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| Aamajhiri - Niranjan repairing a defective biogas stove |
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| Students at Aamajhiri take part in an ephemeral art contest during Wildlife Week |
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| Ambadi - Niranjan explains the food web through a nature game, during the visit of Born Free Foundation |
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| Ambadi students pose after a nature trail during Wildlife Week |
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| Kamlesh conducts a nature education class at Deori |
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| Sumit talks about nature to students at Doodhgaon during Wildlife Week |
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| Dr Zanzal examines a patient at our free health camp at Kohoka |
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| Kohoka students participating in our collage making contest during Wildlife Week |
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| Students display their creations after the collage making competition |
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| Sumit discusses livelihood options with SHG members at Kundai |
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| Niranjan identifies a bird during our bird-spotting trip during Wildlife Week |
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| Conservation rally about to kick off, at Pupuldoh, during Wildlife Week |
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| Conservation rally at Pupuldoh during Wildlife Week |
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| Satosha farmers and Sumit discussing ways to reduce crop depredation by wildlife |
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| Wildlife film screening at Sauri |
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| Niranjan conducts a nature education class at Teliya |
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| Kamlesh with volunteers and Forest Department staff during an anti-plastic drive |
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| Thuyepani resident Mrs Sanjana Dhurve, one of the villagers who received LPG cylinders |
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| Students from Thuyepani on a nature trail jointly organised with the Forest Department |
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| With our team and the Forest Department before the nature trail |
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| Our team and Born Free Foundation attending an SHG meeting at Turia |
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| Dr Chaitanya Vaidya coordinating a telemedicine session from Nagpur with a patient at Turia |
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| Dr Zanzal and a patient during a telemedicine session at Turia, using a Lifecycle platform |
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| Niranjan talking to SHG members about livelihood options, Turia |
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| Niranjan explains climate change through a nature game, Turia |
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| Sumit conducts a session with Turia children, on computer skills and internet use |
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| Prototype of a system based on flashing LEDs made by our team to deter crop-raiding by wildlife |
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| After the workshop on computer awareness, Turia |
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| Mohgaon - volunteers with Kamlesh at the check dam they've constructed |
THE FULL REPORT
Team
Conservation
Officer
– Sumit Kumar Kar
Field Assistant – Niranjan Hinge (Turia
cluster)
Field Assistant– Kamlesh Pawar
(Khamarpani cluster)
Major highlights of the month
· Mobile
Health service camps at 6 villages treating 141 patients
· Wildlife
week celebrations across 14 villages consisting of 17 activities
· Film
shows in 6 schools reaching 348 students
· Formation
of new SHG at Turia
· Education
program at 8 schools attended by 236 students
· Formation
of farming support network and anti-predation system
· Check
Dam construction through voluntary work project near Mohgaon
· Celebration
of World Food Day, International Day for Climate Action
· Six
livelihood related meetings with SHGs and farmers
· Two
computer awareness sessions organised for school students
Conservation work
On 2ndOctober,
Niranjan organised a nature trail and bird-watching program for schoolchildren
of Khamba village. During the trail, he gave information on the various bird
species found in the vicinity of the village, the ecological significance of
birds and also the difference between core and buffer region of the Tiger
Reserve. He was assisted by Mr. Rajesh (local naturalist for Pench Tiger
Reserve).
Similar activities were
undertaken on 4th, 18th and 27thOctober at
Potiya, Ambadi and Khamba.
Kamlesh organised a nature
trail for school children of Thuyepani along the buffer region beside Thuyepani
gate during Wildlife week and was accompanied by Sumit and Mr. Verma (Forest
Guard). Students were told about the relocation process of Spotted Deer
(Cheetal), significance of water bodies in forest and tiger census methodology
during this trip.
Another nature trail was
organised on 15th October by Kamlesh at Mohgaon. Nature trails
provide an interactive platform for students to learn about their local flora
and fauna and understand the issues faced by the local biodiversity in their
areas.
On 4th October, Kamlesh organised a rally at Pulpuldoh Government Primary and Middle school as part of Wildlife Week activities in which 89 students participated and raised slogans on wildlife conservation while undertaking a tour of the village. Niranjan had organised a similar rally on 3rd October at Khamrith.
