Our Work

The Journey within India

Building Butterfly Gardens

In July 2025, I began working on the Building Butterfly Gardens initiative in collaboration with the World Wide Fund for Nature, with the goal of creating butterfly-friendly habitats across urban spaces in Delhi/NCR that could transform overlooked urban spaces into active microhabitats for local pollinators. The design and plant selection for each site were carefully coordinated, with a focus on native host and nectar species to ensure ecological relevance and sustained butterfly activity. Conceived as both functional and replicable, these gardens offer a scalable model for embedding biodiversity into everyday institutional spaces. This component was carried out in collaboration with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

In April 2026, my work with WWF India was consolidated into and published as a formal impact report documenting the development of 10 butterfly gardens across Aliganj, Babar Road, Babu Market, Hanuman Lane, Kitchner Road, Netaji Nagar, Tilak Margh, Laxmi Bai Nagar, Moti Bagh, and Peshwa Road, including the introduction of 6 native plant species.

Over time, since conception in July 2025, this collaboration has led to over 150 plant saplings in the gardens and 20+ teacher-student workshops at Khushii (NGO) that focused on discussing the role of butterflies in plant reproduction and getting students involved in setting up spaces for them.

By combining field observations with citizen contributions, the results show how community-driven interventions can create meaningful ecological impact, while also building long-term awareness and stewardship around urban biodiversity conservation.

Viraj - WWF Butterfly Garden Impact Report

The UK Chapter

Our Gardens at Radley

To extend the project's scope outside of India, I consecutively set-up 6 butterfly gardens on my school, Radley College's campus, working closely with a small group of classmates. We identified underutilised green patches within the school grounds and transformed them into pollinator-friendly spaces by planting native, nectar-rich species and host plants suited to local butterfly populations. These gardens now function as both conservation spaces and informal learning sites, with ongoing monitoring to track butterfly presence and seasonal changes.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse