Team: Amit Awasthi - Conservation OfficerSampatlal Dhurve - Field AssistantApril highlights: · Two shramdhaans for water conservation – cleaning of soak pits
· One waterhole dug at Chapri, which can be used by small animals, domestic livestock and birds for
· Four anti-plastic campaigns, including one in which Forest Department staff participated
· Water pots put up for birds in 2 villages
· Two nature trails
· Assisted Forest Department in fighting fires in forest on 2 occasions
· 2 unemployed youths assisted in getting jobs locally
· 8 film shows on wildlife and nature, attended by 434 people
Conservation:
With the start of the summer months, forest fires have become a major hazard. As part of our conservation efforts, our team assisted the Forest Department by conveying information to them about fires in the forest and also by assisting them in fighting fires on 2 occasions.
On April 16, Amit Awasthi noticed smoke rising from the jungle near Batwar Ghat. He called up the local forest Department staff and started fighting the fire in the meantime. Subsequently, 8 local Forest Dept staff joined in the fire-fighting.
On April 18, Amit and Sampath were returning from Samaiya village, where they had motivated the villagers to put up pots with water for birds to drink from. Around 4 kms from Samaiya, they noticed a big fire in the forest, which was beyond their ability to fight. Amit called up the local forest guard and informed him of the fire and its location.
As part of an ongoing programme during the summer months, we organised awareness programmes in all villages in our area of operations to explain to villagers the causes of forest fires, how these can be contained and the duty of villagers in tackling this danger to the environment.
Our team has also been motivating villagers to put up pots with water for birds to quench their thirst in the hot summer months. This programme is an ongoing one in all the villages in our area of operations.
On April 7, Conservation officer Amit Awasthi and field assistant Sampathlal Dhurve led a team of 11 students of Government Primary & Middle School, Patpara in a programme to clean the surroundings next to a hand pump used to draw drinking water. The area had become a mini-swamp, with stagnant water providing a breeding place for mosquitoes and insects. Our team cleaned up the area of litter and debris which were clogging the canals dug to drain water away and also cleaned up the adjoining soak pit.
A similar programme was organised on April 29 at Chapri in which 12 students from Government Primary School and Employment Guarantee Scheme School from the village joined hands with our team.
On April 8, we organised an anti-plastic campaign in Bhagpur in which plastic litter and waste was picked up from all over the village and buried in a pit. 13 students from EGS School, Bhagpur joined hands with Amit and Sampath in the programme.
Similar programmes were organised at Dhamangaon, Sautiya and Chapri. In the programmes at Sautiya and Chapri, staff from the Forest Department joined us.
Litter picked up during anti-plastic drive in Chapri On April 3, Sampath led 12 students of GPS, Dhamangaon on a nature trail through the jungle adjoining the village. On the trail, Sampath talked to the children about nature and wildlife and the need for conservation.
On April 16, a similar programme was held at Patpara for 14 students of the Govt Primary School. Amit led this trail.
Field Assistant Sampath Dhurve talks to children of Patpara during a nature trail On April 9, we organised a programme to dig a small waterhole under a tree near the Forest Dept.’s local office at Chapri. The waterhole will be useful for birds and monkeys.
Employment Cell: Two youths were placed in local jobs.
Education Van:
A total of 8 film shows took place between April 13 and April 15.
May highlights: · Cleaning of surroundings next to hand pump at Sautiya
· Cleaning of surroundings next to well at Batwar
· Programmes conducted in 4 villages to train villagers to make smokeless chullahs
· Two nature trails
· Two anti-plastic campaigns
· Water pots put up for birds in 4 villages
· 2 unemployed youths assisted in getting jobs locally
Conservation:
Our team organised a community meeting on May 28 at Chapri which was attended by the Sarpanch
of the local Gram Panchayat, local officials of the Agriculture Department and Ajeewika and around 30 villagers.
The meeting discussed conservation activities which are to be taken up, plantation programme for the monsoon, the schemes of the Agriculture Department and other issues that the villagers are facing.
Community meeting on conservation and development issues, Chapri
Our team has been motivating villagers to put up pots with water for birds to quench their thirst in the hot summer months. This programme is an ongoing one in all the villages in our area of operations. In May, around 35 pots were put up in Samaiya, Dhamangaon, Chapri and Manegaon.
On May 16, Conservation officer Amit Awasthi and field assistant Sampathlal Dhurve led a team of 6 students of Government Primary School, Batwar and 8 unemployed youths in a programme to clean the surroundings next to a well used to draw drinking water. The area had become like a swamp, with stagnant water providing a breeding place for mosquitoes and insects. Our team cleaned up the area of litter and debris which were clogging the canals dug to drain water away and also cleaned up the adjoining soak pit.
A similar programme was organised on May 24 at Sautiya in which 10 students from Government Primary School in the village joined hands with our team to clean up the surroundings next to a hand pump.
On May 11, we organised an anti-plastic campaign in Samaiya in which plastic litter and waste was picked up from all over the village and buried in a pit. 13 students from the Education Guarantee Scheme School in the village joined hands with Amit and Sampath in the programme.
A similar programme was organised on May 13 at Manegaon in which 11 students joined with our team.
On May 8, our team led 12 students of GPS, Batwar on a nature trail through the jungle adjoining the village. On the trail, Amit and Sampath talked to the children about nature and wildlife and the need for conservation.
On May 22, a similar programme was held at Chapri for 9 students of the GPS and EGS.
Our team also organised a visit of village children to a nursery at Chapri on May 27. The visit helped the children understand how saplings are nursed and how they eventually become full-grown trees and plants. The nursery was set up by local village youths with assistance from the Forest Department.
During the month, we conducted awareness programmes about smokeless chullahs or stoves. These stoves will result in lower smoke and will also require less wood for burning. Ajeewika, a MP government agency for rural livelihoods, will provide some material assistance to the villagers in making these stoves. Along with Ajeewika, we selected 4 women, 2 each from Manegaon and Chapri, to attend a training programme on smokeless chullahs at Nainpur. The programme was funded by Ajeewika. These women, on their return, trained local villagers in making the smokeless chullahs. A total of around 150 such chullahs have been made so far in Manegaon, Patpara, Sautiya and Chapri.
Employment Cell:
2 youths were placed in local jobs.
Santosh Yadav of Dhamangaon, who got a job with our assistance
