Moss Garden in Nainital - India's First Moss Garden

Nainital Moss Garden

Uttarakhand forest department has dedicated the newly-built Moss Garden to the people, claiming that it is the country’s first such garden, spread over 10 hectares in Kumaon’s Nainital district.

Mosses generally grows in a damp environment and do not need much sunlight. These plants are extremely sensitive to the outside environment.

Get complete details about Moss Garden of Nainital

The Moss Garden built near Khurpatal under the CAMPA scheme was developed under a project approved in July 2019, with the aim to conserve various species of moss and other bryophytes and to make the people aware of ecological and other useful roles of moss in our environment.

Moss Garden in Nainital Region

Moss Garden in Nainital is the country’s first moss garden spread over 10 hectares, with an interpretation center, 30 representative moss species, and other bryophyte species, including two species listed in IUCN Red List (Hyophila involute and Brachythecium buchananii) and a moss trail nearly 1.25 km long.

This Moss Garden took nearly a year to build and it was inaugurated by the waterman of India “Rajendra Singh”. Singh said it is a good initiative taken by the Uttarakhand forest department and will go a long way in mending the relationship between mankind and Nature.

Last year, the state forest department had approved research projects to study moss species, considered the most significant indicator of ecosystem fluctuations as they are more sensitive towards habitat and climate changes. 2,300 Moss species are found in India of which 339 are found in Uttarakhand according to experts.

What is a Moss garden?

Moss Garden is just like a grass garden consisting of grass, a moss garden has mosses instead of grass. The mosses are squishy and can compress without facing any damages. These gardens can thus be easily walked on without being damaged and also do not require annual replacement.

What are Mosses?

Mosses are among the first plants to take over the earth. These are non-vascular plants that are they are simple, low-growing species that do not flower. These plants can only reproduce using spores. They are more receptive to air and rain, they act as excellent bio-indicators of environmental degradation.

Mosses are played a very important role in maintaining and developing the ecosystem and biodiversity including soil formation, water retention, checking erosion, and acting as a nutrient sink. They are non-vascular plants that belong to the Bryophyta division. They are small flowerless plants that typically grow in damp and shady locations.