Gardens, Solid waste and Renewable Resources.
A PROPOSAL TO GREEN MUMBAI THROUGH ECOLOGICAL DESIGN METHODS: PUBLIC GARDENS
CONTENTS
- Introduction _______________________________________________
- Outline___________________________________________________
- Oikos Ecological Design – Our Vision__________________________
- The MCGM – Solid Waste and Debris __________________________
- MCGM Mumbai City Development Plan 2005-2025_______________
- Oikos Gardening in the City: Linking waste and renewal of gardens___
– Strategies for Establishing, Developing and Maintaining Garden
– Cement Blocks
– Broken Tiling
– Woody Debris
– Composting: soft plant matter and marketing of the compost
– Plant nursery: creating a market for compost
– Growing mushrooms: creating further market value for gardens
– Local Support
- Planning for the future –Oikos and You_________________________
- Suggestions and Conclusion__________________________________
Introduction
Mumbai is a megalopolis, the state capital of Maharashtra and the commercial hub of India. Due to this economic and cultural status, development in Mumbai is constant and few green spaces exist within the city. This is not to say that all is lost. Mumbai is the only city in the world to have a National Park forest within its municipal limits. The Sanjay Gandhi National Park is a 104 sq. km forest just north of the geographic centre of the island city. This does provide some respite from the urban development, but with few green spaces apart from this city forest, citizens are asking for more and better green spaces in the city.
We are an organization that believes that following a sustainable design strategy can allow for citizens to get such spaces, and that we can help to outline and create economic opportunities that could arise from the creation of a sustainable and ecologically sound design for Mumbai.
Outline
The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) is the implementing agency for many of the public works such as solid waste management, Storm Water Drain (SWD) work and public gardens among other things. We at Oikos: Ecological Design believe that by working with the MCGM, we could provide a way to see solid wastes and debris as a resource to use towards a social and economic renewal of public gardens, and going further along the continuum, a renewal of Mumbai.
Oikos: Ecological Design – Our Vision
Our vision is to be a force of change, an organization that envisions and re-imagines current cities and systems and creates sustainable, economically sound and aesthetically pleasing spaces in their stead through the use of ecological design strategies.
Ecological Design entails using principles learnt from how Nature designs its systems, and implementing these in human-created systems. For example, in natural systems, waste is not a concept because any dead or decaying matter is used up within the system to create more opportunities for life, whereas human systems create waste every step of the way with little reuse. Thus ecological design would be useful to find a way to create a zero-waste strategy for a city, the same way there is zero-waste in a forest.
We wish to help Mumbai continue being the economic hub of India, and yet be one of the most sustainable cities there are. Mumbai, due to its prime location, has the perfect climate to be a green city, a place where green space is no longer a problem, and economic benefits can accrue even from this situation. We believe that we can help to steer Mumbai in this direction, given that we can create a collaborative work environment, providing sustainability services, and providing us the opportunity create spaces with ecological, economic and social benefits, where we can attract, keep and educate the public about the benefits of ecological design.
We strive to better the quality of life the public, first through public garden development, then through water stewardship and green architecture practices.
We strive to better the quality of life the public, first through public garden development, then through water stewardship and green architecture practices.
As a summary, the design will include the knowledge built from the study of ecology, wildlife biology, garden design, horticulture, organic and sustainable fruit production, media and communication, business management, and ecotourism.
The MCGM - Solid Waste and Debris
One of the responsibilities of the MCGM is the removal of plant and tree debris from neighborhoods in Mumbai. Some of this is classified as waste and removed to landfills, whereas commercially viable wood wastes are brought back to central collection centres in the city for an audit.
The other kinds of debris we are interested in, is construction debris. Debris from buildings and road development among other things are valuable materials not being utilized for practical purposes. Wastes such as broken cement road tiles, pedestrian walkway tiles, broken or malformed cement blocks etc are useful, and can be of tremendous use.
MCGM Mumbai City Development Plan 2005 - 2025
In the Mumbai City Development Plan 2005-2025, the MCGM has outlined several strategies for creating sustainable initiatives in the city. These include reduction and local segregation of wastes, composting of organic materials, creation of a market for such compost and also on a landscape scale, mapping and planning and creating green and open spaces in the city in a sustainable manner.
We believe that our projects not only are on the same lines as these strategies, but also that through them we can in fact help to build the market given that we are supported in our efforts by the MCGM in what we ask. The following will explain and outline the strategies that we believe would be useful to jump start our operations, and in turn help to move forward the strategies of the MCGM in terms of creating the sustainable systems and market that the MCGM is trying to establish for the city.
Oikos Gardening in the City: Linking waste and renewal of gardens
Landscaping and renewing public gardens: wild style
Many experts believe that wilderness has a large influence in human lives. Since we originally came from nature, some anthropologists believe that we have an innate love and respect for nature in its wild state. This phenomenon is called “Biophilia”.
