Zensar Foundation celebrates 'International Day for Biological Diversity'

Pune, May 23, 2016: Zensar Foundation, a Public Charitable trust, operating under Zensar Technologies, as part of its social initiatives under the RPG Foundation, organized an interactive, educational event bringing citizens together to adopt urban gardening. This event was organized to commemorate, ‘International Day for Biological Diversity’ which is celebrated on May 22 worldwide annually. The Udaan Biodiversity Park in Viman Nagar, maintained by Zensar Foundation was the venue for this unique community-led initiative organized to encourage urban gardeners, including both experts and beginners. The objective was to encourage people to adopt a green life by growing plants within the spaces available to them. The event saw many eager and keen urban gardeners who have taken up gardening in their homes and wished to gain more knowledge on this topic. The one and half hour session was conducted by Prerna Agarwal, Ecological Services consultant and Shivani Joshi, citizen enthusiast. The attendees were encouraged to share their unique experiences, including challenges and suggestions on how to grow healthy plants. The topics discussed, revolved around understanding the challenges related to availability of water, quality compost, how to survive pest attacks, maintain plant diversity etc. It also offered a chance for like-minded citizens to interact in person and share their success at creating green urban spaces.

Sandeep Kishore, CEO and Managing Director, Zensar Technologies said, “The occasion of ‘International Day for Biological Diversity’, is brought to life through the Udaan Bio-Diversity Park in Pune. It is very satisfying to see the community benefit from this park which serves as a starting point for people to embrace Nature and be more involved in its preservation. We look forward to bringing more such initiatives in and through the park to the community we operate in.”

Ms. Ruchi Mathur, Head of Zensar Foundation, said, “Our objective in developing the Udaan Biodiversity Park is to educate citizens about plants and the critical role that biodiversity plays in our day to day lives, and also to enable ‘green communities’ to blossom across the city. To this end, we undertake regular events for neighbourhood residents such as Butterfly Walks, summer camps for children and now this Urban Gardeners’ meet. We have continuously worked on adding unique initiatives like a useful plants trail, butterfly section, braille friendly signboards and medicinal plants in the Park. We hope this initiative of organising an urban gardeners’ meet on the occasion of ‘International Day for Biological Diversity’ helps in creating more green urban spaces in our bustling cityscape.”

The Udaan Biodiversity Park, in Pune was an initiative started by Zensar Foundation three years ago, with a clear focus on building a green space amidst an urban landscape. The park has been successful in its objective of being an alternative habitat for various species of flowers, birds, insects and plants. Additionally, it is has been providing green cover to serve as a buffer against air pollution, while being a green community recreation area for the residents.

Snapshot of ecological diversity in the Udaan Biodiversity park in numbers: