05 June,2026 09:06 AM IST | Mumbai | Devashish Kamble
The effort turned the area into a green haven. PICS COURTESY/INATUREWATCH
We are going broke. Mumbai's green wealth has been taking quite a few hits this year. After 45,000 trees in the city's mangroves were marked for cutting for upcoming infrastructural upgrades earlier in March, environmentalists received another unwelcome intimation last week: Nearly 2000 trees in the city will face the axe to make way for the Versova-Dahisar Coastal Road. Amid the steady loss of green, a few citizens are giving us hope. From re-wilding hills, to taking nature education to underserved families, these eco-warriors are putting up a fight in their own way.
Nikita Pimple Sawant
This school is too cool, quite literally. Dotted with potted plants and trees, the Rishi Valmiki Eco School in Goregaon West caters to children with fewer opportunities from the Bhagat Singh slums in the neighbourhood.
Activities at the school. PIC COURTESY/RVES
What sets them apart is their experiential nature and wildlife education programme that includes visits to nature parks, expert talks. and art-based learning.
Principal Nikita Pimple Sawant reveals that the school has produced nearly 20 naturalists, who returned as faculty members. This year, they plan to spread their wings to BMC schools in the city to replicate the impact.
Log on to: rves.org
Green tip: Take your children out in the wild. Textbooks cannot spark the same curiosity for nature in their minds.
The barren Taloja Hill in 2020
Soil erosion, human vandalism and repeated wildfires had left the Taloja Hill Forest in Sector 35 C barren. A large-scale community effort by Dr V Shubhalaxmi's iNaturewatch Foundation mobilised volunteers to conduct biodiversity surveys, prepare soil, plant saplings, and re-wild the hills. In 2025, nature trails opened to the public, where you'd once find only wastelands.
Log on to: @inaturewatch
Green tip: Make nature exploration a lifelong hobby. Cultivate compassion. It shapes our choices and actions, and can help build a more resilient, sustainable, and caring future.
Nandakumar Pawar with the waste collected from Elephanta Island
If the last time you visited Elephanta Island was on your school trip, you'd be surprised to learn that things have changed. A kilometre-long stretch on the island had turned into an unpleasant sight for visitors. In March 2026, Nandakumar Pawar, senior officer at Sagarshakti (the marine conservation arm of Vanashakti), joined hands with 50 local fishermen, and the Forest Department's Mangrove Cell to clear a whopping 4000 kg of plastic waste.
Log on to: @sagarshakti.india
Green tip: Bring a change in your attitude towards tourism. Your waste stays for years after you leave.
Former IIT Bombay professor Chetan Solanki (Solar Energy) gave up his job in 2025 to focus on his climate change awareness road trip, Energy Swaraj Yatra. Solanki eats, sleeps, and works in a customised bus, which reached Kolkata on June 2.
Solar energy is an alternative, not a solution. Lowering your electricity demand is the solution.
E-vehicles are not fully green modes of transport.
Cycle to work, or opt for public transport.
Buy local produce. The supply behind importing food leaves a big carbon footprint.
Log on to: @energy_swaraj
Subhajit Mukherjee (Mission Green Mumbai)
Mukherjee runs the Jal Sanchay campaign, a household rainwater harvesting initiative across Mumbai.
Log on to: @mission_green_mumbai
Sumaira Abdulali (Awaaz Foundation)
Abdulali has been leading the march against Mumbai's rising levels of noise pollution.
Log on to: @abdulalisumaira
Dharmesh Barai (Environment Life Foundation)
Barai's efforts to clear Navi Mumbai's mangroves of waste recently completed 300 weeks.
Log on to: @environentlifefoundation
Inputs by Bhumika Israni
