Tree Management in Kasarvadavali, Thane.

Plots at the foot of the hills in Kasarvadavali often hold trees that are not garden trees at all: native forest species that seeded in from the park's edge, standing on shallow soil over rock. They transplant poorly, and losing them thins the green margin between the townships and the forest. We identify every tree to species and age, advise the architect which clusters to keep along the hill-side boundary, and plan compensatory planting with native species suited to the same shallow, well-drained ground.

Kasarvadavali lies towards the northern end of Thane's stretch of Ghodbunder Road, below the hills of Sanjay Gandhi National Park and short of the climb to Gaimukh. The village is still there, with its own lanes and houses, but most of the land around it has been built as townships in recent years, and some of the newest layouts reach right up to the foot of the hills. Metro Line 4 was planned with a station here, and the area is changing from the city's far edge into a connected neighbourhood. The forest is a constant presence: from windows, on walks, and sometimes on the roads at night.