Activity Update January 2016: Tadoba

Team:

Bandu Kumare – Field assistant

Highlights

·      One water conservation programme to build check dam at Adegaon

·      One community meeting -- Gaon ki man ki bat at Junona

·      Two community assistance voluntary work projects – one programme to clean area around well at Sitarampeth and one programme at Mudholi to clean area around hand pump

·      Follow-up to plantation done earlier at Dewada, Kondegaon and Sitarampeth

·      One nature trail for students of Moharli

·      Classroom visits to 10 schools as part of environment education programme – attended by  331 students

·      Film shows on wildlife conservation in 10 village schools – attended  by 414 students

·      Medical camps in 6 villages – 556 patients treated

·      One visit to check on status of relocated villagers of Jamni and Navegaon   

Conservation  

On January 9, our field assistant Bandu Kumare organized a programme to build a check dam around 1 km from Adegaon. The dam was built on a stream lying between the fields and the jungle. 22 students, 2 teachers from the village’s Zilla Parishad Primary School (ZPPS) and 3 women from the village joined Bandu in the programme. The resulting water body will benefit livestock in the day and wild animals at night. Wild boar, spotted deer and sambar are regularly sighted in the area. Photos below.

On January 5, Bandu organized a programme at Junona to clear the area around a well. Water had spilled over while people drew from the well. Over a period of time, this had created a small marshy area, leading to proliferation of mosquitoes and insects. Our team cleared the area, removing scum and organic growth and dug a canal to drain away the water. 2 youths from the village joined Bandu in the programme. A similar programme was organized on January 20 at Mudholi to clean the area around a hand pump.

On January 4, Bandu organized a programme at Dewada to follow up on plantation of saplings done last year. This is to ensure that saplings planted during the monsoon are live and have sufficient protection from grazing livestock. 14 students from the village school joined Bandu in the programme. A similar programme was organized on January 8 at Kondegaon in which 18 students participated and at Sitarampeth on January 21 in which 10 students took part.

Maintenance of saplings planted in 2015, at Kondegaon

On January 31, Bandu organized a “Gaon ki man ki baat” programme at Junona – a community meeting to discuss local issues. 22 villagers from Moharli, Junona and Dewada participated in the meeting. Issues discussed at the meeting included village cleanliness, public hygiene and conservation of nature and wildlife. Photos below.

Environment Education

During January, Bandu made 10 classroom visits to speak to students of village schools on various aspects of nature and wildlife conservation.

On January 30, Bandu led a team of 23 students of the Zilla Parishad Primary School

from Moharli on a bird-watching trail around Moharli lake. As it is the season when migratory birds are seen in the area, Bandu and the team also patrolled the area around the lake to make sure that poachers had not set traps for the migratory birds.

Nature trail around Moharli lake

Education Van

There were 10 film shows on nature and wildlife conservation in January.

Film screening at Kutwanda

MHU

6 medical camps were organized by us in January.

Photos below: Dr Shailesh Pawade at our free health camp at Kutwanda

Activity Update January 2016: Navegaon-Nagzira

Team:

Mukund Dhurve         - Conservation Officer

Jivraj Salam                 - Field assistant

Salimkumar Dhurve    - Field assistant

Highlights

·      Joined Forest Department staff on 4 patrols

·      3 programmes to clean water holes in Compartment no. 109, 110, 111

·      4 community assistance voluntary work projects – programmes to clean areas next to hand pumps at Wadegaon, Berdipar, Bolunda, Boatola          

·      3 anti-plastic programmes at Bagadhband, Asalpani, Sodlagondi

·      Organized 3 education programmes at Mendha (Sukdi), Wadegaon, Koylari on topic – Sarus bird and migratory birds

·      Organized 2-day nature camp at Pongezara in which 33 students and 6 teachers were present

·      Organized 6 medical camps at which 172 patients got free treatment

 Conservation 

Our team organized 4 community assistance programmes on January 15, 16, 21 and 29 to clear the areas around hand pumps at Wadegaon, Berdipar, Bolunda, and Boatola respectively. Unemployed youths from Mangezari participated in all programmes which were led by Mukund and Salimkumar.

Below: Our volunteers cleaning a waterhole in the reserve

Water had spilled over while people drew from the hand pumps and had stagnated, leading to proliferation of mosquitoes and insects. Our teams cleared the area, removing scum and organic growth and dug canals to drain away the water.

Our team joined the Forest Department in day and night patrols on the roads from Mangezari to Kodebarra, Mangezari to Jindatola, Mangezari to Govindtola and Mangezari to Bagadhband, on January 14, 17, 21 and 22 Patrolling was intensified after a leopard were spotted on January 10 as officials wanted to monitor its movement and ensure that it was safe from the poachers. One cattle was killed, reportedly by the leopard, near Junewani. Photos below.

Besides our staff, volunteers from a youth club at Mangezari also joined in the patrols. The youth club was set up with our assistance and is mentored by Mukund Dhurve.

During the month, our team organized 3 anti-plastic programmes to clear polythene/plastic litter from the villages. The programmes were organized on January 13, 27 and 28 at Thadezari, Asalpani and Sodlagondi villages respectively. Mukund, Salimkumar and Jivraj organized the programmes which were attended by villagers and VEDC members. The plastic litter has been kept in our Mangezari office and will be sent to Tiroda for recycling. Photo below.

The Government of Maharashtra has issued the buffer zone notification for the Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve. Following this, doubts have sprung up in the minds of villagers as to how they will be affected by the notification. Due to the doubts, some villagers are opposing the notification. To clear these doubts and misgivings, we organized a total of 4 awareness programmes during January in 4 villages – Thadezari, Sodlagondi, Boatola, and Umarzari.

 Education

There were 3 environment education programmes during the month of January.

Education van

There were 2 film shows on nature and wildlife conservation in January during the nature camp at Pongezara.

Photos from the Nature Camp: 

Check dam built during the camp

Learning to identify scat

The participants were students and teachers of six villages

MHU

There were 6 health camps in January at which 172 patients received free treatment.