Ecology

City parks play a vital role in the social, economic and physical wellbeing of the cities and their residents. As cities become more densely populated, parks are now recognized as powerful tools for active lifestyles and reduced health costs for the urban communities. Parks provide space for neighborhood residents to interact with each other and meet new people. This allows people to develop a sense of community.

The UNM Foundation along with LEAF, the research arm of Landscape India, formed a group ‘The Park’s People’ which also included many like-minded designers of the city. UNM Foundation and The Park’s people in association with the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation started Pratiti. Several parks have been developed so far, which are located in varied economic and social cross sections of the Ahmedabad city. Some are new parks and some are refurbished parks.

The Foundation has developed and is currently maintaining 15 beautifully landscaped gardens in the cities of Ahmedabad, Surat and Daman for the general benefit of citizens and increasing the green cover of the city. Work for more gardens is also underway

Each of these parks have been developed keeping in mind a unique design, by well-renowned team of architects. These parks have lush green lawn, various types of plants and facilities like walk-way, special enclosure for light games, exercise equipment and beautiful landscaping. Each park is protected by specially designed fencing and also have a special entrance facility for the differently abled people. Moreover each park is equipped with bore well and has recharge well to effectively use the rainwater.

Pratiti plans to continue with this initiative and have further plans to create many more parks including developing parks in impoverished neighborhoods.

2 Lakes across 2 cities have been restored / built at par with international standards.

Shetrunjay Hills, Palitana (Gujarat)

As part of this challenging Ecological restoration project, UNM Foundation endeavours to restore the Shetrunjay Hills, an extremely important ecological and religious site, to its lost glory.