A Report on visit to Serenity Library and Botanical Gardens

1. GLS – FACULTY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
FY BBA – SEMESTER II
Environmental Management
Report on
Visit to Serenity Library and Botanical Garden
Name: Mrudul Manojkumar
Class: FY B
Roll No.: 153

2. Sketches by Mrudul Manojkumar

3. EM – REPORT MRUDUL MANOJKUMAR, FY B – 153 3
On Jan 8, 2019, the day began quite early, as we had to gather at the College Campus
by 7:00 in the morning. As part of the Environmental Studies Course, we were going to take
a trip to the Serenity Library and Botanical Gardens. Three of our professors – Neha Shroff,
Swati Modi and Himani Sardar, accompanied us. After the attendance and some basic
instructions pertaining to discipline, our class of 85 was split into two and boarded their
buses.
“The only way
forward, if we are
going to improve
the quality of the
environment, is to
get everybody
involved.”
- Richard
Rogers,
Italian
Architect
Believing
in these words, we
set off from our
college towards
the Serenity
Library and
Botanical Gardens.
The ride was
shorter than
expected. This
place was at a
considerably short
distance i.e. 15 km
from the city.
After getting off
the bus, what
welcomed us was
considerably low
temperature.
However, this was
a mere
inconvenience that
was immediately
overlooked due to
the view of a white
edifice surrounded
by plants in different
shades of green
accompanied by
chirping sounds
from a variety of
birds that seemed to
have just awoken.
The group was
received by Mr.
Narendra Bankola.
The group was then
guided to one of the
rooms in the white
edifice where they
were asked to leave
their bags while
carrying only a pen
and book with them.
What followed was a
hearty breakfast and
introduction to the
place and the day’s
schedule by the
guide-cum-educators
Narendra Bankola
and Bhavisha
Divakar. The group
was further divided
into two, which were
led Mr. Narendra
and Bhavisha
respectively.

4. Sketches by Mrudul Manojkumar
Over-population and urbanization have little room for people to appreciate and enjoy
nature. Serenity Library and Botanical Gardens are an attempt by Mr. Firdos Cambatta,
founder of Serenity Trust, to solving this problem. A library and botanical garden have been
built over a 40,000 square meters wide-open piece of land in Koteshwar Village, located on
the Bhat-Motera Road. The original landscaping of the Serenity Library and Garden was
done by Mr. Kamal Mangaldas and the newly constructed library is the result of efforts of
Mr. Bernard Kohn.
The highlights of this place are as follows: -
1. Botanical Garden – Over 800 species of indigenous and exotic plants grown to
maturity over the last 20 years
2. Butterfly Garden
3. Organic Farm
4. Host to 100 species of birds and snakes. Blue-bulls, Porcupines, Monitor Lizards and
Hares are often sighted.
5. Two excavated water bodies that attract birds.
6. Library – Over 3000 books on topics of Environment, Wildlife and Conservation with
reading space for about 40 people
7. Auditorium – Over 350 documentaries on Environment, Wildlife and Conservation
8. Cafeteria – Café that can accommodate about 36 people at a time
9. Camping Facility – Overnight camping facilities are also available.
The major activities conducted here are: -
1. Talks and Events
2. Student Educational Programs
3. Camping Activities

5. EM – REPORT MRUDUL MANOJKUMAR, FY B – 153 5
The tour consisted of two parts, while
being led by Mr. Narendra. The first part began
with the visit to the Organic Farms. To spice it up
a bit, he asked us to identify the plants while they
were growing. We could identify most of them.
This included a variety of Leaves – Cabbage,
Spinach, Coriander, Fenugreek and Mentha,
Roots – Beetroot, Carrot, Onion and Radish and
Fruits – Tomato, Eggplant and Bottle Gourd. But
then, there were some plants, like the 5kg Bottle
gourd, which nobody could make out. What
makes this possible are the Compost Pits. There,
they made their own fertilizers through the
natural decomposition of twigs, grass, leaves, etc.
in a pit, assisted by water, over a period of 3
months. Mr. Narendra’s mother who has
extensive knowledge and experience regarding
the same maintains these pits.
After the Organic Farms, we
were led to their gardens, where we
could find a variety of plants. Out of all
these plants, most of us are sure to
remember those that had certain odd
characteristics. First, there was the Bixa
Tree – which is also called the Lipstick
Tree because of its use as a natural
color. Then, there was the Crab’s Eye,
whose leaves are sweet while its fruit is
poisonous. Another one was the Hug Me
Not Tree as it had a thorny covering over its
bark. There was also one called the Popping
Pod, which exploded when brought in
contact with water. Last but not the least
would be the Ladoo Tree, also called the
Badminton Fruit Tree – whose fruit is
shaped in the shape of a Ball and turns
White from Black when ripe.

