Indian Wildlife Club Forum

The Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary is a forest garden in the Western Ghat mountains of Kerala, India, dedicated to conservation and education. This mountain system is bordered by the Arabian Sea on one side and vast arid areas on others. It supports a unique and endangered flora, and has been identified by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as one of the 25 centres of biodiversity in the world.

Founded in 1981, the Sanctuary is a garden of wild plant species grown at the edge of a large rainforest reserve. Our central intention is to restore endangered species and habitats in a highly fragmented landscape, in which only a fraction of original forest remains and much of the native flora is extracted for human use.

The Sanctuary is run by a small group of resident gardeners, naturalists and educators, and supported by a wide circle of well-wishers. Together we offer an approach that is connected to the climate, landscape, ecosystems, plants, animals and people of the Western Ghats.

The work at the Sanctuary includes:

• Conservation of native (rainforest) plants.
• Education and public outreach.
• Developing horticultural and conservation skills in local young women.
• Habitat restoration in degraded areas of the Western Ghats
• Supporting recovery of natural forest within our lands.
• Research in biodiversity and conservation.
• Sustainable agriculture and integrated land use: growing the forest farm.