<h2>Ride or die</h2>
<p>A man throws caution to the wind as he balances five children on his motorcycle at Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg in Ghatkopar</p>
<h2>Finding the city&rsquo;s oldest green guardians</h2>
<p><img src="http://origin.mid-day.com/images/2024/feb/Bittu-Sahgal_e.jpg" alt="Bittu Sahgal (centre) at a previous event. PIC/@BittuSahgal on X" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Bittu Sahgal (centre) at a previous event. PIC/@BittuSahgal on X</em></strong></p>
<p>As part of their new initiative, Kids for Tigers (the Sanctuary Nature Foundation&rsquo;s children&rsquo;s outreach programme) will set out on a venture in April to locate the oldest trees in each of BMC&rsquo;s 24 wards. &ldquo;We are working with students and teachers from 75 institutes. Trees are like senior citizens who add value to the city,&rdquo; informed founder Bittu Sahgal. With an approximate count of 70,000 students who will be involved in this project, nearly 200 will conduct the survey. The focus will also be on connecting children with botanists and naturalists. &ldquo;Students will learn about the creatures that inhabit trees, and help in pollination; the role that trees play in keeping the city cool; how fungi help the root systems, and so on,&rdquo; he said, adding, &ldquo;A botanist will tell you that having trees around us is healthier; while a real estate expert will say that the green coverage increases property value. We will prove how it&rsquo;s a win-win either way.&rdquo;</p>
<h2>A day filled with stories</h2>
<p><img src="http://origin.mid-day.com/images/2024/feb/Storytelling-session_e.jpg" alt="Students at the storytelling session" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Students at the storytelling session</em></strong></p>
<p>Children love stories, but how well can they tell one? Story Express, under the Akshara Children&rsquo;s Library, organised a storytelling festival on Thursday. Held at the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum and Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Botanical Udyan &amp; Zoo, the festival saw a turnout of 300 curious children from NGOs like Muktangan, Kotak Education Foundation, and Door Step School.</p>
<p><img src="http://origin.mid-day.com/images/2024/feb/Rachel-Bhot_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p>&ldquo;We split the kids into 10 groups and organised eight storytelling sessions and three workshops that they could attend. The workshops aimed to teach them how to write a basic story; how to rewrite a story to make it compelling; and introduction to visual forms of storytelling like comic strips,&rdquo; Rachel Bhot (inset), co-founder, Story Express, told this diarist, adding that a workshop for teachers on newer teaching approaches was conducted alongside. &ldquo;The focus was on introducing them to an approach that looks beyond the traditional confines of strict structural rules,&rdquo; she concluded.</p>
<h2>Happy ending for cricket fans</h2>
<p><img src="http://origin.mid-day.com/images/2024/feb/Kopal-Khanna_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p>Every Mumbaikar has at least once dreamt of slipping into a blue jersey and hitting it out of the park into a roaring crowd at Wankhede Stadium. For those of us that couldn&rsquo;t make it, TapeATale, a storytelling platform, offers a second chance. The platform is calling for stories of peak cricket fandom, from corporate workers who organise local leagues, to collectors who swear by their cricket memorabilia. In collaboration with SBI Life, a show at Worli&rsquo;s Famous Studios on March 2, will witness the 11 best stories come to life. &ldquo;While we have received an overwhelming response, we hope to see more submissions from women. After all, the cricket dream is a shared one,&rdquo; Kopal Khanna (inset), co-founder, shared. Those interested, can leave a message at @tapeatale.</p>
<h2>Caring begins at school</h2>
<p><img src="http://origin.mid-day.com/images/2024/feb/Kite-bird_e.jpg" alt="The rescued kite" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>The rescued kite</em></strong></p>
<p>Students at the Udayachal Primary School in Vikhroli got a hands-on lesson in compassion yesterday. A kite in distress was spotted on the premises following which a call was made to Pawan Sharma (below), founder and president of Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare.</p>
<p><img src="http://origin.mid-day.com/images/2024/feb/Pawan-Sharma_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p>&ldquo;The bird was dehydrated and exhausted. We treated it at the site as it wasn&rsquo;t a complex case,&rdquo; he shared, noting that it was the children&rsquo;s concern and interest in staying by the bird&rsquo;s side that stood out for him. &ldquo;The children were visibly concerned about the bird. They gathered around and celebrated from a distance when we finally released it later that day,&rdquo; he revealed.</p>
<h2>Skating heights in Thane</h2>
<p><img src="http://origin.mid-day.com/images/2024/feb/Skaters_e.jpg" alt="Skaters test the course at the newly opened skate park" width="1280" height="720" /><br /><strong><em>Skaters test the course at the newly opened skate park</em></strong></p>
<p>Suburban skaters&rsquo; patience has paid off, and how. A new state-of-the-art park at Grand Central Park in Thane is finally open to the public, two years after its construction concluded. &nbsp;The new park measures nearly 20,000 sq ft and boasts of features such as a street course, a skating bowl and a pump track for beginners. &ldquo;We spent years on research and sourcing the right materials. The goal is to make skateboarding convenient so it becomes easier to pursue,&rdquo; Altamash Sayed, co-founder of Bombay SB, the brains behind the park shared.</p><p>
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Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier

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Finding the city’s oldest green guardians

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