Earth Mela 2010 The International Year of Biodiversity

Hi Friends,

Mother Earth needs to be remembered once in a while as we remember our family and loved once on Father's Day, Mother's Day, or Valentine's Day. And I second people which say that we do not need "days" to cherish the special things in life. yet, it is great feeling when everybody comes together and celebrates the same thing. It is Earth Day on April 22 every year. It was founded by U.S. senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental 'teach-in' in 1970 and is celebrated in many countries every year. This date is a Spring day in the Northern Hemisphere and Autumn day in the Southern Hemisphere...

Earth...a planet which with all its unique qualities sustains the humankind. It is the day when we can share and learn things to make Earth a happy place!

Last year SPROUTS celebrated Earth Day with the event Earth Mela 2009 at MNPS with the theme 'A Carbon Reversal Movement'. Close friends, volunteers, and well-wishers helped in every way possible to make the event a success! The participants learnt easy to implement ideas to reduce our carbon footprint and the range of eco-friendly product choices that they have. The event had a variety of activities right form cycle rally, adventure sports, photo exhibition and film festival.

This year it's New and Bigger event! SPROUTS is organising Earth Mela 2010 with the theme "The International year of Biodiversity" at MNPS on April 24 and 25, 2010. This event will introduce participants to the amazing world of Biodiversity. many insignificant seeming creatures share our homes with us, they are immensely marvelous but yet ignored! the figure of 1411 has unfortunately made them even more trivial. Frogs, bats, snakes, dragonflies, and trees are overshadowed by the majestic Tiger...

This year we have the film festival, photo exhibition, cycle rally. product stalls, and lectures but with Biodiversity in mind. There will also be Nature Trails lead by experts on both days.

So make it a point to attend this amazing event and find out ways to join hands in the conservation of our endless biodiversity!
Registrations are OPEN and advance registration is Rs. 300 for both days (till April 20) and Spot registration fees will be Rs. 175 per day. To register your office teams, housing colony groups and mahila mandals, youth groups or even to join us as an individual, please call Ovee Thorat (98191-03530), vidya Venkatesh (98204-1395) or Anand Pendharkar (98201-40254) or email for details on sproutsonline@gmail.com

See you there!

Ovee

Completion of phase 1 of 'elect a new national animal campaign'

After a week of hectic campaigning & collecting votes, SPROUTS completed phase 1 of 'elect a new national animal campaign'. The last day of phase 1 was on Sunday, 28th December. Our team of volunteers was at SGNP from 6-9am, speaking to people about the campaign & gathering their votes. While some people got the message behind the campaign & chose to cast null votes, some voted for the fielded candidates viz the monkey, elephant or buffalo.

Throughout the week the campaign was held in different parts of Mumbai (CST, Churchgate, Bandra, Andheri, Borivali, Dahisar, Santa Cruz, Vashi) & our volunteers included students from various colleges (Nationals, Sathye, Bhavans, Ruia) along with SPROUTS members, who did the campaigning & collecting of votes. Lot of votes were gathered through our website (www.sproutsenvttrust.org) & through smses.

The conclusion of phase 1 was done at a press conference at Mahim Nature Park on Sunday evening. Here, we began with a brief intro by Anand of how & why SPROUTS was born & the activities that we do. This was followed by details of the campaign by Mr.Parag Shahane, the creative head of Mudra Communications who were the concept behind the campaign, jointly run by Mudra & SPROUTS. We then showed clippings of the campaign & summed it up by chilling facts about the poor tiger stats in India.

At the end, Anand was interviewed by the media channels, whose reporters had quite a few questions about the campaign. Some news channels like IBN-Lokmat, Star-mazaa & Zee 24hrs have been airing the same since yesterday. Do catch the action on TV & we expect more support from you all, as the campaign resumes again to enter into its 2nd phase.



