Wildlife Week 2014

Satpuda Foundation celebrated Wildlife Week (October 1-7) in more than 50 villages across the Satpuda landscape in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra with a series of well-attended programmes aimed at promoting awareness of wildlife and the need for conservation.

Adopting a multi-pronged strategy, Satpuda Foundation organised rallies, drawing and face-painting contests, film shows, nature games and nature trails, sapling plantation programmes to promote the conservation agenda in villages adjoining Kanha Tiger Reserve, Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve, Pench Tiger Reserve (Maharashtra), Pench Tiger Reserve (Madhya Pradesh), Satpura Tiger Reserve and Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve.

Around 3,500 people attended the various programmes, including students of local schools, villagers, members of local Gram Panchayats, staff of the Forest Departments of both States and local officials.

In Kanha Tiger Reserve, one major event was an anti-plastic drive on October 2 at Mocha.  Mocha Gram Panchayat Sarpanch Ramprasad Uikey, President of village EDC Bhagwan Singh Parmar, owner of tourist Gypsy and villagers, youths, school children all participated. Around 55 people participated, collecting plastic litter from all over the village, instructed shopkeepers to provide dustbins for litter and also told households to do the same. Village Gram Panchayat sarpanch has said he will issue a letter to all shops owners asking them not to litter or face a fine of 500 rupees.

Around 100 women, members of women’s SHGs from Kutwahi, Manegaon, Bhagpur and Patpara also participated in various events including rallies, drawing contests. Totally around 1,000 people participated in Kanha in 10 villages during the Week.

At Tadoba, a number of events was organised including conservation rallies, plantation of saplings, drawing contests, quiz contest and meetings of Dewada village EDC , Kondegaon SHG (Sharda Mahila SHG) at which villagers promised to promote conservation. Film shows on conservation and nature trails were also organised. Around 750 people in all participated in 12 villages.

At Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve (NNTR), the notable activity was a series of wildlife safaris for children of village schools adjoining the Tiger Reserve. The management of the NNTR waived the entry fees for the children and arranged for a bus to take them inside Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary.  5 batches of 30 students each went into Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary.  Satpuda Foundation’s Mukund Dhurve was the resource person for the entire programme, speaking to children about nature and wildlife, teaching them techniques of bird spotting, identifying animals and plants. Other programmes organised in the area for Wildlife Week included conservation rallies, essay and drawing competitions in schools, anti-plastic programmes. Around 575 people, including schools students, teachers and officials of the Forest Department participated in our programmes in 8 villages.

In Pench Tiger Reserve (Madhya Pradesh), around 15 children from the village of Jamuntola enjoyed a treat when Satpuda Foundation organised a visit to the Nature Interpretation Centre located at the entry to Priyadarshini Pench Tiger Reserve, around 3 km from Turia village. The children saw various exhibits in the Centre depicting the life of the tiger, as well as various exhibit of birds and other wildlife. Besides, during the Wildlife Week, Satpuda Foundation organised a number of events including nature trails and nature games for village children, conservation rallies, drawing and essay-writing contests and rangoli competitions. More than 260 students, around 10 teachers and 25 villagers participated in the various programmes in 8 villages during the Wildlife Week.

A notable highlight of Satpuda Foundation’s Wildlife Week programmes in Pench Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra, was a vaccination drive for cattle at Wagholi village. More than 90 cattle of the village were given vaccines to boost their immunity against common diseases. Satpuda Foundation bore the expenses for the drive and arranged for a local veterinary doctor, Dr. Raosaheb Jhatale and his assistant to administer the vaccines. Shri Sahadev Tekam, President of Wagholi village Eco-development committee and Forest Guard Mr. Meshram also participated in the programme.

Other activities organised at Pench Tiger Reserve included conservation rallies, nature trails and nature games, film shows on nature and wildlife, drawing, essay-writing and rangoli competitions and sports contests for village youths. More than 650 people, including students, teachers, villagers, officials of the Forest Department and local village officials participated in the various programmes in 11 villages.

At Satpura Tiger Reserve in Hoshangabad district of Madhya Pradesh, the Foundation organised drawing contests, an anti-plastic programme and conservation rallies.

Satpuda Foundation is a registered non-profit non-Government organisation working to conserve wildlife and forests across the Satpuda landscape. We work in more than 80 villages in 6 major Tiger Reserves in the region – Satpura Tiger Reserve, Kanha Tiger Reserve, Priyadarshini Pench Tiger Reserve, Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve, Pench Tiger Reserve. 

The Foundation follows a philosophy of “community conservation” through which it seeks to enlist the support of villagers living in villages adjoining the Tiger Reserves. The Foundation conducts free medical camps, assists villagers in solving their local, basic development issues, conducts environment education programmes in village schools and promotes awareness of nature and wildlife through film shows and awareness meetings.

In livelihood activities, it helps unemployed village youths get jobs either locally or at the nearest urban centre. It also organises skill-development training programmes to help villagers start their own small trades/businesses. It works with women to set up self-help groups and  guides them in alternative livelihood activities.

In grassroots conservation, the Foundation is involved in water conservation and has organised programmes to build more than 100 check dams on streams and rivulets across the landscape. It has helped build more than 100 soak pits.

It assists in fighting forest fires and joins the Forest Department on anti-poaching patrols.  It has also helped build numerous compost pits and vermi-compost tanks to promote organic farming which will reduce the impact of chemical fertilisers on pristine forests. 

In Pench, Maharashtra, the Foundation has prepared and submitted micro-plans for 19 villages to the Forest Department. These plans aim to promote sustainable development, without undue pressure on forests and the environment.

The Foundation was a member of the last Standing Committee of National Board for Wildlife(NBWL), India's apex policy and decision making committee.

_____________________________________________________________________________________Address: 1st Floor, "Pratishtha", Bharat Nagar, Akoli Road, Near Sainagar, Amravati, Maharashtra state (India).Pin-444607.