Nature Interpretation Center
Vast tracts of land around Manpada, which were at one time privately owned, were acquired in 1976 by the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Where 6 stone quarries once devastated this pristine forestland, today a Nature Interpretation Centre utilizing about 165 acres of land, will involve itself in all activities concerning nature conservation and other related projects.


The Center is set up to play a supportive role and encourage better interaction with students and other like minded people who are genuinely interested in interacting with nature, learning from it, and bringing about a systematic change in the environment around Thane. The Forest department, with school and college students, social groups, and others, has already begun growing more trees and has slowly brought the entire area under tree cover.


The entire concept of starting Nature Interpretation Centers was from 1998, for the purpose of facilitating education to people around Maharashtra. Other similar centers exist in Pune, Tadoba, and Rehekune. In addition there is a medicinal plant garden, to give you an idea of how nature cures.


Each Nature Interpretation Center is complete with toilets and water facilities, viewing galleries, and nature trails. Future plans include auditoriums to show films on nature and wild life, to have
medicinal plants conservation and special bird watchers programmes. A special cell to study life on Adivasis with focus on their culture is also under way.

Similarly, Mangrove Interpretation Centers on the coastal Eco-system and Mangroves are also underway near Godhbunder Road.



Some of the pictures at the Nature Interpretation Center.


  A cow feeding on
  garbage   very often
  gets choked on  the
  plastic bags that
  imbibed   along with
  food.





  Plastic bags being
  refused   by the sea are   washed up   on the Juhu   Beach early one   morning.





  The strange part about
   this  spill was that it was    only  along the shore.
  The waves   towards the    deeper part of   the sea    was clean and   mixing
   with oil just as it   approached the coast. This   was from the Juhu Chowpatti opposite the Juhu Flying Club towards the Danda Creek which houses a lot of fishing vessels.

  Cleaning up the above
  oil   spill were the
  workers who   normally   clean the beach.
  however on this day
  they   were on overtime
  till quite   late. But clean it
  up, they   did.

  After dredging the
  creek  of   sand, it is   removed to   various   destinations by   trucks.
  ( For more details see   the   press article in
  the  news   section of   Borivili)