Nature @ IITB – Conservation program
Commander |
In
order to save the wild life in the campus, a conservation program was drafted
by some nature enthusiast on the campus; the preliminary group includes Prof.
M.B. Patil (Electrical department), Krishnapriya, Paresh Kale (Research
scholar, ESE Dept), Abhay Soman, Swapnil Lokhande (Research scholar, Mathematics Dept) and Yugbala. The group
is concerned with the conservation, documentation and awareness related issues
regarding wild-life on the campus. Group has agreed on some critical issues to
be sorted out to make this program successful. The details of which are:
1.
Declaring
lake side road a ‘Plastic and alcohol free zone’:
It has been observed that residents come their regularly to take alcohol. This
plastic appears in terms of packed food, cigarette packets, glasses and alcohol
bottles. ‘Plastic’ is the major source
of pollution in the eco-system on lake side is our observation.
2.
Closing
the lake-side road for vehicles: We propose to close
down the lake-side road for motor-able vehicles. Such prohibition will keep the
wild life undisturbed and system pollution-free. It will also encourage the
residents to walk and watch the nature. It has been also observed that, drivers
over-speed the vehicle in this part. This could lead to fatal accidents.
3.
Keeping
the road side space intact: Space 10 feet on either side of
the road is vital for many species as their habitat. Butterfly host plants are
generally found alongside the road. Complete clearing of the place ceases the
possibilities for the plants to grow and subsequently butterfly could not find
plants to lay eggs. The major victims the problem are Common Nawab, Tawnycoster, Plain cupid, Apefly etc. Even some birds use roadside perches to build
the nest. It was observed that a rare species, ‘Rufous bellied babler’, failed to build the nest four times
in a row due to repeated clearing of the space.
Sita Ashok |
Documentation:
A survey on wild life in IITB campus was
done earlier by WWF. Report for the same, titled “Study of the Biodiversity of
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay Campus” by World Wide Fund for Nature
-India, Maharashtra State Office, Mumbai can be found here. Apart from this report, some faculty and students
have recorded the data individually, as a personal interest. Butterfly list can be found here. This data can be integrated and formatted to
ultimately publish it on blog/website/facebook page etc.
Proposal
of Butterfly garden: A small butterfly garden is proposed
near lake side gate towards old guest house. Butterfly garden will be a
streamlined activity towards making the campaign sustained. Reasons to choose
this place are as follows: Approachable, closed space, always guarded, near to
hill side. Here flowering plants (for butterflies to nector) and host plants
can be planted. Such garden will also add to beauty of the campus.
Awareness
creation: To make the nature campaign sustainable at IIT, the
residents must be involved in the activity. Here target audience could be any
nature lover - resident of IITB or related to IITB. The involvement can be
increased only with a strong and streamlined awareness program. Awareness
related to nature at IIT Bombay and the related activities can
be
spread in numerous ways:
1.
Expanding the core group and form a
Nature club
3.
Organising nature trails for the
residents, especially in the post- monsoon season and pre-monsoon season
4.
Organising nature photography workshops
5.
Presentations, expert lectures and photo
exhibitions.
6. Printing pamphlets (common birds, common
flowers, common butterflies in IITB), printing coffee table books.
These tasks can be
easily accomplished by bringing together groups working related to above
mentioned points. For example, pixels group (photography related issues).
List
of the trees under plantation (June 2012)
Indian Snakeweed Stachytarpheta indica
शिरीष Albizia odoratissima
karvand
Carissa carandas
चित्रक Plumbago zeylanica
Tagar
Tabernaemontana divaricata
Ixora coccinea
Pavetta indica
Mussaenda
erythrophylla
गुलवेल Tinospora cordifolia
रातराणी Cestrum nocturnum
दसमुळी
Eranthemum roseum
Jaambhul Syzygium cumini
निर्गुंडी
Vitex negundo
काजू
Anacardium occidentale
Putranjiva Putranjiva
roxburghii
अर्जुन Terminalia arjuna
टेंबुरणी
Diospyros paniculata
पपयी Carica papaya
सीता अशोक Saraca asoca
बदक वेल Aristolochia ringens
शिवण
Gmelina arborea
Hajari mogara Clerodendrum chinense
Bitaki
Gokarn
Nagkeshar
Tembhurni
Tress
already planted as Soneribaug project:
1 Medshingi
2 Karanj
3 Behada
4 Surangi
5 Agnimanth
6 Hadga
7 Apta
8 Shirish
9 Bhokar
10 Kokum
11 Khair
12 Karvand
13 Palas
14 Neem
15 Bael
16 Cassia fistula
(Bahava)
17 Shisham
18 Amla
19 Jam
20 Kailaspati
21 Moh
By Paresh Kale
Best work have been hand over.. best of luck and do it complate with 100 % suretly.. thanks for sharing,,
ReplyDeletePreschools Mumbai
TY Ayesha Tivari. This delayed reply to your comment has an advantage that I can inform you that most of the work is going on as per planned. :-)
Delete