In association with the Ishaan Hatekar Foundation, Last Wilderness Foundation (LWF) conducts awareness programmes centered around the themes of wildlife, biodiversity and their importance. In this regard, the following programmes were conducted:
14 July, 2012- Bal Mohan Vidya Mandir, Mumbai
This session was held as part of the school’s nature club activities and was attended by 70 children. Neeraj Hatekar, (from Ishaan Hatekar Foundation) began the session by explaining the importance of birds to the students by bringing in exotic birds, some of which have been rescued from traders by Hatekar. The presence of these birds sent excitement levels soaring and the kids took a keen interest in their lives and well-being. Following this, Bhavna Menon from LWF, conducted a presentation on the evolution of birds and the value they add to the environment. The children showed great enthusiasm towards the steps necessary to protect and save their new-found feathered friends in their natural environment.
1 September, 2012- Raja Shivaji Vidyalaya, Mumbai
This session was attended by 60 students as part of the activities of their in-house nature club, which is called Nature Nuts. Neeraj Hatekar (from Ishaan Hatekar Foundation) began the session with a talk on birds and the need to conserve them. He also brought in some of his own birds to provide live examples to the children thus adding an element of interest to the session. The kids were very excited to see and learn about birds firsthand and listened to Hatekar with rapt attention. This was followed by a screening of the movie ‘Truth About Tigers’ by Shekhar Dattatri, so as to apprise the students of the state of the tiger in the wild and to inculcate in them the spirit of conserving this magnificent animal. Bhavna Menon, from LWF, followed this up with a discussion which stressed on the role of the tiger in the web of life. Interestingly, after this discussion, the students themselves were able to draw parallels between the tiger and other animals in our environment and articulated their own thoughts on the importance of birds to the environment.