sultry Sunday. 

 As part of the series of kitchen gardening sessions held across the country,  a session was held in Mumbai for employees of IndusInd Bank. Around 20 employees attended the session that was conducted by Ms. Priti Choghale, Projects Manager. She covered topics how to make a compost from kitchen waste, care to taken while planting a sapling, Companion plantation, Garden pests and how to deal with them, vegetables that could grown is house garden and planting calendar. 

A clean up drive was organized among the mangrove areas on the eve of World Environment Day. 21 employees of Standard Chartered Bank volunteered to collect around 300 kgs of nonbiodegradable waste. This event was organized in collaboration with the Mangrove Cell of Mumbai 

Ladybird Environmental Consulting & Green Souls celebrated the International Day for Forests by collecting wildflower seeds which will be used for creating butterfly habitats. 15 enthusiast volunteers joined Mr. Julius Rego from Green Souls and collected Coat buttons and Sesbania seeds. Coat buttons are nectar plants and Sesbania is foodplant of Grass Yellow Butterfly. We are thankful to our volunteers.