Last Wilderness Foundation (LWF) celebrated Wildlife Week (October 1-7) in Narwar and Pataur villages, which are in the buffer zone of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. A representative from LWF, Pushpendra Nath Dwivedi conducted a presentation on Tigers and the need to save them, following which, the movie, ‘The Truth About Tigers’ by Shekhar Dattatri was screened. An interactive session with the children was also held where they voiced their thoughts and opinions on the wildlife based on their experiences of living in close proximity to the forest. Many of them spoke about the role of the tiger in controlling the wild herbivore population, which may otherwise raid their crops. Another child voiced his concerns on the tiger’s survival and said “If there are no tigers,nobody will come to the forests and if nobody comes to the forest there will be no tourism which will affect the livelihood of so many people.” At the end of the sessions, badges were distributed among the children.
In Umaria, LWF participated in the Wildlife Week celebrations held by the Forest Department and held a screening of The Truth About Tigers for 120 school children.