The meet is intended to attract people to the Ganeshkhind Garden, a Biodiversity Heritage Site, and pressure the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to rethink its plan to construct a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) on the premises. (Express Photo)For the last month or so, a group of artists has been regularly going to Ganeshkhind Garden, located at the Ganeshkhind Research Center, and sitting among the trees several for hours to make art. Groups of children and several adults, who are interested in art accompany them, recreating plays of light and shadow, and the shades of green and brown of nature on canvases and sketchbooks.This is no ordinary art event – the meet is intended to attract people to the Ganeshkhind Garden, a Biodiversity Heritage Site, and pressure the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to rethink its plan to construct a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) on the premises. The Ganeshkhind Garden, built in 1872, is home to more than more than 4500 trees, and several have been marked for felling to enable the new construction.“PMC’s plan is deeply problematic because many of the trees are over a 100 years old. The entire construction process will impact biodiversity greatly. There is no one disagreeing with the fact that there is a requirement for an STP. All we are saying is ‘don’t cut trees for it. There are empty plots upstream’. They can build the same STP at another site because this is not a residential area and there are no effluents being added to the river here,” says Anub George, a filmmaker and one of the artists spearheading the “Occupy Your Green Spaces” project.A problem of visibilityThe PMC project is being challenged in the National Green Tribunal by citizens Meghna Bhandari, Ameet Singh, Rekha Joshi and Gangotri Chanda. A signature campaign has been organised. But, citizens say that one of the problems is that Ganeshkhind Garden is not visited by the public, unlike its neighbouring Pune University. Awareness, engagement and interest in the park is low. “The closed gate of the Garden makes us feel that we should not cross it. People feel discouraged to occupy the space, which is publicly owned,” says George. As a result, while “everybody cares when roadside trees are felled”, a similar exercise in the garden goes unopposed.He cites the instance of a road that has been built by cutting down centuries-old trees of the Garden. “Though I live in the vicinity, I couldn’t see the signboards that PMC had to put up because the Biodiversity Heritage Park is not open to the public the way it used to be earlier. No one saw the trees being cut and no one protested. At least 80 huge trees – I am not counting the smaller ones – were felled to build a road,” he says. This time around, the artists decided to bring the public into the park and awaken their curiosity.Creativity in protest“Today, we see that, when it comes to the word ‘protest’, people become very hesitant. The immediate reaction is ‘I don’t want to get political’. Since when did having a voice and discerning right from wrong for society become based on which party one was supporting?” he says.“Get over that and let art bring everyone together in this undeniably beautiful space”, he added.Eco-clubs of schools got interested. Students, preparing for Board exams, looked forward to relaxing with art amid greenery. Families wanted their children to participate. The last meet had 12 children, with another meet on September 13, 8 am -1 pm.Story continues below this adBesides art, there are other activities. Last Saturday, it was tree counting where the group walked among the trees and tried to understand them. The pride of the Garden is the Peshwa-kaleen mango, a tree that was planted by the Peshwas in 1799, but there are a number of other attractions. “The idea is to keep engaging with different communities,” says George. For seasoned artists, such as him, the Garden offers a rare light study within the city. “To find this level of green cover, one has to travel 20-30 km to the outskirts. Yet, here we have it within the city,” says George.Arpit Vyas, a mechanical engineer-turned professional artist, says that he has always sought inspiration from nature. “Through our art, we can inform authorities as well about the value of the Garden. We are trying to send out a message that people should join us in large numbers. The art is basic, one is free to express one’s creativity while learning about the trees and medicinal plants from experts,” he says.Dipanita Nath is interested in the climate crisis and sustainability. She has written extensively on social trends, heritage, theatre and startups. She has worked with major news organizations such as Hindustan Times, The Times of India and Mint. ... Read MoreClick here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd