OdishaPlus Bureau
Youth4Water Plus an UNICEF led campaign in Odisha organised a Nature Camp in the picturesque Panchalingeswar from December 8-10. Organised in collaboration with Bikash Saathi NGO, Sattvic Soul Foundation, FORCE & Suze Power Craft, the camp gave an opportunity to 30 youth from different parts of Odisha to learn and understand nature.
“If you love nature, you will automatically conserve and protect it. I am grateful to the Youth Leaders Council and all others involved for this lovely, immersive and information packed Nature Camp. I am sure all participating youth will do all they can for nature and biodiversity” said Jyoti Sharma, Program Director Youth4WaterPlus.
Highlights of the camp included:
- Nature Walk in Kuldhia Wild Life Sanctuary in which youth studied the biodiversity, butterfly species count, identification of indicator species, role of elephant as the creators of the forest and the role of different flora and fauna in maintaining ecological balance. Walking approx. 1 km inside the sanctuary, they saw nature in all its glory and harmony.
- Plogging in the sanctuary and making a section free of plastic waste. Under the guidance of youth council member Nirakar Bisoyi and Sattvic Soul Foundation volunteer Suvendu Behera, the youth collected more than 25 kg of plastic waste from less than 1 km stretch of the forest and made it clean.
- Session on ‘Rare Birds of Kuldhia Sanctuary’ by Bird Man of Balasore ‘Manoranjan Das’. Manoranjan has documented over 250 rare species of birds in the sanctuary. He has monitored their growth, re-established their habitats and worked with local populations to prevent their hunting.
- Session on ‘Challenges in Forest Conservation’ and Species Count Techniques by Bhagyashree Dwidey, Ranger Nilgiri Wildlife Range. As the ranger for the Kuldhia Wildlife Sanctuary, she shared the challenges of protecting the forest and wildlife from exploitation. She recounted few real-life incidents from her experience about the human-elephant conflict in the area.
- “Youth play a big role in protecting forests and wildlife. As aware citizens they can decline to follow the destructive practices of the past and can spread the message of biodiversity. They can offer crucial support to the forest department in disasters such as forest fires, human animal conflict, disaster relief and forest census” said the Ranger.
- Night walk in semi-forest area for star gazing and for in-field session on tracking wild animals through their scats, paw/footprints, tree markings, ground conditions and their responses to calls in the wild.
- Visit to Panchalingeswar tribal village settlement to understand and learn from their culture and lifestyle – The youth observed the tribal homes, the village, the water bodies and the farms; talked to men, women and children. They took notes, photographs and videos. After they came back, they shared their impressions of the village – including their analysis of the impact of climate change on them and the WASH and Climate gaps that needed to be filled.
The campaign aims at enabling youth action so that they can contribute towards achieving water security and sustainability and thus meet Odisha’s goals and SDGs on WASH and Climate Change.