Butterfly trails turn into weekend classrooms for city’s nature lovers
Take a walk on a nearby tekdi or along the Mula-Ramnadi sangam in Baner and we assure you that you’ll be in for a visual treat, thanks to various butterflies spotted in these areas. The curiosity around these delicate insects led the citizen-led initiatives Jeevitnadi and Pune River Revival Project to start organising weekly butterfly walks that make Sunday mornings a bit more colourful and joyous for Punekars.
(Photo Jignesh Mistry)
Why attend butterfly walks?“These kinds of activities generate a basic interest in the species. That interest later develops into awareness, which ultimately drives conservation efforts,” says Rajat Joshi, a butterfly expert who leads these community walks through natural landscapes around the city. Abhijeet Athawale, a chartered accountant who regularly attends such walks, adds, “I try to appeal to people around me to join these walks so that they become aware and take efforts for conservation.”
Rajat Joshi showing butterfly eggs (Photo Jignesh Mistry)
(Photo Jignesh Mistry)
Butterflies to spot in summerCommon Cerulean, Tiny Grass Blue, Line Blue sp, Plains Cupid, Evening Brown/Bushbrown, Common Mormon, Jezebel and more
Jezebel (Photo Rajat Joshi)
Common Pierrot (Photo Rajat Joshi)
‘Nature inspires a we’These walks start around 9 am as it is the perfect time to observe butterfly activity. Abhijieet, who is also part of the Butterfly Watchers community, shares, “I went to Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary last year and saw a Kaleidoscope of Butterflies. It left me in awe, like every other thing in nature, and got me more involved in tracking butterflies. There’s something special about these tiny species that keeps you hooked.”Where to spot them?Tamhini Jungle, Sinhagad Valley, Vetal tekdi , Baner tekdi , Mhatobagad tekdi , Grasslands of Saswad and Mayureshwar, river tracts of RamnadiMula and Mutha River
Attendees at the Butterfly walk (Photo Jignesh Mistry
per person (details for every walk are shared on social media pages of Jeevitnadi, Pune River Revival Project and Ecological Society Pune)
