The Serenity trust was founded in 1995 by Mr Firdos and Mrs Yasmin Cambatta on a plot of 40,000 square meter of land donated by them, to be an educational institute focusing on nature and environmental issues. Other founder trustees are Mr Kamal Mangaldas, noted architect and Mr Samir Shah. To this day, Mr Cambatta is our main and executive trustee, but the board includes Mr Rajan Harivallabhdas (in charge of educational programs), Mr Punit Lalbhai (advisor to conservation, scientific and educational projects, partner in the maintenance of the trust’s garden) and Mrs Purva Lalbhai (advisor on educational programs and communication, with a personal interest in pollinators).
The garden was planted under the supervision of Mr Firdos Cambatta and Dr Santosh Yadav, doctor in botany. The campus comprises a moist garden next to the administrative offices, lawns around the library complex, several water bodies including a lake, a dry deciduous forest area, a butterfly and pollinator garden, a vegetable garden and a medicinal herb garden. For trails, we also have access to our trustees’ canopy paths and the adjacent gauchar land.
The garden nurtures over 800 botanical species, exotic and indigenous. It is blessed with a lot of biodiversity in a semi urban context: 178 species of birds have been sighted, 78 species of butterflies, over 135 species of moths, 23 species of mammals, 27 species of reptiles, 10 species of amphibians. We’re in the process of updating our lists of non lepidopteran insects, non-insects arthropods and more.
The library building was designed by Mr Bernard Kohn, assisted by Mr Kamal Mangaldas and construction was completed in 2005. The campus offers an AC library, an AC auditorium, administrative offices, a non-AC cafeteria (but no food is sold), a kitchen, washrooms and a campsite with a capacity for 50 children in winter, all in the service of educational programs. In 2006, the trust’s facilities were open to the public.
The trust’s garden and library host educational tours for school children during the week and on Sundays for the general public. We also welcome and organise special events relating to nature and environment education.