A new green project at Navi Mumbai police stations has created butterfly gardens

The secret is to not chase the butterflies but to take care of your garden so that the butterflies comerdquo wrote Brazilian poet Maacuterio de Miranda Quintana in 1946 Quintanarsquos widely quoted poem Borboletas Butterflies might not have been about the winged insects in the literal sense but 10 police stations across Navi Mumbai have put his philosophy into practice The Butterfly Patrol Project undertaken by iNatureWatch Foundation in partnership with the Navi Mumbai Police Department inaugurated butterfly gardens in Kharghar Nerul Panvel and Belapur among other spots yesterday The winged guests are not far behindFrom left Sanjay Patil Deputy Commissioner of Police Navi Mumbai Milind Bharambe Commissioner of Police Navi Mumbai Dr V Shubhalaxmi Sanjay Yenpure Joint Commissioner of Police Navi Mumbai at the inauguration of the butterfly garden in BelapurldquoWhen I visited my neighbourhood police station for passport related formalities nearly five years ago I realised how daunting and intimidating the experience can be even when yoursquore there for the right reasonsrdquo chuckles Dr V Shubhalaxmi founder iNatureWatch Thatrsquos set to change with the new 500sq ft gardens each hosting 300 plants of nectar species like pentas marigold zinnia periwinkle and host plants like lemon curry leaves and bryophyllum sourced from nurseries in Karjat and Kalyan ldquoWe studied the existing flora in the areas to determine which species would fit the soil conditions Planning was the bigger challenge execution came naturallyrdquo Shubhalaxmi admitsThe butterfly garden at Commissioner of Police Navi Mumbai Headquarters in BelapurThe magic seems to have worked both ways near the NonResident Indians NRI Complex in Nerul Vikas Ghodke Senior Police Inspector NRI Police Station was witness to one of the last butterfly gardens that reached completion last week in the premises ldquoWhen my team walks into the police station now we have a bright green sight to look forward to It might not seem like much but a good start to the day translates to better mood throughout the dayrdquo admits Ghodke who also rolled his sleeves up to help the team plant the saplings last Friday ldquoI hail from Solapur in south Maharashtra where farming and gardening have been a part of the daily routine It was almost nostalgic when I picked up the shovel to help the team here in the cityrdquo he revealsThe team readies the site for plantationSanjay Patil Deputy Commissioner of Police Navi Mumbai agrees that the gardens are a winwin in more ways than one ldquoIn addition to boosting our morale the gardens will also help address the lack of green cover in our cityrdquo he suggests Shubhalaxmi explains the farreaching benefits ldquoButterflies often migrate in large flutters Gardens such as these become their pitstops where they stop take a breather feed on nectar and mate With most police stations being located along busy roads for convenience it will also help curb the air pollution in these areasrdquoThe butterfly garden at NRI Police Stationrsquos Evidence Management Centre reaches completion after a fourday effort by the teamAs is the case with any ambitious project in the city maintenance remains the decider for this projectrsquos longevity As a head start the Foundation has deployed one caretaker each for the gardens who are trained in basic upkeep ldquoFor a period of one year we will conduct monthly visits to the sites to determine the condition and butterfly activity Following that the gardens will be handed over to the police stations to maintainrdquo Shubhalaxmi shares adding that plans to bring the project to police stations in Mumbai are in the works For now things are looking up ldquoWhen I stepped into work this morning I made a detour to the garden and I was surprised to see that a butterfly had already laideggs on one of the host plantsrdquo reveals Patil Perhaps amidst all the deafening whirs and thuds of the cityrsquos infrastructural evolution the Brazilian poetrsquos words still ring trueLog on to inaturewatch on InstagramDo It YourselfOpen areas in your apartment complex office compound or school premises can make for ideal butterfly garden sites Dr Shuhalaxmi gives us a handy guide Ensure you have at least 500 sq ft of usable area Smaller areas might fail to create impact Choose a mix of host and nectar plants Easy picks include curry leaf lemon guava hibiscus marigold and portulaca plants that are easy to maintain Plant the saplings in closely packed patterns Butterflies prefer dense foliage Wait for the butterflies to arrive