Gardening for biodiversity | Daily News

Gardening for biodiversity

Oleander hawk moth.
Oleander hawk moth.

As children we read the unforgettable story of the orphaned lioness Elsa, and we immediately fell in love with not just Elsa but Joy and George Adamson. For the Adamson couple it was a labor of love, caring for Elsa.

Animals even form strong attachments to their caregivers. The animal does not have to be a mammal. It can be any animal. This is what Dr. Dulekha Kasturiratne has discovered. She is a lady who has nurtured injured animals and cared for them. Green Thumbs speaks to Dr. Dulekha Kasturiratne, experienced home gardener and an Associate Professor at the University of Plymouth, UK, on her home that has become a rehabilitation center for animals who need assistance.

Dr. Kasturiratne pointed out that most people would help creatures in need that arrive in their home gardens. Her family is no different.

“We make a makeshift, informal rehabilitation station to try and help out any creature that needs help. I have helped lots of butterflies that have either injured their wings because of predators or have emerged from their chrysalides ill-formed. In most cases a bit of tender loving care and a day’s rest gets them back to normal, but sometimes a bit more prolonged care is necessary,” said Dr. Kasturiratne

Bird nests on outdoor light fixtures

Recently, Dr. Kasturiratne and her sister cared for a common rose butterfly for about a week until it passed away naturally. It was unable to fly or fend for itself, so some kindly intervention was necessary.

“We fed it by hand with fruit and flowers dipped in sugary water using a dropper. We used a toothpick to uncurl its proboscis onto the fruit and sugary flowers to help it drink. Although it was sad that it couldn’t fly, it was also a tremendously fulfilling experience to help it through its life. Some months back, another butterfly had a curled up wing as it emerged from the chrysalide and it too was unable to fly. We tried performing a mini surgery with the help of my father (a doctor) to see if a bit of gentle mending would fix it, but sadly we were not successful. We have also saved countless lizards, squirrels and a couple of ‘hick-meeya’ from my marauding rescue cats. We would keep these creatures safely in a box and feed them until they are fit enough to be let free. The most recent was a ‘pala kottoruwa’ that crashed on to our glass window and had a bad concussion. We found the types of food that it eats and fed it using a tweezer and used a dropper for water. We have also nurtured other insects apart from butterflies such as the Oleander Hawk moth and Heterorrhina Elegans who were either injured, out of food or in danger of being prey to other animals due to some vulnerability. The former is a beautiful moth that looks like a fighter jet and the latter is a stunning, metallic green insect that feeds on ripe fruit,” said Dr. Kasturiratne

Her garden is one of the few remaining green garden spaces in the area. According to Dr. Kasturiratne, much of the spacious green spaces are being sold in favor of concrete jungles such as apartment blocks in the guise of ‘development’ with no regard for the habitat that such ‘development’ destroys. There is always a way that development can take place while preserving the natural habitat and maintaining what is good for us and nature. Even immaculately manicured grass lawns should make a bit of space for a few trees and shrubs for birds and insects.

Dr. Dulekha  Kasturiratne

“We have lots of trees, shrubs and other habitat for animals in our garden. Fortunately, the lane that we live in still has some greenery with animal-loving neighbors. So many animals are naturally attracted here. Apart from birds, our lane boasts wild porcupines, tortoises, thalagoyas and garadiyas that live unhindered. Two of these thalagoyas and a few of the garandiyas are resident in our back garden. They roam freely and are quite at ease with us. It is also helpful that the Wetland Park is close to where we live, so more creatures find their way into our area. When creating and designing such parks, I hope that our local councils will consider more pollinator and wildlife friendly flora and not just decorative plants so that these creatures are attracted here and we can enjoy nature and learn to co-exist. Live green spaces are so important for our mental and physical health in the world that we live in,” pointed out Dr. Kasturiratne

Her home garden attracts a lot of birds, insects and reptiles. These include the city-adapted konda kurullas, vee kurullas, and polkichchas. There are also humming birds, battichchas, parrots, kavudas, kaha kurullas, sivuru horas, sudu redi horas, pala kottoruwas, kohas, kobeyyas and king fishers to name a few.

“We can no longer use our outdoor lampshades and light fixtures as these have been taken by various varieties of birds for nesting. We also have a couple of thalagoyas and garandi who have made their home in our back garden. They are quite at ease with us and keep me company as I potter around the garden.”

She added that the idea is to have a natural balance where there isn’t a prolonged and consistent threat from one creature on another in a way where one type disappears all together. This can be difficult sometimes as human interference can tip the scale.

Mother and daughter rescue cats

“I guess our role is to help maintain that balance as much as we can. Sometimes too many birds or too many of one type can mean that they attack the lizard, dragonfly and butterfly populations. On the other hand, birds can be great at keeping pesky insects that destroy certain crops in our garden at bay. It is all about the balance, and with minimal interference from us, nature tends to find a way,” said Dr. Kasturiratne

There certainly is competition amongst them. For example, when the palm trees produce their juicy red berries, the kohas, konda kurullas, kaha kurullas and the kobeyyas all try to eat the choicest berries. They make quite a racket in the mornings scolding one another loudly and flapping their wings for the best vantage points to access the berries. “The kovudas, konda kurullas and king fishers also compete. They eat insects such as kuras, caterpillars, butterflies and earthworms. We have a resident king fisher who loves it when it rains as all the earthworms come up for air. All it has to do is wait patiently and it is able to choose the most plump ones to dine on. It is a little gut-wrenching though to watch it slap the earthworms around on something hard before swallowing them whole.” Dr. Kasturiratne says she is blessed with wonderful parents, a sister and a nephew, all of whom love animals and are hands on when nursing them back to health. When she was a child she watched how patiently and lovingly her parents cared for sick pets and nursed them

 Resident Thalagoya in action

back to health. “They extend this love to wild creatures too. I learnt from them to be the same way. My sister was instrumental in nursing an ill-formed common rose butterfly during its life span. My family also spent a lot of time with me nursing the concussed pala kottoruwa that crashed into our window. My nephew too is highly involved. He runs around finding boxes, cloth and food to help these creatures. So yes, it’s a family affair.”

From where do these animals seek shelter in a rather bad storm? Or when the glare of the sun is too strong? This is when a variety of trees and shrubs become handy. These creatures often taken shelter in such flora. Reptiles try find a dry spot in the garden under leaves or wood, or go under ground to weather out storms or intense afternoon sun.

“Even small spaces can be rather biodiverse. First we have to notice the varied creatures that visit us. When we take the time to notice them, we understand their behavior better which leads us to accommodating them and helping them to coexist alongside us. Plant the necessary flora to attract them. Keep out some fruit and water to help them when these are scarce. Don’t use artificial chemicals in the garden which can be detrimental to the lifecycles of these creatures. Show these creatures the respect that they deserve and they will repay you by giving you plenty of entertainment and help you to relax. Nature is healing. These days I have plenty of butterflies swarming around my many Andanahiriya and Balu Nakuta plants. I am endlessly entertained by them. They let me watch them at close proximity which I consider a privilege. There is nothing better than sitting with a cup of tea and watching them at touching distance. Hours pass by unnoticed,” explained Dr. Kasturiratne.

Dr. Dulekha Kasturiratne, experienced home gardener and an Associate Professor at the University of Plymouth, UK,

 

Butterfly caterpillar.
Butterfly caterpillar.
Concussed Pala Kottoruwa

 


Add new comment