A typical Sunday for Mansur Ahmed and his wife Gaythri Devi meant a trip to forests or hills around Coimbatore. They would spend the day spotting birds and taking photographs. During one such outing, they bumped into Mohammed Saleem, a wildlife-photography enthusiast. Their friendship was the beginning of a group that now has over 300 members, all of them nature-lovers. Called Environment Conservation Group (ECG), it was started in September 2009. Saleem, Mansur and Gaythri decided that people needed to know about conservation and the environment.
“Whenever we went trekking, we noticed how people misused natural resources and caused damage to the environment,” says Saleem, president of ECG.
“Alcohol bottles, empty chips packets and plastic covers were strewn around. People were feeding the animals. We even saw youngsters shooting down birds near the Ukkadam tank.”
The members of ECG started by visiting schools and colleges. They mobilised youngsters to take part in conservation activities. They invited them to join them on their treks. Along with bird spotting and photography, they also organised small-scale clean-up operations wherever they went.
Today ECG is proud to be associated with organisations such as the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON). Together they have organised campaigns on bird population, conservation of wetlands, wildlife rescue operations, jungle treks and tree planting.
ECG has also put up hoardings in Bandipur and Mudumalai. In addition, it has planted and distributed saplings of native plants such as neem, banyan, poongai and jamun.
Studying migrant birds
As part of National Centre for Biological Sciences' ‘Migrant Watch' project, ECG collects information on migrant birds that visit Coimbatore and contributes to the study of bird migration in the country. “When the number of members in ECG increased, we noted that there were a lot of birding enthusiasts in the group,” says Mansur. “That was when we decided to branch out and start the avian wing of ECG – Coimbatore Birding Club (CBC).”
Gaythri says that Facebook has played a major role in drawing members to CBC. “Whenever any of us spots a bird within or outside of Coimbatore, we post pictures on Facebook.” Birding experts such as Arijith Banerjee of Indian Forest Service, and wildlife photographers Sharad Agarwal, Rathika Ramasamy and Adesh Shivkar are on their Facebook page. They help them identify the birds and offer guidance to the members.
The ECG has also taken part in the Coimbatore Wetlands bird census. It has submitted reports on the birds in the 24 tanks in the city to the Forest Department of Coimbatore and Bombay Natural History Society. The members have been part of citizen scientist initiatives too.
The group has members aged between nine and 77 years. The two septuagenarians in the group are Hari Kishan Das and Chunnilal. “Since one of our main aims is to sensitise people, we encourage them to join our treks. We also give talks at schools and colleges,” says Mansur.
ECG has organised signature campaigns and many workshops. One of them was a snake handling workshop at the VOC zoo that they held along with the Nilgiri Wildlife and Environment Association. They distributed snake-handling kits and trained participants to capture snakes.
Another programme is on its way, says Saleem. “Since information related to mortality of birds is still undocumented in our country, we are trying to record the cause of deaths whenever we come across deceased birds. Along with SACON, we will shortly organise a workshop on the ways to handle dead birds.”
Calling eco-warriors
The Environment Conservation Group is open to interested individuals. You can also help with financial aid. For details, call: 99423-10000 or 97878-78910, or visit www.ecgindia.org. To join the Coimbatore Birding Club, visit: >www.facebook.com/groups/coimbatorebirdingclub .
