Delhi terrace with 500 plants now attracts 100 bird species and 25 butterflies
A Delhi-based wildlife photographer transformed his terrace into an urban jungle with over 500 plants, attracting 100 bird species and 25 types of butterflies. He advocates for using host and flowering plants to create sustainable urban wildlife habitats.
Why it matters
It demonstrates how small-scale individual efforts can contribute to urban biodiversity and ecological restoration.
For Aman Sharma, the idea of bringing wildlife home began with a problem that many nature lovers faced during the Covid-19 lockdown: he could no longer go out looking for it.A wildlife photographer who had been going on wildlife trips since he was 14, Sharma found himself confined to home. Instead of waiting to return to the forests, he began looking at the space he already had - his terrace in Delhi.Over time, the once-bare terrace turned into what he describes as an urban jungle, with more than 500 plants. It has also become a place where he has observed more than 100 kinds of birds and over 25 kinds of butterflies.But Sharma's experiment offers a lesson beyond his own terrace. He believes people do not need a large garden to make their homes more useful to urban wildlife.
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