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Botanical Gardens

Infos von 2015


Mission Statement

To contribute to the conservation of the planetary biodiversity, paying Special and particular Attention to the indigenous Vegetation of the coromandel coastal Region, which is commonly known as the Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest (TDEF)

Background

The gardens were established on 50 Acres of land in August 2000, in the International Township of Auroville, which is located in Tamil Nadu, South India. Over the past 15 years the area has developed into a Vibrant an beautiful Location, which is dedicated to promoting awareness about iodiersity and conservation, We have had over 30,000 visitors, mainly School children who participate in our enironmental education day programs.

Staff at the Gardens

There ara around 30 permanent staff at the gardens, half of whom are Aurovillians, the other half employed locally. At different times of the year we can have an extra 10 People working at the garden either as short or Long term volunteers, or as Placement students from universities or colleges.

Activities at the Gardens

There are 3 main Areas of activity at the garden – Developement of the gardens, Education programs and External Project work.

The Development of the Gardens depends very much upon the resources we have at Hand, with respect to finances and human resources, both of which fluctuate over time. We already have developed a number of specialist gardens, and large parts of the Arboretum and conservationarea. However there are still a number of Areas that require new developments an Inputs of vreatie energy and resurces. Also as the years pass we find more of our energies turn to maintaining and enhancing the existing Areas, as well as coping with the vagaries of the climate (such as vyvlone damage in 2012. Adittionally we are vonstantly finding ways to develop and up grade ur infrastructure resouces in Terms of uildings and also machinery.

The Education Programs cater primarily to the local government Schools, bringing Groups of around 30 children to the gardens and involving them in a day Long experiential lern experiences with the natural world. We also run Weekend and summer camps, cycle rallies and other Events connected to raising environmental awareness in the local area. At present we recive around 3,000 students per year, and we target to double that number once we have secured adequate funding.

External Projects provide the financial resources that we require to carry out the other two activities – Development and Education. We run a number of consultancies and implementation Projects with a wide range of Clients who are interested in Ecological Practices and sustainable Landscaping. We proote the use of indigenous species of trees and shrbs in plantings that include eco parks, Hotel and Resort landscapes, factory compounds and private landholdings.

General Overview of the Gardens

The Gardens ara divided into six main categories:

  • Campus: covers approximately 3 Acres and is situated on the wester side. It is here that the seed Center and the Environment education building are located, along with the solar power plant, and the staff residences. In the future other developments are planned such as Herbarium, aboratory and accommodations for visiting students and Trainee teachers.
  • Specialist Gardens: covering about 5 acers, These gardens at present have collections of Orchids, Cactus, Plumeria, Ferns, Grasses, Ornamental plants, as well as Gardens for Butterflies and Medicinalplants. There is also a 1500 sqm maze reated with indigenous shrubs.
  • Arboretum: the largest part of the Botanical Gardens covering 25 Acres and containing 300 different species of trees as well as many shrubs from all over the Tropical world with similar climatic conditions to ours. The trees are spaced widely to allow each tree to develop to ist full potential.
  • Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest Conservation Area: covers 10 Acres on the eastern side, adjoinning a larger forest sanctuary area, providing the public with an opportunity to eperience the natural veetaion of this Region, something that is near to extinction in the wild.
  • Plant Nursery: This covers approximately 1 acre and produces around 50,000 plants per year which are used in the gardens or sold to outside Projects which are interested in utilizing drought tolerant species of the TDEF.
  • Vegetable seed conservation Gardens: These gardens cover over an acre and are dedicated to the conservation of heritage vegetable seeds. The gardens are also a Demonstration area of organic practices and drip Irrigation techniques

Websites of the Botanical Gardens:

http://www.plantekey.com
Our Project – Auroville Botanical Gardens (auroville-botanical-gardens.org)

https://www.aurovilleherbarium.org/

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