Activity Update June 2018: Satpura Tiger Reserve

Highlights:

Young men from the Denwa village cluster
who joined the Driving Training Institute

Members of the Almod Nature Club with their saplings

Launch of the plantation drive at Matkuli

Pits dug for tree plantation, Matkuli

Students repairing the check dam at Mehandikheda

Tekapar - structure built to harvest rainwater

THE FULL REPORT

Team:             Ashfaq Aarbi – Conservation Officer

                        Hamid Khan – Field assistant

Highlights

·      9 water conservation voluntary work projects during the month – 5 water bodies cleaned, 2 check dams repaired and 2 structures for rainwater harvesting

·      14 awareness programmes on sapling plantation

·      Joined Forest Department staff on patrols on 6 occasions

·      11 young villagers selected for driver’s training

·      2 young villagers placed in jobs

·      Nature clubs formed in Almod and Matkuli

·      Discussed schemes of Animal Husbandry Department with villagers

·      Formation of fisheries group

·      Celebrated World Environment Day at Matkuli

·      Visit to check on status of  3 villages which have already been relocated

Conservation

During June, we organised 9 programmes related to water conservation.

On June 2, we organised a programme to clean a water body in the jungle around 2.5 km from Pisuwa village. The water body was covered with leaves and organic litter and animals were finding it difficult to drink. Our team, consisting of field assistant Hamid Khan and 13 children from Pisuwa, cleared the litter and made the water body accessible to the animals again. Spotted deer are regularly spotted around this water body while there are occasional sightings of sloth bears, wild pigs, wild dogs and leopards.     

We organised similar programmes to clean four more water bodies in the jungle at Matkuli, Pisuwa, Duddi and Bandhan on June 3 and 24.

On June 8, our team organised a programme to repair a check dam on a stream around 1.5 km from Mehandikheda village.

A team comprising 9 children of Mehandikheda and Hamid repaired the dam. The water body is used by wildlife at night. Sloth bears, wild pigs, wild dogs, leopards and other wildlife are spotted in the area.  

A similar programme was organised at Pisuwa on June 12.

On June 18, we organised a programme to build a structure for rain water harvesting at Tekapar village. A team comprising of 11 school children from Tekapar and Hamid built the structure using boulders.

A similar programme was organised at Matkuli on June 22.

During the month, our team organised 14 awareness programmes in Jhirpa, Khanchari, Karer, Matkuli, Pisuwa, Duddi, Bandhan, Almod, Aaritodiya, Mohgaon, Tekapar, Chandanpipariya, Bindakheda and Chirrai villages to promote awareness about forests and the need to maintain and increase green cover.

At these programmes, our team explained to villagers how the forests could be maintained and green cover could be added through plantation drives.

Villagers were motivated to collect seeds of native species which could be used in plantation drives during the monsoon. We have arranged for the supply of saplings of neem, jamun, kosam, pipal, bargad and mahua from the Social Forestry Wing and prepared pits for plantation.

Forest patrolling

During the month, we participated in 6 forest patrols with forest guards. Participants included Mr. Pushparaj Moodotiya, Vimlesh Vyalsa, Shivnarayan Devda (Forest Guards), forest choukidars and EcoDevelopment Committee members.

Employment Cell

During the month, we identified and sent 11 young villagers from the Denwa cluster for a driver’s training programme at Ashok Leyland Institute of Driving Training and Research, Chhindwara. Details of the trainees are as follows:

2 villagers got jobs in June thanks to our team.

Details of the placements are as follows:

Nature club formation

During the month, we formed 2 nature clubs in Government Middle School (GMS), Almod and Government Higher Secondary School (GHS), Matkuli. The clubs have been assigned the duty of maintaining cleanliness on and around their campus, plantation during the monsoon and other conservation-related work. We also organised planting of saplings on the school campuses.

Animal Husbandry Department schemes

During the month, we met Mr. Jain, Veterinary Assistant Surgeon, Pipariya and the Veterinary Executive Officer, Tamiya, and submitted 11 proposals for home-based poultry rearing at the Veterinary Office Pipariya.

Ashfaq and Assistant Veterinary Field Officer visited Almod, Jhirpa, Duddi and Bandhan villages and discussed the Animal Husbandry Department’s schemes with villagers.

Fisheries group formation

We organised a fisher folk meeting on June 11, 15 and 16 at Matkuli, Mohgaon and Jhirpa. We formed Machuwa Samitees (fisheries society) in 3 villages and gave details of the Fisheries Department’s schemes to them.

World Environment Day

On June 5, we organised an event to celebrate the World Environment Day at Pisuwa. This programme was attended by Smt. Laxmi Bai Yadav (Sarpanch, Pisuwa), Omprakash Sahu, Vimlesh Vyalsa, (Forest Guard) and EDC members of Matkuli, Mehandikheda, Chirrai, Tekapar and Khari.

Relocated villages

Ashfaq and Hameed khan visited the relocated villages of Dhargaon, Birjikhapa and Kukra during June to follow up on the status of the relocated villagers.

Satpura Tiger Reserve (STR) management has asked Satpuda Foundation to focus on young adults from relocated villages in our livelihood activities and select the candidates for skill-development training.

The STR management will approach the concerned government agencies to implement livelihood training programmes under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM).  
  

Satpuda Foundation has submitted a list of candidates list to the Director, Rural Self Employment Training Institute (RSETI), Hoshangabad.