River Restoration

Environmentalist Foundation of India is launching its river restoration project in Chennai in association with Akshaya Homes. The river to be cleaned and restored is at Padur a stream that flows from the eastern side of the OMR across to the western end. An entire distance of 500m of the stream is to adopted and cleaned part of the program.

EFI has a dedicated 18 member team focusing on plethora of departments necessary for a successful clean up. Ranging from Conservation-Communication and Volunteer management the departments have set into work. The entire restoration is to be completed in a period of 45 days. EFI is planning to involve a wide range of people from all walks of life in the project. From herbal plantations to installing bird nests and reintroduction of native species of flora and fauna the restoration is a full fledged biodiverstiy reclamation plan.

All those interested in volunteering at any level in the project are requested to write to: conservation@indiaenvironment.org or call 9940203871.

Also follow up: www.indiaenvironment.org

http://www.facebook.com/groups/efindia/

2011 Year of EFI

What a year is the feel one gets when you look back at 2011. Roots & Shoots India grew tremendously and evolved into the Environmentalist Foundation of India. We tried doing it all from documentary films, to animal rescues, to newer newer and more newer volunteers.

Cold Shoots is what we began the year with, extensive competition and definitely the most deserving won. Cold Delhi mornings didnt stop us from shooting for Elixir Poisoned a film that took us places. We are definitely not the kind who get satisfied by just shooting, so we cleaned the Sanjay Lake in Trilokpuri. Naqeeb sir and his students Sarthak and many others helped us clear large amounts of trash. When one was cleaning the lake the immediate thought was about bird nests and they were installed too. If Delhi was doing so much could other cities lag behind, ofcourse not this was the year of Zoo Volunteering. From Delhi-Hyd-Madras-Vizag we volunteered in these zoos with Madras being the maximum no. of Anipal ZVPs at 21 weeks of volunteering.

Heat Camps proved to be the melting pot of all our thoughts thus emerged our craze to stage street plays. The city of Madras and its people gave us a reception like never before, for the first time our cause was stronger than our performance. We were not just entertaining but were transforming. From BC to Savera to Birla we were everywhere. Amazing actors were born in each of our volunteers. We needed to stabilize the bags project thus came in the Women Self Help Group who are employed by us to make bags and sold to commercial establishments in Madras. The Sparrow conservation efforts have taken wings like never before, our nests now line the Madras skyline atleast in 19 different places. Our movies Kurma and Elixir Poisoned travelled more than any of us with 18 international screenings and 113 national screening.

We covered many schools this year and newer boundaries were penetrated including that of Vishakapatnam. The short but effective stint at Lucknow has catapulted our projects to a new height. From the principals roundtable to a flash thought which grew into a mighty D-Day our awareness campaigns were not just preaching but practicing and inspiring. Madras, Hyd and Lucknow are emerging into our strong forte where we have new leadership ready to run the show. EFI made people laugh, cry, volunteer which all is a culmination of their feeling towards the country and her wildlife. We fear where we go from here, coz now the people are beginning to trust us and we need to work harder than every before to ensure that we are different and always at EFI our CAUSE is the HERO. We strongly understand that we are not to be celebrated as we are just correcting ancestral errors and trying to live the right way which is the green way.

2012 looks very promising and demanding with a new animal rescue center, biodiversity park, Caught By, BiDi, Forest Extension and much much much more. As always proud that we all are born in a country which is home to all these wonderful wildlife.

Jaihind.

Where is the HUMAN in every Being

December 12th n 13th have been traumatic because just when hopes were rising within me that through awareness and projects we could bring change, this incident pulled me down heavily. Andrew's (volunteer colleague) phone call from Vanchuvancheri (Near Tambaram, Chennai-India) has changed my life forever. He narrates a story as to how a dog was beaten to death by two people, because the dog attacked their chicken.

Beaten to death would be an understatement in this case, the entire incident as narrated by Andrew. " The 5 month old puppy who is a very active, shrewd and fun to be with was caught forcefully and held in a jute sack. The open end of the jute sack tied down, the sack with the dog inside was thrashed on the concrete road below until the little one succumbed to injuries and stopped whining. The blood dripping sack was carried quietly through the bushes to a near by pond, where the dead puppy was thrown. The husband and wife were brimming with glory that they could kill the dog and the wife was specific that the dog be beaten atleast 10 times before opening to check if he was dead. She is a mother of two kids, I wonder if she values her children at all."

As I go on an inspection to find out what really happened and to register a complaint, I am appalled. The 5 month old puppy floating in the village pond, her face swollen,bulging eye balls and a cracked jaw. Close to her floats another adult dog, now decaying there atleast for a week. This isn't a one off case, a series of dog murders.

I write this blog not because one can shower sympathy for the dog but should realize that most of us do not have the humaneness in us anymore. Police action has been initiated against the accused by the legal team of Environmentalist Foundation of India, but, is that the answer to all the pain the little dog went through. Do not discount this as just the murder of a dog, because this is the murder of human values and the emergence of a devil in people of this so called developing society. From just talks on Climate to conserving wildlife on computer desktops, its heights of hypocracy. Its time we acted upon such issues and not just express concern and be worried. VOLUNTEER for a cause, do not claim marches, marathons and posters as volunteering.

Are u able to help one life form a day??? Do your actions reflect your thoughts???

Don't expect returns when you volunteer, be selfless. If you can't bring a change which will positively impact the society and the environment then there is no point being educated.

Raging anger from within and questions on how we can bring a positive change looms large over my head. Rather than being optimistic, I wish to be practical and the road ahead is difficult by all means. Wish there was a way where all other life forms but for man could be saved.

Socially Yours

In a country where 17% of the world’s population jostles for

existence, the long list flora and fauna just manage to coexist. With

the endangered list not getting any shorter, key concern among

conservationists is the way to involve the masses in protecting India’s

wildlife. Eye catching communication strategy with a strong recall

value produces commercially successful brands, can we replicate

the same strategy while talking conservation to an audience which

cannot get any more diverse.

Social awareness and participation has always played a crucial role in

community empowerment. If diseases could be controlled and some

even being eradicated, why the same cannot be done to educate and

promote sustainable living where all life forms get their due is an

unsolved mystery.

Awareness on the story of polythene covers and their ill effects

has reached the saturation point, however, the consumption has

not come down nor has there been a reverse in psychology. Do we

blame it on lack of efficient communication? Are we targeting the

right audience?

Environmental issues cannot be solved through desktop

conservation. Most summits and memorandums from conferences

are not changing anything on the ground, people and their belief

remains. Conservation now needs to be looked at as a saleable entity

and conservationists need consumers rather than tagging them as

volunteers. It’s time the message was targeted at the common man,

who can then decide if he/she wants to make a lifestyle change.

People are not being spoken to, if spoken to then the change is very

much a possibility.

Mass communication for conservation throws open multiple

possibilities which can deliver desired results of social change. Wide

range of audience and their circumstantial behaviour needs to

be studied thoroughly. Upon understanding people and depth of

knowledge towards environment, a communication strategy should

be developed based on the demographic audit.

Extremely rare animal footage and documentary films with inspiring

concepts are a visual treat to a select audience, when is the rest of

India going to gain access to valuable resource such as these and

evolve into the new age human. Access to resource as in any case in

India depends on your proximity to an urban conglomeration, the

closer you are to the nerve centre the better are your prospects.

The urban audience enjoys this edge over the rural mass in terms

of awareness; however, the level of insensitivity in an urban set up

towards environment is comparatively more on the reverse.

Available options are many such as folk art, theatre, street acts and

inspirational speeches which are capable of triggering a reaction

in the right direction. It’s time the audience are taken spell bound,

so that they change. Conventional communication practices are

not going to help us target and convince the masses effectively.

Innovation needs to step in with technology and approach, which

should surprise the society at large. People should voluntarily imbibe

and follow the change rather than being informed and given an

option to change per convenience.

Hatchlings - A true emergence

Emerging life

Watching wildlife is an opportunity that not many get. Dense jungles and hours before you spot an animal walking across close to your trail van. However, spotting an Olive Ridley sea turtle in the wild and not just the adult but her entire nesting and hatchling emergence is for any Chennaiite to cherish. Beaches that are buzzing with human activity in the morning are calm nesting beaches for the Olive Ridley sea turtles. Chennai’s beaches are home to baby hatchlings of sea turtles. An opportunity to observe wildlife in its habitat amidst a sprawling city is unimaginable.

