Green Hangouts: CEC Goregaon

The education wing of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) is located in the wilderness that lies between Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Film city, Goregaon. The Conservation Education Center (CEC) is situated in a 33-acre spread of forest which also includes some nature trails. If you live in the western suburbs, particularly close to Goregaon, CEC could become your regular weekend retreat.

What’s so special? 

When one makes their way into Film City, you will come across the sets of various saas-bahu serials, and you might think, where is this CEC? Thanks to the film crew, a fair amount of rubbish can be seen strewn on the roads. But once you go past the last cluster of film sets that appear after the signboard that says ‘BNHS 450m’, you see some beautiful forests and hear some amazing bird calls. And right there, in the midst of the forest lies this somewhat old building hidden well in the thickets of the canopy. A gate that says BNHS-CECBeware of Leopards, welcomes you.

Image: Entrance to CEC

Staffed with just a handful of people, CEC might be one of the coolest offices (in terms of the location) in Mumbai. During one of my recent visits to CEC, a friend of mine who worked there showed me a carcass of dog on a tree that was right outside the CEC office building. The neighbourhood friendly leopard had made her way this side of the forest with a happy meal (of the dog) but then left it halfway for reasons unknown. And yes, leopards are common to this area, with sightings restricted usually to dawn, dusk and night times. They tend to steer clear of human beings and are not sighted very often.

Image: Short hikes at CEC

Lots to see and hear

But the summer season apparently yields wonderful sightings of spotted deer, barking deer and wild boars who visit the water bodies near CEC to quench their thirst.  And it is during this season that the ever-elusive thirsty leopards let down their guard and come to the water hole.

CEC is a wonderful place to learn about butterflies and birds. Apart from this, the forests that surround CEC are a treasure trove of insects!  During the monsoons, there is a crisscross of streams that run through the forests which is an absolute delight!

Since the Centre’s main aim is to spread nature awareness among the masses, they have a wide range of programmes that cater to children, youngsters and families. If you also are very particular about going green in your respective offices, CEC has customised programmes and workshops for corporates, too. On some occasions, CEC also organize night camps at their base, and the opportunities to witness “nightlife” in the jungle, whilst in the city is a rare thing! I would definitely recommend that everybody visits this beautiful forest. [This information is not updated]

CEC celebrated its 20th birthday in 2013 and hopes are set on it becoming a permanent attraction at Film City. Over the years, CEC has made sure that the area surrounding it has remained green and vibrant with wildlife. It is our duty as Mumbaikars to help CEC maintain this thriving habitat.

Getting there: Thenearest railway station to CEC is Goregaon (Western line) and the nearest bus stop is Film City. The CEC office is open from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm, Monday through Friday. But depending on the season, there are sometimes weekend programmes at CEC. [This information is not updated]

Image: Location of CEC

You can keep yourself updated by checking here: https://www.bnhs.org/content-details/mumbai-cec

Green hangouts is a series of stories celebrating Mumbai’s place in the green scheme of things.

This post was originally published on The Metrognome.

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My name is Adithi Muralidhar. I am a nature enthusiast based in Mumbai, India.

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