Dr.Sangeeta Dhanuka,
SPROUTS

SPROUTS has started the`Elect a New National Animal' initiative. The campaign is pitched at electing a NEW National Animal, replacing the current (Tiger). The logic, since we aren't doing enough to save the current national animal, we may as well start preparations for a NEW National Animal.
The candidates are: Elephant, Langur & Buffalo. Teams of campaigners will campaign for `their' candidate and discuss the issue with general public. Public votes via sms, emails and by secret ballots at various venues mentioned below will be solicited. We are aiming at generating mass awareness our National Animal and showing them a vision of the future possibility… (the main aim of the campaign will be disclosed to the audience right at the end on Dec 28, 2008)

The venues chosen are:
Along Western line
Dec 24, 2008 Churchgate 8:00-10:30 hrs, Bandra (W) 16:30-19:30 hrs, Andheri (W) 16:30- 19:30 hrs & Borivali (W) 16:30-19:30 hrs

Dec 25, 2008 Big bazaar- Lower Parel 13:00-20:00 hrs, Big bazaar Kandivali 13:00-20:00 hrs
E-zone/furniture mall Goregaon &/ Powai 13:00-16:00 hrs,

E-zone/furniture mall Kandivli &/ Dahisar 16:00-20:00 hrs

Dec 26, 2008 Mahim Causeway 9:00-11:00 hrs, Marine Drive 9:00-11:00 hrs

Dec 27, 2008 Shivaji Park 9:00-13:00 hrs, E-zone/furniture mall 16:00-19:30 hrs
NadBrahma (Nalasopara) 16:00-20:00 hrs

Dec 28, 2008 SGNP 6:00-10:00 hrs

Along Central line
Dec 24, 2008 CST 8:00-10:30 hrs, Dadar (TT) 9:00-11:00 hrs
Dec 25, 2008 Big bazaar- Mulund 13:00-20:00 hrs
Dec 26, 2008 Thane 17:30-19:30 hrs, Mulund (E) 17:30-19:30 hrs
Dec 27, 2008 Nirmal Lifestyle (Mulund) 16:00-19:30 hrs, E-zone/furniture mall 16:00-19:30
Dec 28, 2008 Big bazaar- Mulund 14:00-18:00 hrs, Nirmal Lifestyle (Mulund) 14:00-18:00hrs

The campaign is also available onwww.sproutsenvttrust.org. We urge you to cast your valuablevotes online and also pass this message to create a stronger voice forour National Animal. Also please join us as volunteers to make this a super successful campaign.

Dr.Sangeeta Dhanuka,
SPROUTS

SPROUTS TEAMS’ EXPERIENCES IN THE MUMBAI BIRD RACE 2008

“The bright sun was burning our necks. We had been on the move since early morning. However, we all were happy… very happy.. the reason; an Osprey with a big fish in its clutch, the first thing that we saw at the lake. We were sitting on the small jetty at IIT Powai lake. The whole lake bordered by tall and majestic buildings, was shining in front of us… probably in joy too, as it was getting the much needed attention on this day. It was the Mumbai Bird Race, an event much awaited by bird lovers”……that’s Ovee for you.

Ovee had planned everything with her team of “Dusky Crag- Martins”, Reshma ( a student from Kirti college, studying Oceanography), Geeta (another Oceanography student from Mithibai college) and Sahila (engineering student from D J Sanghvi college and a fellow PUKAR-SPROUTS project team member).

Three other SPROUTS teams were also participating in the event-
· “Hobby” led by Parth leading the Subramniam family,(Hobbies traveled with the “Dusky Crag Martins” as they had hired a car together),
· “Ashy Wood Swallows” from Borivali, led by Sangeeta – This team had Sonal, Shivangi & Vishal Bhave (again Oceanography students from Kirti, Suraj Das a SPROUTS member, Rahul Kolekar, member of the SPROUTS Pukar project team & a guest member Kunal Munsiff
· “White Eyes” from Mulund, led by Pranad. The team included Saloni from the PUKAR team, Vaijayanti from Kirti college, Sahil & Shaheen Sahibole

The PUKAR project was the main reason that ‘SPROUTS’ was in this race. The project concerns biodiversity of Mumbai and its impact on urban youth. Bird Race was the last of the six community events that we needed to complete under the youth fellowship programme. We had a chance to connect with over 300 participants from all over Mumbai!