What appears as tiny black spec on the sandy beach initially, after a few minutes emerges a nostril tip. Then with a great struggle a head resembling a reptile pops out shrugging off the sand. Pushing its way through from the nest below, these hatchlings emerge after 48 to 50 days of incubation in these sandy beaches. Their mother decides upon a spot in the beach where she digs a cylindrical cavity into which 80 to 120 eggs are positioned symmetrically to ensure enough warmth and air flow for all the eggs. The mother then carefully covers the nest and camouflages it well such that predators do not attack the nest.

As we were watching tiny hatchlings emerge one after the other from the nest below, it rushes in a feel of the significance of life. The struggle was visible in the way these hatchlings were pushing their way up and the hope for survival was visible when they started crawling on the beach in search of the ocean. The ocean is the brighter horizon compared to land in the night under natural circumstances. These turtle hatchlings get attracted to the ocean owing to this and crawl towards the open sea. Artificial beach lighting acts detrimental in such cases when it redirects the hatchlings away from the ocean and they get killed due to dehydration eventually lost in open land.

These turtles have their own battle to fight in the natural environment out there, adding to their misery are human practices. We stand at a crucial juncture in protecting our sea turtles; if these turtles have to survive it is necessary that beach side citizens act more responsibly. Switching off beach property lights, ensuring clean beaches, avoiding beach parties and volunteering for turtle conservation are the basic lifestyle changes that we can bring about to see these sea turtles survive because it’s not just about us, we share this planet with them all. Our education should make a difference; let it be revisiting our human side.

Roots & Shoots - The Eco Dream

It is an amazing feel when surrounded by these wonderful school kids who are purely passionate about environment and all that they want to do is change the way this country and her people care for the animals here.

Who said this generation doesn't care... I say this generation cares more than the previous one's... They grab opportunities to prove that they are not just one among the crowd. All Roots & Shoots volunteers, whether in Madras or Hyderabad, they are true marvels who will inspire people of any age (those in right senses...)

From sea turtles to sparrow, lakes, cloth bags, herbs, native saplings, paper bags, composting to zoo volunteering and much more... they are not just doing their bit, but are rewriting pages of animal care and concern. Ask them how they multi task, how they manage time, or finance management... they do not know fancy terms but they are masters of it...

In their company Roots & Shoots is all set to work real hard... to ensure that this dream becomes reality and doesn't end abruptly half way... heavy investment of man power and all expectation on returns revolves around a green outcome... Once we join there is no leaving Roots & Shoots coz its not a choice or decision to take back but a bond that only gets stronger... all in the spirit of living a human life and ensuring harmonious coexistence for all life forms...


Join the Roots & Shoots Dream... A reality that is your ticket to humanity...

Fry To A Frying Pan!!! STOP EATING FISH. VOICE YOUR OPINION AGAINST TURTLE KILLINGS.

Fish ain't farm bread or it isn't any domesticated poultry to be consumed in tonnes as we do. Fishes in the ocean are the Wild-Species which are rare and also pushed to the brink of extinction. By removing these fishes which are part of the Marine Food Chain, several other linked life forms get killed indirectly.

1. A fishing boat without Turtle Excluder Devices is the reason why India has close to 10,000 dead turtles every year. If the Q is wat's the use of turtles... the answer lies towards the end...

2. These sea turtles that get killed are healthy mothers or fathers... they swim across oceans and when they arrive at this homeland of theirs, they considered infiltrators and get killed by boat hits, trawl boat propeller cuts or the hooks... If the Q is wat's the use of turtles... the answer lies towards the end...

3. Millions of fishes once, and today its an empty ocean returning empty nets for these hunters. Wat better way to refer to them... If the Q is wat's the use of these fishes... the answer lies towards the end...

Next time a fish is served on your plate, jus run a quick scan of events tat happen before the fish lands on your plate.

A. A free living creature cheated with a bait n is suffocated to death. Irrespective of its age they get killed for no fault of theirs...

B. A mother in labor visiting her paternal beach to nest gets killed by a speeding boat. With her die her young ones.

And what do we get. A fried fish on the plate, with a newspaper article reading about the same dead turtle and the same fishermen fighting over an elevated corridor. Mankind is heading towards nothing.

ANSWER: With death ends their pain. The minute when nature decides to strike back she is gonna punish us hard, that minute of pain will answer us why these turtles and fishes were important and why we aren't anymore.

Please STOP EATING FISH. VOICE YOUR OPINION AGAINST TURTLE KILLINGS.