Kottayam got something great to be proud of – a nice Butterfly Garden. It’s prepared & maintained to the right of the main entrance of the Kottayam Collectorate (Civil Station) and is always open to all (but the time between 10 am and 12 noon is the best time to sight butterflies).
Butterfly Garden is not something new, but the one we just got at Kottayam is indeed unique; it’s the only open-environment butterfly garden in the World that’s situated at a busy urban area (Note that the place is so close to the always busy K.K. Road (N.H. 220)). It is called ‘open-environment’ because the butterflies are NOT put inside some cages or walls. Then how does it work, you ask.
In the specially maintained area, the minds behind this great venture – Tropical Institute of Ecological Sciences – have planted and nourished those plants and shrubs, which play important roles in the life cycle of butterflies. And yes, the butterflies come automagically!
The butterfly garden was inaugurated by Hon’ble District Collector, Mrs. Mini Antony on 31st October, 2009. The garden is built & maintained by the Tropical Institute of Ecological Sciences led by Dr. Punnen Kurian (Zoology lecturer, St. Mary’s College, Manarcadu).
Periodic awareness and demo sessions will be arranged at the garden. School students are the main target audience, since they are mainly the ones who need to understand and love nature. The idea of a butterfly garden is expected to spread wide, with gardens being built in school & college campuses and public sector institutions.
We were present there for the inaugural event, and here are the photos, followed by a short video clip.
Video clip shot minutes before the garden was inaugurated
If you haven’t visited the place, we urge you to make a visit and give a green salute to our beautiful ecosystem.