We at Oikos believe that we can, by creating public gardens with “character” , not only bring people to them, but also make for community centers and renewing and rejuvenating spaces in a city that needs them. We will create gardens that mimic nature’s wild beauty, with waterfalls, ponds, and forest characteristics. These gardens will not only look beautiful, but function as hubs for wildlife, such as birds, butterflies and others.
This kind of garden will also create space where children will get a sense of adventure from exploring the garden, but will also be within safe limits inside the garden. Creating awareness of sustainability issues and the government initiatives currently underway in composting and water harvesting are also part of our plan
Strategies for Establishing, Developing and Maintaining Garden
Cement blocks and rubble from construction: Construction debris is a useful resource and can be used as an under layer in landscapes, providing drainage and support to plant species the same way that a rock layer exists under the soil in natural landscapes.
Unused and broken road tiling: Cement pavers that are used in pedestrian walkways and road construction are sometimes damaged and chipped in the process of transportation or work. This rubble can be used in the same way as construction debris, as an under layer in landscapes, or to create rock walls.
Woody debris: In natural landscapes, fallen trees and broken branches add to the wild aesthetic of nature. They also create natural habitats for birds to perch on or microhabitats for beneficial agents for decomposition of organic matter. Broken tree branches and tree trunks can be used in this way in public gardens as well.
Composting: Soft plant matter that is collected can be composted and made into a rich nutrient source for gardens. This compost can either be sold or used within the public garden to boost plant growth and create more topsoil for landscapes.
Plant Nursery: A small horticulture operation in collaboration with local growers should be set up whereby the public can purchase plants from the nursery and this would create the market to sell locally composted soil along with the plants.
Mushroom Nursery: Wood debris can also be used to grow edible mushrooms for sale, which again in turn can bring the public attention to the gardens. Local garden-produced mushrooms will cost less, and continue to create a market value for local gardens.
Local Support: We plan on approaching local businesses and the public to help us with our development and we will consult on sustainability and green design issues regarding gardens and localities in their area that we are maintaining.
Link-ups with Closeby Gardens: We plan on creating links and contacts with other local gardens to create “green-ways”, spaces where the garden and open green spaces can be linked and walked through for long periods of time, providing larger and more interconnected ecologies and green spaces in the city.
Long Term Sustainable commitment: We are in the business of providing sustainable and ecologically friendly technologies and consultancies to the citizens of Mumbai. Mumbai is a city that is amazing for its society’s ability to bounce back from hardship and degredation. In the same way we wish to create a city in which the ecology of the city can repair itself and treate its own pollution while creating economically viable spaces from these.
Pilot project parks -
These would function as a pilot and demonstration of what we can do for other public gardens in the city. If granted the right, we would tap into the local businesses and use this valuable resource to help develop and maintain these gardens. If this is successful and a good demonstration, we hope that the MCGM will grant us the right to develop and maintain more public gardens within the city, first in the western suburbs, and then spreading further into the rest of the city.
Through the commercial uses of the plant nursery and mushroom growing, we may be able to raise funds continuously to manage the gardens the composting yards. Reports can be drawn up to hand over to the MCGM if necessary.
Through the commercial uses of the plant nursery and mushroom growing, we may be able to raise funds continuously to manage the gardens the composting yards. Reports can be drawn up to hand over to the MCGM if necessary.
Our hope is that such a collaboration would be possible, allowing us some freedom to get the debris that we believe is useful, and the government would get some help in their clearing of debris in a timely fashion. From this we believe can grow a partnership that could grow into a collaborative environment to work on further sustainability in our amazing and vibrant city.
Planning for the Future: Oikos and You
The MCGM has already outlined many strategies in its Mumbai City Development Plan to create a better, more sustainable and livable city.We believe that we can help the MCGM by consulting with them for their plans on mapping and creating a masterplan for their hierarchy of open spaces, recreational and renewing green spaces. We believe that the approach of the MCGM towards these spaces is the right one, to create a well planned inventory as opposed to the current reality of an ad hoc development of such spaces. If we can find a way to be a part of this approach, then we believe that both parties will benefit. Towards this end, we believe that perhaps a paid place on an MCGM Environmental Panel or consultancy space should be granted to us to help the MCGM further their plans for the city.
Suggestions
The MCGM would do well not to ignore the opportunities present in the storm water drain system for creating economically viable green spaces within the city. The BRIMSTOWAD report and project is already in place, but we do not believe that these spaces are being looked at as economically or ecologically viable, although they are more so than any other.
We believe that given the chance, we could help envision and create such greenways within the city. This is the main subject of our proposal to the MCGM titled “Draining Away: Mumbai Stormwater Drains and the Potential to Create Connected, Economically Viable Green Spaces from Unused Wetland Spaces”.
We believe that given the chance, we could help envision and create such greenways within the city. This is the main subject of our proposal to the MCGM titled “Draining Away: Mumbai Stormwater Drains and the Potential to Create Connected, Economically Viable Green Spaces from Unused Wetland Spaces”.
We thank you for your time, and we look to your support to help us. If you have suggestions or comments on this proposal, you may contact us and we would be glad to hear from you.