6. Sketches by Mrudul Manojkumar
The next part of the tour was
visiting the Butterfly Garden. This
part was a bit unsatisfactory as the
place boasts of having about 65
different butterfly species but we
could only spot two – Tiger Striped
Butterfly and Yellow Grass Butterfly.
Next, we visited the Library that contains over
3000 books related to Environmental Studies and
several Plant and Animal Specimens. Adding to
that the calm environment surrounded by
greenery, it makes for a fabulous library. The
place also boasts of 15 different species of which
4 are poisonous – namely, Spectacled Cobra,
Saw Scale Viper, Russell Viper and Common
Krait. It was a bit disappointing that we were
unable to spot even a single one of them.
While visiting all these places,
we were also involved in the activity of
Bird Watching. Moreover, as we did
not make a lot of noise, we were able
to spot a variety of birds. Some of
those are - Pied Kingfisher, Purple-
rumped Sunbird, Cattle Egret, Greater
Coucal, Red-vented Bulbul, Magpie
Robin, Parakeet and Fantail Flycatcher.
And before lunch, we also visited the
Resource Procurement area, where
there is a Solar Power Plant which
generates 15 kW electricity and a 200
feet deep Bore well which can maintain
its water level due to the Rain Forest
Harvesting Measures applied all over
the Garden.

7. EM – REPORT MRUDUL MANOJKUMAR, FY B – 153 7
This concluded the first part of the
tour and what followed was a tasty lunch
and a required 1-hour break. The second
part of the tour started off with visiting the
forest area. While on the way, we managed
to spot a few more birds and butterflies.
When we entered the forest, Mr.
Narendra explained that the forest
mainly consisted of Copper-Pod Trees,
which formed a canopy like structure,
and as a result, the forest is aptly named
– Canopied Forest. While walking, he
further explained how he has spent most
of his childhood days in such a jungle,
living a life similar to Mowgli. He
stopped at a certain tree with vines hanging
over it and climbed up to a certain height over
it. Some of the students tried as well, but none
could make it that high and one of my friends
even received the moniker of Monkey for his
diligent efforts. Then everybody scattered and
tried to, and many succeeded in, climbing
other trees, with the main motivation being the
fact that it would make for an interesting
photo. The next thing was an activity to
emphasize on the necessity to keep all of
one’s senses alert while in the jungle. The
conclusion of this activity was followed by
a group photo session. Then, we continued
walking further into the jungle. We were
lucky enough to spot one of the Blue Bulls
resting. As we moved deeper into the
jungle, the path became narrower and
thornier which made the students glad they
wore full sleeves and shoes for this trip.

8. Sketches by Mrudul Manojkumar
After making a round-trip through the jungle,
we were again brought back to the white
edifice near the entrance. But this time, we
were led to a different room where a projector
was set-up and the other half that was being
led by Bhavisha were already waiting for us.
There, we further found out that most of the
rooms there had glass structure to minimize
usage of Electricity. This was followed by two
documentaries – Life of a Butterfly – Egg, Caterpillar, Pupa and Butterfly, Methods of
Pollination – Air, Water and Animals. Lastly, a short animation about how man is greatly
responsible for most of the damage
done to the environment. Then, we
collected our belongings and assembled
beneath the Silver-Palm Tree for a
group photo to commemorate this trip.
After the photo session, some of us had
a discussion with Narendra where he
explained how they organized such
trips for educational institutions and
shared a YouTube link titled ‘Nature
Man: Narendra Bankola’. To sum it up,
an educational and informative trip
was, truthfully speaking, also exciting
and fun.
“We don’t have to sacrifice a strong economy for a healthy environment.”
- Dennis Weaver, American Actor