Project Updates March-April 2024

Project Updates
A Sanctuary Report - March-April 2024

Notes, anecdotes and reports from Sanctuary Nature Foundation’s projects across the country.

Kids For Tigers
Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Delhi, Nagpur and Panna
Supported by IndusInd Bank CSR

I will never forget the moment, decades ago, when I was mobbed by around 50 kids at the Shri Ram School, Barakhamba, New Delhi. One child came up to me and yanked at my shirt and thrust a letter in front of me. It had the Prime Minister’s office logo on it and around 10 lines or so from Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, thanking the child for his letter asking for the tiger to be saved. The letter ended with words to the effect that ‘The tiger is the pride of India and we will save it with the help of kids’. “Now you don’t have to worry, Bittu Uncle, the Prime Minister said he will save the tiger,” having said that, the child ran out of the room even before I could ask him his name, his precious letter clutched in his hand.

The Late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee with a Kids for Tigers student. Sanctuary has been reaching out to children for a quarter century now to win their support for the protection of our biosphere. Photo: Sanctuary Photolibrary.

Such are the moments that make life worth living. Sanctuary has been reaching out to children for a quarter century now to win their support for the protection of our biosphere, using the tiger as a metaphor for all of nature. Led by Madhu Bhatnagar of Shri Ram School and Sanctuary’s Green Teacher of the Year 2005, down the decades we have reached out to over a million kids who are helping us to run an ‘adult (nature conservation) literacy programme’ by taking our conservation messages to the elders in their lives. And the response from the kids, their parents, and their teachers has been beyond heartwarming! Here are some messages from some of the dedicated people working to inspire and mentor children from Kids for Tigers schools across India.

Bittu Sahgal, Editor, Sanctuary Asia and Founder, Sanctuary Nature Foundation.

With the school year winding up, Kids for Tigers focussed on wrapping up our commitment to schools, preparing annual reports, and planning for yet another exciting year of conservation education activities for students in Kids for Tigers cities. We also had one mega-event scheduled for Hyderabad in March, that saw enthusiastic participation from educators and students. Our local coordinators Anand and Geetha Madabhushi tell us more.

Hyderabad
Introducing Children to Nature, and the Tiger Fest

One thing we both realised was that when children go out into the wild, all social barriers vanish. Curiosity takes over and kids are enveloped in the magic of nature. The interaction during the year with school children from different backgrounds with one common objective of exploring, appreciating and understanding the need for conservation of nature, has been exhilarating. Coming from urban backgrounds and living in concrete jungles, the children were fascinated when they could actually spend some quiet moments with nature during their nature trails. Anand and I vividly recall the reaction of one student who participated in birdwatching one weekend. A class six student, she shared she was reluctant to wake up early in the morning on a weekend to go for a walk in the park. But at the end of the session, she was all smiles and glad she came because it gave her an opportunity to see so many bird species.

The annual Kids for Tigers Fests encourage children to explore, create and express their understanding of conservation issues, and share solutions on how to make the world a better place. On March 26, 2024, the Birla Open Minds International School hosted the Hyderabad Kids for Tigers Fest, attended by students from grades five to 10. It was a delight to see students express their creativity through a series of engaging competitions, with the support of their teachers. Activities such as the ‘dress as the animal you love’ Fancy Dress, Face Painting, Conservation Poster Art, Best Out of Waste, and nukkad natak (street play) performances saw the children learning, even as they had fun. We could see students turning into tomorrow’s wildlife conservationists right before us, advocating for wildlife protection with all their heart.

When students immerse themselves in nature, as in a nature trail, they gain firsthand knowledge about the essentials of life. Photo: Sanctuary Photolibrary.

Our Chief Guest Farida Tampal, the popular Telangana State Director of WWF-India, explained  how the tiger played a pivotal role in conserving wild habitats, and how vital it was for communities and the public to engage in collective action to conserve nature for future generations. Wildlife photographer Jitender Govindani, Director, ICBM School of Business Excellence, Hyderabad, spoke inspiringly to our young citizens about the critical role played by wildlife photography in winning public support.

Anand and Geetha Madabhushi

The Sanctuary Nature Foundation’s Kids for Tigers programme – supported by H T Parekh Foundation, is working to create awareness amongst school children for tiger and wildlife conservation in 58 schools in Kolkata. This has enabled the Sanctuary team, along with the Society of Heritage and Ecological Researches (SHER), to work consistently in the biodiverse region. Joydip and Suchandra Kundu of SHER share their recent experiences.

