Activity Update July 2015: Satpura Tiger Reserve

Team: Ashfaq Aarbi – Conservation Officer

            Hameed Khan – Field assistant

Highlights

·      Distribution of 18,000 saplings to 80 farmers and plantation in 4 programmes

·      12 awareness programmes on sapling plantation

·      BCRLIP Awareness programme for sustainable livelihood

·      Celebrated World Tiger Day at Almod Matkuli

·      Classroom visits to 14 schools as part of our environment education program – attended by 671 students

·      10 films shows on wildlife and nature conservation- attended by 602 people

·      Medical camps in 5 villages - 81 patients treated

·      Organized lantana training programme at Almod

·      Organized pickle processing training at Almod

·      Visit to check on status of  7 villages which have already been relocated

Conservation

With the monsoon setting in across the landscape, our teams have been working to motivate villagers to plant saplings. In July, our Satpuda team organized distribution and planting of saplings in Pachmarhi and Denwa clusters. The details are given in the table above. The saplings were provided free of cost by the Satpuda Tiger Reserve management. A total of 18,000 clonal eucalyptus saplings were distributed and planted. Photo below: plantation at Almod.

Awareness programme about plantation, Almod

BCRLIP Awareness Programme

Satpura Tiger Reserve (STR) management is implementing Biodiversity Conservation Rural Livelihood Implementation Programme (BCRLIP) in Almod and Barud villages. At the request of STR Deputy Director Shri A K Mishra, we organized 4 programmes in Almod and Barud to promote awareness of BCRLIP in particular plantation and sustainable rural livelihood schemes.

Barod

Almod

World Tiger Day

On July 29, we organized functions to celebrate the World Tiger Day at Almod and Matkuli. The programme at Almod was attended by Vandana Bhalavi (Range Officer), Shri Manohar Lal Wadiwa (Deputy Ranger, Almod) and villagers of Almod.

Ashfaq spoke to the gathering about the significance of the day and the need to save the tiger.

A similar programme was organized at Matkuli which was attended by school students, Shri Raju Agrawal, Head Master of Middle School and Shri Vishesh Srivastava, Head Master of Primary School. Photos below.

Ashfaq and Hameed speak to students at Matkuli

Almod

Education

During the month, our team organized 14 lectures to educate students about nature and wildlife conservation.

Chirrai

Tekapar

Education Van

During July, our team conducted a total of 10 film shows on nature and wildlife conservation.

Film screening at Dundi

Film screening at Pisuwa

Employment Cell

Training programmes

Satpuda Tiger Reserve, Hoshangabad organized a programme to train villagers to make products from lantana such as furniture and artefacts. They invited us to send 25 candidates from villages in our area of operations to be trained as carpenters. We identified 25 villagers from Almod village and sent them for the 15-day programme, which started on July 11 and ran till July 15. The programme was halted after five days due to heavy rains and will resume after the monsoon. The entire cost of the programme is being borne by Satpuda Tiger Reserve. Photos below.

During this month, we organized a training programme focused on food processing at Almod. A total of 10 women belonging to a self-help group (SHG) called Satpuda SHG, attended the programme where they learned to make pickles. The training programme was part of the BCRLIP initiative. Photos below.

Mobile Health Service (MHS)

Satpuda Foundation organizes medical camps at which villagers get free treatment and medicines. These camps, whose schedule is set in conjunction with the management of the Tiger Reserve, are run by the Mobile Health Service (MHS) of Satpuda Foundation. There were health camps in 5 villages in July.

MHS co-ordinator Siddharth Kale dispensing free medicines at the camp

Free health camp at Almod