Plastic pollution poses a serious issue around
protected areas and, to address this, anti-plastic drives are undertaken
regularly. Kamlesh organised an anti-plastic drive on 2nd October
with the help of local volunteers and Forest Department staff near the
Thuyepani gate.
Wildlife Week is celebrated in India during the
first week of October every year. This year it was celebrated with the theme “Big Cats: Predators under Threat”.
Wildlife Week was conceptualized in 1952 with the aim of raising awareness on
wildlife conservation.
Satpuda Foundation organises a variety of
activities to celebrate Wildlife Week each year. Various competitions such as collage
making, drawing, quizzes, etc... were organised during 1-7th October
focusing on local biodiversity and their conservation. 17 activities were
undertaken in 14 villages as part of our Wildlife Week celebrations.
World Food Day is celebrated every year around the world
on 16 October in honor of the date of the founding of the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations in 1945.
Satpuda Foundation also celebrated World Food
Day by organising a meeting with farmers of Satosha Village and forming a farmers’
network. During discussions with farmers,
the issue of crop-raiding by wild boar and spotted deer was raised. Man-animal conflict can often result from
such crop-raiding incidents.
Biogas is a sustainable cooking medium for
families close to forests. Niranjan attended two biogas repair calls from Aamajhiri
village in October.
Tribal families often use firewood for cooking
which is detrimental to forests and also causes indoor air pollution. Kamlesh
assisted families at Thuyepani in applying for and subsequently obtaining LPG
cylinders through Ujjwala Scheme of the government.
Climate change is very serious issue having wide
ramification for humans as well as wildlife. Satpuda Foundation celebrated the
International Day for Climate Action by organising an awareness session on the
possible impact of climate change. The program was held at Turia High School on
24th October.
Water scarcity is an issue which is slowly
growing in magnitude. To improve water availability to wildlife, Satpuda
Foundation routinely undertakes check dam construction. Check dams have been
shown to reduce surface runoff, recharge groundwater and reduce soil erosion.
Kamlesh motivated a group of villagers to construct a check dam along a small
ditch near Mohgaon village on 22nd October.
Livelihood
During October, six livelihood-related meetings
were organised. On 12th October, a new Self Help Group (SHG) was
formed by National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) team with assistance from
Niranjan. On October 24th and 25th, subsequent meeting of
the newly formed SHG were held which focused on documentation and various
government schemes available for SHGs.
On 28thOctober, a SHG meeting was
held in the presence of Kishor Rithe, founder of Satpuda Foundation and representative
from Born Free Foundation in which new ideas and existing issues were
discussed.
On 16th October, a farmers’ meeting
was organised at Satosha by Sumit and Niranjan. The agenda was issues faced
by farmers in the village and how to mitigate human-wildlife conflict. A farmer
consultancy group was formed to help farmers on issues like pest problems and
better seed collection. The group members would be linked to the SMS-based farm
advisory system of the government-run KVK in the coming months.
Environment Education
School Education Programs
In October, a total of 8 school education programs were held
by Niranjan, Kamlesh and Sumit during which students were given lectures on pollution,
man-animal conflict, biodiversity conservation, climate change and other issues
related to nature conservation.
A total of 236 students attended these programs.
A total of 236 students attended these programs.
Education Van Program
The education van conducted six
wildlife movie screenings in October. A short introduction before the screening
and a short conclusion after the screening was conducted at each session to
reinforce the conservation message advocated through the wildlife movie.
A total of 348 students attended the
sessions.
IT Education Program
Satpuda Foundation has been
conducting IT education program for village students free of cost since 2013.
Basic computer skills are taught to the students to make them feel comfortable
with the technology and improve their IT skills. During the month of October,
two such sessions were conducted, one at Turia on 21st October
attended by 13 students and one at Deori on 23rd October attended by
50 students.
Nature games
Nature games are invaluable as
they impart important conservation related messages through fun-filled games.
They are more interactive than a traditional lecture and are more effective in
capturing the attention of young minds.
Mobile Health Service
Medical camps were organised in six villages in
Turia cluster in which a total of 126 patients were treated. A telemedicine
session was also conducted using the Lifecycle Health session with Dr.
Chaitanya Vaidya coordinating the session from Nagpur and Dr Zanzal on site.