Our plan was to visit the variety of urban habitats in our city & avoid the forest areas like SGNP to show people how much of biodiversity exists even within the city. We had also decided to stop at gardens, housing societies and highways in between the major places. All of these areas, right in the hustle and bustle of the city were purposefully chosen to stick to our project’s aims. It was not about the race or seeing maximum number of birds in a day; it was about the value of the hotspots or hotspecks where these birds are found and to observe the birds there with the common youth.

“Dusky Crag- Martins” decided to start with Lokhandwala mangroves, Bhavan’s college, a play ground behind that, Aarey milk colony, IIT Powai, Sewri and end the day at MNPS.
“Ashy wood swallows” decided to cover IIT campus at Powai – Godrej mangroves at Vikroli- Sewri & finally MNPS.

1st Leg: Lokhandwala mangroves was a good place to start with for the ‘Dusky Crag- Martins’, as they saw our commonest birds there. The newest and youngest birdwatchers within the team were excited seeing a Koel or a Parakeet. “The excitement in their faces gave me the energy and enthusiasm throughout the whole day. Activities such as Bird Race are a good chance to involve new people and pass on the joy of bird watching” says Ovee. After learning the basic things such as shape, size, call, colour which help to identify birds, the team proceeded to Bhavan’s college.
Golden Orioles, Coppersmiths, Waterhens and Fantails enchanted everybody. The day had just started and the birds were at their best. The team also observed plants, including our state tree Queen’s Flower or Taman. The play ground was teaming with activity of Grey and White Wagtails, Shrikes and Pipits. We had been to mangroves, a college campus, and a play ground, it was time to visit a dense greenery at Aarey milk colony now. The sun was getting higher and everybody was starting to get a little tired, especially the kids with Hobby. Not many new birds seen here. Probably because the areas were planted with exotic trees.

The ‘Ashy Wood Swallows’ began from Borivli on the dot at 6.15 am & reached IIT Powai in 20 minutes flat……a luxury indeed. The moment the team reached it was greeted by a small kingfisher on the pole. The sun hadn’t quite risen yet & the team got to see how the bird activity actually begins as the day breaks. As the sun rose, the birds rose too. Everywhere there were birds……the majestic purple heron in its purple plumage, the white browed & grey wagtails, the purple swamphens, gulls, terns, spotbilled ducks, the sandpipers, an owlet, sunbirds, parakeets, starlings, bulbuls and what not. As the team moved into the other areas around the campus there were ibises, jacanas, prinias, yellow eyed babblers, cuckoo shrike, fantail and then the highlight……..the ZITTING CISTICOLA….highlight not because it is a rare bird, but because not many in the team had heard of this fancy name or knew how to identify it, so it gave the team a new high. The team’s tally at IIT was a great 61 !!! It was appetizing enough for a sumptuous breakfast of sandwiches, idlis & other munching stuff that the team had carried