Kolkata and Sundarban
Introducing Children to Nature, and the Tiger Cup

The joie de vivre of spending a delightful day with children and their teachers from schools in and around Kolkata and the Sundarban is indescribable. This is even more special for us if the day is spent in the wilderness. When students immerse themselves in nature, they gain firsthand knowledge about the essentials of life.

From March 13 to 16, 2024, we organised a series of nature walks at the Chintamani Kar Bird Sanctuary, on the outskirts of the city. This sanctuary provides a serene respite from the chaos of rapid urbanisation, and walks here offer children an opportunity to observe nature up close, and appreciate its beauty and importance.

We divided the students into four groups. Led by naturalists Upayan Chatterjee and Wiju Banerjee, the students explored varied aspects of the sanctuary’s ecosystem. It is always a satisfying experience, watching the students take in the solitude and silence, and the subtle dramas of survival that unfold according to nature’s design. Apart from birdwatching, the students gained valuable insights into the interconnected array of plants that shape the sanctuary’s ecosystem. We truly believe that this hands-on experience allows students to deepen their understanding of biodiversity and the importance of conservation efforts. The students’ feedback was proof positive that nature walks such as these are a transformative experience that not only enrich their knowledge but also instil in them a sense of appreciation and responsibility towards the environment. We are humbled by the opportunity to be involved in such initiatives that inspire the next generation to become stewards of our natural world.

Student feedback on nature trails are proof positive that nature walks are a transformative experience that deepen their understanding of biodiversity. Photo: Sanctuary Photolibrary.

The milestone of 50 years of tiger conservation in India is truly momentous. To commemorate this, SHER and the Sanctuary Nature Foundation organised a mega-awareness football event on World Wildlife Day on March 3, 2024, at Pakhiralaya, on a ground adjacent to the famous ‘Pakhir Jongol’ of the Sundarban Biosphere Reserve.

Given that football is a religion in West Bengal, we thought that there could be no better way to share the ecological importance of mangroves as a climate crisis survival strategy with Sundarban’s youth. The SHER team travelled from village to village to educate locals on the connection between saving tigers, and the health and quality of life of the residents of the world’s largest mangrove wilderness. Eight high school teams participated in the Tiger Cup, which also featured a special tiger dance from Purulia. As a prelude to match day, a special jingle was created as an announcement that was played for three days through a public address system fitted on a toto vehicle, which travelled to all corners of the island.

Joydip and Suchandra Kundu, SHER

Making a Difference in Sundarban Communities

Through the ‘Bagh Bachao, Sundarban Bachao’ programme, the Sanctuary Nature Foundation and the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), with support from the H T Parekh Foundation, is partnering with local communities in the Sundarban to solve conservation challenges. Creating an appreciation for the landscape they live in is a vital step toward this goal. Nature trails and conservation art both offer a great opportunity to foster and nurture an interest in nature conservation. In March 2024, students from the Sundarban Asitbaran High School at Bally 1 island, and Bijoynagar Adarsha Vidyamandir, were delighted to observe and learn about nature from Sanctuary Nature Foundation’s Dr. Parvish Pandya and local naturalists Nilimesh, Purnachandra and Subrata. The painting competition for students of Bijoynagar Adarsha Vidyamandir at Gosaba and Bally Purbapara High School saw creativity and understanding of nature blend to create stunning artwork.

The ‘Bagh Bachao, Sundarban Bachao’ programme is also committed to providing unique opportunities to local communities, and promoting stewardship through education and employment-training. Dr. Pandya and Saurabh Sawant, Sanctuary’s Consultant, Projects and Natural History, conducted a two-day Naturalist Training Programme on March 6 and 7, 2024, at Bali Island, Sundarban Biosphere Reserve. Thirty-two members of the Joint Forest Management Committee (JFMC) participated.

A joint meeting was conducted of about a hundred boat owners, operators and guides of the Sundarban, focused on biodiversity and climate change, with an emphasis on disaster relief. Rajendra Jakhar, IFS, Field Director of STR, Jones Justin, IFS, Anil Mistry (WPSI), Saurabh Sawant and Dr. Pandya helmed the meeting. Topics included the role of the Forest Department, enforcement of regulations, collaboration and coordination, tourist behaviour, do’s and don’ts, education and awareness, and community engagement.