A BACKYARD BIODIVERSITY BREAKTHROUGH IN RAMBUKPITIYA

Team of young researchers produce.....

- By Sugath Priya Kulathunga Arachchi

Petaurista philippensis- Giant flying squirrel

In the heart of Sri Lanka's central highlands, a modest home garden has quietly evolved into a living laboratory challenging conventional conservation wisdom and offering a blueprint for sustainable coexistence.

A team of young researchers has spent 17 uninterrupted years observing, nurturing, and documenting the transformation of a 36-perch plot in Rambukpitiya, near Nawalapitiya, into a thriving biodiversity hotspot.

Their findings, published in "Loris", the journal of the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society, reveal how even small, semi-urban spaces can support rich ecosystems when managed with ecological sensitivity and scientific rigour.

Led by Dushanta Kandambi, Thilina Surasinghe and Suranjan Karunaratne, the project began in 2008 with the purchase of a neglected plot, once used for mixed cropping. Rather than imposing artificial landscaping or exotic species, the team allowed native flora to regenerate naturally. They minimised human interference, avoided chemical inputs, and created microhabitats for amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

Their approach included:

■Preserving canopy trees and undergrowth