2nd leg: The ‘Dusky Crag- Martins’ team then moved towards IIT Powai in high hopes and hungry tummies. Everybody munched the packed food on the way. That’s when Reshma, pointed out a bird on a wire on the highway. It was a Black Shouldered Kite! Everybody reached the Powai lake in excitement. Just as the team stepped out of the car, there it was, an Osprey flying over the lake. What an amazing sight it was!! Powai IIT campus has so many various habitats, a lake, gardens, grassland, and trees, that it attracts many birds and the birders with them every year We observed many water birds near the lake including Northern Shoveller Ducks and Purple Herons. Many birds found in well wooded areas such as Jungle Babblers and Spotted Doves were also seen. The Bee-eaters attracted everybody the most. Those brilliant coloured small rockets which zoomed in on dragonflies spread a big smile on every face. All were surprised as about 30 Kites together took flight on the team’s arrival at the grassland near the boathouse. It was an amazing site!.
While Ovee’s team reached IIT, the ‘Ashy wood swallows’ proceeded to the mangroves at Vikroli. It was scorching hot but the officer in charge at the place happened to be a friend of Kunal & gladly agreed to accompany the team on the trail to the creek. The team saw a falcon, a tit, white cheeked bulbuls, warblers, sunbirds etc & on reaching the creek had some nice sightings. The terek & the common sandpipers, the pond heron, the red & green shank, the marsh sandpiper & more waders. The best sighting was the display of sandpipers & the team also captured it on their cams. However the tally rose only by 10.

The high point was the visit to the aquarium where there were lion fish, emperor fish, angel fish parrot fish and many more. Their colors enthralled one and all. Soon, everybody had forgotten the scorching heat which was baking us till just a few moments ago. As the team reached the watchtower, it ran into the ‘White Eyes’ led by Pranad & everyone had a lot to talk. There was a team photo session atop the tower with hilarious laughter & fun

3rd Leg: The famous Flamingos of Sewri were next in everybody’s minds. All the SPROUTS teams reached there around 2 pm and were greeted by many waders. There were Godwits, Plovers, Sandpipers and a lone Black Headed Ibis along with the greater & lesser Flamingos, the western reef heron, a peregrine falcon, curlew, stints to add some more. It was disappointing to see absence of Mudskippers though. Many other teams here and all exchanged their experiences.

There was with just an hour before the finish at MNPS. All rushed there and took a quick round of the area. The team had hopes for seeing Shikra and Alexandrine Parakeet which had not been seen during the day. The park looked changed. It was made neater and looked rather vacant. The patch of mudflat on one side was also dry, some construction work going on in that area. There have been sightings of Lapwings, Sandpipers, Gulls and Raptors in this area before but this time there were just a few grey herons.

It was time to submit the logbooks. A tally of 78 species for the ‘Dusky Crag Martins’, 84 for the ‘Ashy Wood Swallows’, 81 for the ‘White Eyes’ & 61 for the ‘Hobby’ was not very high compared to some other team which saw over 130 birds in the whole day, but the teams felt victorious.
“I had participated in the Mumbai Bird Race event last year, but this time it was different, I led a team! The experience taught me the importance of qualities such as decision making, leadership, teamwork, and planning. It was a test of my knowledge and abilities. In my view, we won as we could observe 78 species of birds from urban areas and most important, the team was happy at the end of the day. We not only observed birds but also plants and habitats. It would be great to have a Plant Race next year!”….is what Ovee had to say at the end of the day

We had some pamphlets describing our project, which we distributed to many other teams. We also distributed planner, our PUKAR mid-term product, to Sunjoy Monga, Adesh Shivkar and Mandar Khadilkar which were the key figures in organizing this event. It was a nice moment when all the four teams went together on the stage and explained the reason behind visiting totally urban areas . The long, fun filled day ended with exchange of experiences over dinner.

-Ovee & Sangeeta

Happy Anniversary to SPROUTS

Hello SPROUTians...

Wishing SPROUTS another happy anniversary and many more to come!

cheers n Hip hip hurray to each of us!

Las Velas

Four days after the Turtle Festival I am still on a high thinking of the adorable little turtle hatchlings that were released at the splendid shores of Velas, a small village in Ratnagiri. We reached Velas at about 8.30 am on Saturday morning (10th Feb), after a seemingly never-ending overnight journey through the ghats.

We freshened up at one of the houses of the locals, we headed straight towards the beach where the festival was being inaugurated. After myriad acknowledgements, Mr. Katdare (Bhau as he is known), finally announced the release of the turtles. We were asked to form a long queue so as to avoid too much chaos. Each one was given an opportunity to have a satisfactory look at the babies kept in the cane baskets.

