It is miniature biodiversity park developed and nurtured by students of a local higher secondary school and 11 years after it was conceived, the park is set to draw visitors.
The 3.5 acre biodiversity park started by the erstwhile Sreekantapuram panchayat here (which is now part of the Sreekantapuram municipality) under its 2007-08 plan at Kottoor is now rich in diversity of birds and butterflies it attracts and in variety of plants. Since the park’s launch, it has been fostered by students of the school under the National Service Scheme (NSS) unit of the Sreekantapuram Government Higher Secondary School. The students who developed the park are also engaged in creating awareness about biodiversity among the public.
“The park developed on the land of the municipality today has over 500 plant species, 91 species of butterflies and 54 bird species,” said K. Surjith, teacher and who was earlier in charge of the NSS unit in the school.
The land where rubber plants were grown earlier has now been converted into a biodiversity spot, he said adding that students collected plants from different parts of the district and outside. A small area inside the park has been developed as butterfly park by planting plants that can attract butterflies, he added.
Recently the students of the school prepared a pocket field guide based on their observation of butterflies in the park. Forest Minister K. Raju released the guide at a function on July 6. They also prepared a reference guide containing pictures and information of 80 plants in the park and made a documentary on the biodiversity park. The park has been granted financial assistance by the Kerala State Biodiversity Board and the municipality.
“The biodiversity park developed by the students is a model to be emulated by local bodies in the State,” said KSBB district coordinator V.C. Balakrishnan. It has many species of plants and butterflies that are endemic to the Western Ghats area and some of them are in the threatened or endangered categories, he said.
The students are engaged in activities aimed at planting rare plants including medicinal plants, creating natural ambience for attracting biodiversity and making the park a destination of students to know about the biodiversity.
Recognition
The school has won awards and recognition for its biodiversity activities. It won the KSBB’s Haritha Vidyalayam award in 2009, Vanamithra award of the Forest Department in 2010-11 and the KSBB’s best biodiversity club award in 2015.
School teacher and NSS unit special officer T.M. Rajendran won the Forest Department’s Vanamithra award this year.