Dhawlapur - Birds drink water from makeshift containers put out by our volunteers |
Dhawlapur - Local villagers on patrol |
Ghoti - Waterhole prepared by our volunteers using a discarded tyre |
Ghoti- Villagers make a waterhole using an old tyre |
Shiladevi - Seeds of local plants being collected for the forthcoming monsoon plantation drive |
Shiladevi - seeds of local plants collected for planting during the monsoon |
THE FULL REPORT
Team: Kaustubh Marpalliwar – Conservation Officer
Dilip Lanjewar, Balkrishna Bagmare – Community Officers
Highlights (See Table 1)
· Three community foot patrols
· One voluntary work project to clean and de-silt waterhole at Dhawlapur Kuti
· Waterhole prepared for birds at Ambazari
· Two nature trails at Ghoti and Sawara
· One fire-fighting activity at Salai, Hiwara road
· One program to dig pits for plantation at Sawara
· PRT (Primary Response Team) formation in six villages at Usripar, Sawara, Khapa, Kadbikheda, Ghoti and Tuyepar
· One voluntary work project for Seed Collection for monsoon plantation at Shiladevi
· Biodiversity Day celebration at Pench Community Center
· 15 meetings on farmer awareness and awareness on conservation issues
· One young villager sent for hospitality training and two sent for Agro Business Start-up Training
· Third Party Evaluation of CSS – DBT fund at Bor Tiger Reserve
· Attended Post Mortem & investigation of dead leopard at Ranidoh River, South Fulzari Beat, Pipariya Range
· Attended one meeting on SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) of Forest Department
On May 18, a waterhole was cleaned and de-silted at Dhawlapur Forest
camp, Saleghat Range with forest fire watchers. The waterholes are a huge
relief to wildlife especially in the summer months when water supply from
natural sources is scarce. Regular cleaning is required to ensure that the
water is safe for wildlife.
Three community patrolling
programs were organised in Dhawlapur, Saleghat and Khapa. Such patrolling helps
in checking illegal activities around villages through community participation.
On May 21, Balkrishna held a seed collection activity in Shiladevi
village. Villagers were motivated to
collect seeds of native plant species which could be used in plantation drives
during the monsoon.
We will arrange for supply of saplings of native plant species from the
nearby nurseries. We organised a program to dig 30 pits for plantation in
Sawara village.
With the onset of summer, water has become scarce and birds are
struggling to get water to drink. We put up water pots in Ambazari village.
Dilip made an artificial waterhole for birds with the help of a large tyre in
Ghoti. We encourage villagers to provide water for birds by placing old
bottles, pots and cans in suitable locations for birds.
The Range Forest Officer, Paoni, asked us to help form Primary Response
Teams (PRTs) in villages in our area of operations. On May 15th,
18th, 20th & 22th, PRTs were formed in six villages
-- Usripar, Sawara, Kadbikheda, Ghoti, Khapa and Tuyepar. PRT members will be
trained by the Forest Department in June. PRTs are first responders to
human-wildlife conflict situations. They also assist the Forest Department in
intelligence gathering.
An awareness meeting on forest
fires was held on the same day at Sawara to sensitise villagers about the
harmful effects of such fires and the need for villagers to assist in fighting
the fires.
Environment Education
On May 22, International day of Biological Diversity was
celebrated at our field centre at Pench.
During the celebration program, seed collection, identification
of seeds and plantation methods were discussed with school kids from Ghoti,
Wagholi, Salai and Pipariya. An educational program on bio-diversity was
conducted and various educational movies were shown to the kids.
Employment Cell (See Table 2)
During the month of May, one girl
was sent to a month-long hospitality training program at Sillari. She will be
provided with a campus placement opportunity by the Training Institute on
successful completion of this training.
On May 27th-31st,
two young villagers were sent to Nagpur, for an Agro Business Start-up training
program, conducted by Maharashtra Centre of Entrepreneurship Development
(MCED).
Other Activities
On May 17, we attended a post-mortem
examination on being invited by the Forest Department. A leopard was found dead
in Ranidoh River, South Fulzari beat, Pipariya. It was apparently killed in a
fight with a tiger.
Research
A study to understand the
awareness level of farmers in the buffer region is being undertaken by us. A
questionnaire has been prepared which includes basic information regarding
agriculture, knowledge about impact of fertilisers and pesticides on the environment as well as crop-raiding and the significance of insects and birds in
agriculture.
The project is intended to study
the awareness level among farmers and to identify areas which could be improved
through training. The study was launched in the West Pench cluster in May.
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