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| At a program about hygiene organised by our team in Chargaon |
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| Plastic litter clean-up drive in Chargaon |
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| Field Assistant Dilip speaks to students at Khapa about wildlife conservation |
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| Dilip discussing conservation issues with villagers at Kirangisarra |
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| Training program for Park nature guides, at Pipariya |
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| Field Assistant Balkrishna with village volunteers on forest patrol near Ambazari |
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| Conservation rally at Chargaon |
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| Dilip discusses livelihood issues with a Womens SHG, Sawara |
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| Dr Zanzal at our free health camp at Chargaon |
THE FULL REPORT
Team: Abhijit Dutta – Assistant Director (Conservation)
Bandu Uikey –
Conservation
Officer
Dilip Lanjewar, Balkrishna Bagmare – Field
assistants
Highlights
·
Two community foot patrols
·
Two programs to prepare kitchen gardens
·
One anti-plastic program at Chargaon
·
Six meetings on conservation issues like JFM
committee formation, Govt. Resolution reading, resettlement, crop damage
compensation
·
Two conservation awareness rallies
·
Four celebrations to mark important days in
the ‘eco-calendar’
·
Fourteen school education programs conducted
- 346 students participated
·
IT education program at Sawara
·
Personality Development Training organised
for nature guides, Gypsy jeep owners and drivers from Sillari and Khudsapar
Wildlife Safari gates - 45 participants from the 2 gates attended
·
Two youth shortlisted and sent for hospitality
training program funded by Pench Tiger Conservation Foundation
·
Three livelihood meetings on various trades with
Women Self Help Group (SHG) members and young villagers
·
Six free medical camps - 268 patients
treated
·
One research project on snakes underway
Conservation Action and Awareness
On September 15, Dilip motivated students to volunteer for a program to prepare a kitchen garden in Sawara Zilla Parishad (ZP) School. He explained to them the benefits of the kitchen garden and demonstrated methods of organic farming to them.
He stressed the need of organic farming to save wildlife from
pollutants and to save ourselves from harmful chemicals. He instructed the
students to use organic manure like vermi-compost for the kitchen garden and
encouraged all students to create such gardens in their backyards at their homes.
The crop from this kitchen garden will be used for the mid-day meal program at
the school for the students.
On September 25, Dilip
motivated students, teachers and villagers to volunteer for a similar program
in Kadbikheda ZP School.
On September 11, Balkrishna organised
a plastic litter collection drive in Chargaon. During the voluntary work
project, Balkrishna explained the hazards of plastic waste for both the environment
and human health. Balkrishna explained to the students that plastic and
non-degradable waste was causing irreparable damage to the ecosystem and
adversely affecting birds and other life forms. He also told them that the
waste was equally harmful to people. He brought to the notice of the students
and teachers the large amount of plastic waste along the road leading to the
school and in the village.
Later, the students volunteered
to collect the plastic litter in the village and along the road.
On September 9, Balkrishna led a
team of four Village Eco-Development Committee (VEDC) members from Narhar
village on a foot patrol in the forest area near their village.
The VEDC members looked out for
signs of illegal tree felling or poaching during the patrol. No such illegal
activities were detected.
Balkrishna joined Forest Department
staff on a foot patrol in the Ambazari beat on September 13. These
community-based patrols are supplemental to the regular patrols being done by
the Forest Department.
On September 19, Dilip organised a meeting in Kadbikheda to make the
villagers aware about the formation process and benefits of a Village
Eco-Development Committee (VEDC).
Dilip read out the Government Resolution (GR) and explained how VEDC
formation in some villages has helped in village development and in reduction
of man-animal conflict through funds utilised from Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee
Jan Van Yojna. A similar program was carried out in Ghoti on September 2 by Dilip.
A conservation awareness rally was carried out by Dilip in Ghoti on
September 8. The students chanted slogans on water conservation and the
importance of saving rivers and other local water bodies. A similar program was carried out by Balkrishna in Chargaon on
September 11.
On September 17, Dilip celebrated International Day for Preservation of
the Ozone Layer in Ghoti. He explained the purpose of the ozone cover over
earth’s atmosphere to the villagers and why we must conserve it.
Various other days from the ‘eco-calendar’ were celebrated in by Dilip
in the month of September which included International Vulture Awareness Day,
World Tourism Day and Green Consumer Day.
Environment Education
In September, a total of 14 school education programs were
conducted by Dilip and Balkrishna in which students were given lectures on
man-animal conflict, biodiversity conservation, climate change and other issues
related to nature conservation.
A total of 346 students attended these programs.
IT Education Program
Satpuda Foundation
has donated desktops as well as laptops to the Zilla Parishad School in Sawara
village and has been conducting IT education program for the students free of
cost since 2013. Basic computer skills are taught to the students to make them
feel comfortable with technology and improve their IT skills. Sita Uikey, a
resident of Sawara village, works on an honorarium basis for Satpuda Foundation
to impart IT education to students. Four classes were held in September in ZP
School Sawara for the students of this village.
Employment Cell
Personality
Development Training for Nature Guides, Gypsy jeep drivers and owners:
Satpuda Foundation conducted a one-day “Nature Guide
Personality Development Training” for Nature Guides, Gypsy Drivers and Gypsy
owners of Pench Tiger Reserve on September 22.
Around 45 nature guides, gypsy owners and drivers from Sillari and Khudsapar
Wildlife Safari gates participated in this workshop. The resource person for
this training was Sandip Chowdhury from Bangalore, presenter at Al Gore’s
Climate Reality Project and an ecotourism consultant.
The aim of this program was to induce behavioral change in
nature guides, which will enable the guides to interact with tourists in a
professional way and will encourage them to engage with the tourists through
story-telling.
The module for the training
workshop included the following:
The guides expressed satisfaction and thanked Satpuda
Foundation for organising such a workshop just before the start of the tourism
season. Certificates signed by the Range Forest Officer were distributed to the
participants at the end of the workshop.
During September, our team shortlisted two young villagers
from Sawara for a hospitality training program run by Pratham Arora Center for
Education (PACE) in Sillari and funded by the Pench Tiger Conservation
Foundation.
The Deputy Director of Pench Tiger Reserve had earlier asked
our team to submit lists of short-listed candidates from villages to the respective
Range Forest Officers (RFOs).
Young villagers informed,
mobilised, encouraged and sent for livelihood training programs funded by Pench
Tiger Conservation Foundation:
On September 4, Dilip conducted a
livelihood and self-employment meeting with the women of Sawara village. Dilip conducted this meeting to encourage women
to undertake activities like stitching, paper and cloth bag making through Self
Help Groups (SHGs).
A similar meeting was conducted on September 19 by Dilip in Kadbikheda
for women SHG members.
Balkrishna conducted a meeting for young villagers in Suwardhara on
September 14 and encouraged them to register for various livelihood programs
funded by the Pench Tiger Conservation Foundation.
Other Livelihood activities & meetings:
Mobile Health Service (MHS)
There were 6 medical camps in September in which 268
patients were treated.
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