“The primary aim of the project is to enhance the already existing species of flora and fauna in this part of the Western Ghats which environmentalists worldwide call a biodiversity hotspot,” said Hector Andrade, head of Humanities and visionary behind the project, who started off with a sustained effort by a few faculty members with the aim of restoring the biodiversity of the campus and its surrounding area.

“When the college opened nine years ago, the landscaping consultant who was hired to beautify the campus, bequeathed it with a large number of fast-growing exotic tree species like the Singapore Cherry, Australian Acacia, and Eucalyptus, which scientists agree discourage plant diversity and lead to what is called a green desert,” said Andrade.

The college now has a dedicated nursery of indigenous trees that can supply native species of trees to the entire campus as well as the surrounding areas.

“In today’s world, what is better than to be able to say that we found it brown and we left it green,” headmaster, Dr David Wilkinson, said.