The morning witnessed the release of 5 young ones from the modest hatchery in which they had been placed. Everyone was mesmerized looking at how these tiny creatures found their way towards the ocean with such ease. Like celebrities, they were being chased by numerous shutterbugs, each one hoping to get that ‘perfect shot’.After some struggle, the turtles finally made it to the sea with the splash of a wave – and gone they were, to live their lives as they are supposed to live it.

In the evening, some 15-18 more turtles were set free. This was followed by a film on SNM (Sahyadri Nisarga Mitra), Bhau’s organization that had planned the event. We got to know of the several projects carried out by SNM, apart from Marine Turtle Conservation (E.g Study, status survey and conservation of White-bellied sea eagle, Whitebacked Vultures, Indian Swiftlet, etc). Some facts about SNM’s Marine Turtle Conservation project are as follows (from their website- http://www.snmcpn. org/MarineTurtle Conservation. html):

“Sahyadri Nisarga Mitra (SNM) started Marine turtle conservation in Maharashtra India on 1st October 2002. First year they protected 50 nests of Olive Ridleys (Lepidochelys olivacea) and released 2734 hatchlings at Velas, District Ratnagiri, Maharashtra.Next year they released 1687 hatchling from 35 nests at four beaches. They have undertaken Awareness Programmes along the entire coastline of the area. In the year 2004-05, they spread this project on ten beaches and released 1565 hatchlings of Olive Ridley from 30 nests.In the 2005-2006 breeding season, they decided to cover the total 720kms coastline of Maharashtra.”

Unfortunately, an inversely proportionate ratio of only 40 nests from 25 villages in 2006 proves how marine turtles are crossing the upper limits of their presently endangered status very rapidly.A discussion regarding their activities and regarding the turtle conservation project succeeded the film show. We then split for dinner.

After a scrumptious meal prepared by the villagers, we decided to go for a night trail. Nothing apart from a few Brook's geckos were found unfortunately. But we were glad to witness the release of yet another hatchling. It was interesting to note how the volunteer, attracted it towards the sea with the help of an emergency light (since turtles are attracted towards light). To see the baby find its way into the ocean was definitely a sight to cherish.

With regards to conservation, I think Bhau's efforts are awe-inspiring, especially his involvement with the villagers - everyone from students to elders, covering as many as 25 villages. The film-show, the discussions, the photo exhibition (which also displayed the paintings of the winners of a drawing competition organized for the students, the topic being ‘Kasav Mitra’ i.e. Friends of Turtles) -- all of which, I am sure, enhanced the little knowledge that we had about turtle conservation (as well as various other brilliant projects taken up by SNM). The arrangements made by SNM for our comfortable stay, the tasty meals also deserve appreciation.

The next day, we left early in the morning for Dapoli to have a look at the Bottle-nosed dolphins. On reaching there, we booked a ferry and for a good one hour, we scanned the waters to sight a dolphin. Disheartened, we realized that luck wasn’t on our side that day, since we had reached Dapoli later than the ideal time to sight them. Suddenly a 'fin' (dorsal) popped out of the water and that got us all excited. Soon we realized that we were surrounded by dolphins – almost 10 of them that were playing around, and occasionally jumping out and diving back into the water! It was breathtaking. One of us, Simit, who is a reporter from The Times of India, even managed to capture a dolphin in mid-air! (His article on the festival will perhaps be out in tomorrow’s edition of Westside Plus. Will try and mail the link if possible). Contended with our sightings we headed back to the shore. But the picture of the hatchlings as well as the dolphins remained vivid in our minds for a long time.This is one trip I am certainly going to remember.

Regards,
Saloni

Big Boss style ZOO show

Here is the link to the article that I had mentioned in the email thru sprouts yahoo group.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Monkeys_can_win_you_cash/articleshow/1582101.cms
please let me know you thought.....