Activity Update July 2018: Tadoba

Highlights:

Dewada villagers dig pits for saplings

Katwal - plastic litter clean-up

Katwal - students picking up plastic litter

Rally in Katwal on International Tiger Day

Nature education class in Khutwanda

Sapling plantation in Khutwanda school

Wildlife film screening at Khutwanda school

Sapling plantation begins at Khutwanda

Kondegaon sapling plantation programme

Environment education class by our Field Assistant Kishor Dudhbarai
at Mudholi

Sitarampeth - discussing livelihood options with villagers

Katwal - nature games during an environment education class

THE FULL REPORT

Team:

Conservation Officer: Mr. Ajay Poddar

Field Assistant: Mr. Kishor Dudhbarai

Highlights of the month:

·      1 anti-plastic drive to prevent man-animal conflict - 43 children participated

·      6 voluntary work projects to dig 300 pits for plantation and 260 saplings prepared – 125 villagers participated

·      World Population Day celebrated - 45 villagers attended

·      Global Tiger Day celebrated -77 villagers participated

·      Environmental education programme - 308 students attended

·      Snake bite awareness and prevention session - 46 students attended

·       2 women’s SHG meetings were organised - 23 members attended

·      3 VEDC meetings were organised - 36 members attended

·      11 unemployed youths selected for backhoe loader operator training 

Conservation 

On July 31^st, we organised a cleanliness and anti-plastic programme with villagers of Katwal village. The programme was organised to remove the plastic litter and trash in and around the village and around the hand pump and water tank as they choke the drainage and attract wildlife into the village. A total of 43 villagers participated in the drive.

On July 4^th, 12^th, 13^th, 17^th, 24^th and 28^th, we planted 260 saplings of species like Bahera, Chinch, Babul and Neem with the help of children and villagers through voluntary work projects. A total of 125 villagers from Bhamdeli, Kondegaon, Katwal and Mudholi participated in the plantation drive. We have also prepared seed banks in Zilla Parishad schools of Katwal and Khutwanda with the help of nature clubs formed and mentored by our team.

Celebrations:

World Population Day: On July 11^th, we organised class room lectures for students and well as teachers and villagers in Mudholi to address the issue of increasing human population and its impact on planet Earth. We also explained the anthropogenic pressure on forests and wildlife. 45 villagers attended the programme.

Global Tiger Day:  On July 29^th, we organised class room lectures and a tiger conservation awareness rally in Katwal village. We discussed tiger ecology and its importance in our lives and also explained major threats to our tigers and other wildlife due to anthropogenic pressure created by human activities and development projects passing through tiger corridors across the nation.

Students painted tigers on their faces and bodies and went on a rally through the village, chanting slogans about tiger conservation. A total of 77 students and villagers participated in the programme. 

Programmes:

Education Programme

On July 5^th ,6^th and 7^th , we organised environmental education programmes in Zilla Parishad schools of Khutwanda, Mudholi, Katwal, Kondegaon and Sitarampeth, A total of 308 students along with their teachers participated in the activities. We organised film shows, documentaries and talks on wildlife conservation..

On July 27^th,  we also organised an awareness session on snakes and snake bite prevention in Mudholi village as human-reptile confrontation increases in the monsoon. 46 students participated in the session.

Employment Cell

We organised 2 Self-Help Group (SHG) meetings and 3 Village Eco-Development Committee (VEDC) meetings, focusing on alternative livelihoods which would reduce dependence on the forests. 59 villagers attended these meetings.

In VEDC meetings, we discussed and explained short- and long-term benefits of plantation. We also discussed collection of saplings and identification of areas for plantation. 

Another topic discussed was the recent increase in man-animal conflict in the Moharli buffer and how to prevent it by using cattle sheds and stall feeding for cattle, which often fall prey to carnivores when they wander into the forest in search of fodder.

Our team selected 11 unemployed young villagers from Mudholi, Katwal and Khutwanda for a residential course of backhoe loader operator’s training at Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) training centre, Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh.  

Details of the programmes are given below: 

List of the candidates (backhoe loader operator training)