Naturalist Training Program....Why?
In this era of global warming, deforestation and landscape destruction; the amount of biological loss is quite significant. It is necessary for each one of us to understand the gravity of the situation. The change is happening..! it could be climate, vegetation, population, agriculture, flora or fauna, lifestyle or....anything and everything around us, it is changing. This is not a good change as a matter of fact but it's actually the opposite of it.
So the question is how do we tackle such problems? Realistically, it is difficult; but not impossible. We could only hope the destruction can be controlled if we contribute towards the betterment of our environment in smaller ways. There are various programs conducted by the government or civil bodies, big corporations and NGOs in an attempt to educate the community on Conservation. However, the effective way to achieve is to understand the bio diversity around us and protect them. One such program is the Naturalist Training Program conducted by Jungle Lodges and Resorts Ltd.
The objective is pretty simple, learn the main elements of nature and work towards protecting them.
When I told my family and friends that am going to attend this program, they came up with couple of valid questions.
1: What is this program all about?
2: How does it benefit us?
Well, before we get to know about the program it is important to understand who is a Naturalist and what's the role of a Naturalist?
- As per the books: Naturalist is someone who practices or studies any form of living specie(s) and the environment in which they live.
- A naturalist spends more time on the field studying about various aspects of nature.
- A naturalist's primary role is to conserve nature and create awareness in practical world so that there is less human intervention with nature.
- There are many naturalists who are not versed in education but have contributed a lot to the nature fraternity.
About the program.
Naturalist training Program (NTP) has been running since several years now organised by the Jungle lodges and Resorts ltd under the leadership of chief naturalist of the organisation, Mr. Karthikeyan Srinivasan. An avid naturalist by himself, he has tailor made the workshop for better learning on major aspects of nature and its conservation. I had enrolled into this program long ago but I had to wait for my turn as the participants are selected on the basis of first come first serve.
It was a three day program rightly planned to cover both theory and field work. We had early morning bird watching followed by observations and theoretical sessions on various topics such as Identification of birds, insects, conservation of environment etc.
How does NTP benefit an individual?
Firstly, it is about learning everything associated with nature such as birds, trees, seed pods, mammals, climate, habitat, so on and so forth. Although I am inclined toward birding, this workshop made me realise that each and every organism on earth is dependent on each other. For ex: trees are important for birds to survive otherwise there will be no birds. Now as a naturalist, you need to have good knowledge about trees so that you can attempt to conserve them thereby helping birds to thrive.
Secondly, creating awareness about the environment so that further destruction is limited.
Thirdly, volunteering when the need arises. There are destructions to the forests due to various reasons and it requires a lot of man power to control that. There are several other instances where forest department require trained men for assistance and NTPits are called for such work.
I am happy to be part of such program as I feel its a gateway to learn more about known and unknown things about nature and as well conserve them.
These training programs are now getting populous and are being conducted by different org's in different places. So feel free to attend them and experience the best of nature..!
Naturalist training Program (NTP) has been running since several years now organised by the Jungle lodges and Resorts ltd under the leadership of chief naturalist of the organisation, Mr. Karthikeyan Srinivasan. An avid naturalist by himself, he has tailor made the workshop for better learning on major aspects of nature and its conservation. I had enrolled into this program long ago but I had to wait for my turn as the participants are selected on the basis of first come first serve.
It was a three day program rightly planned to cover both theory and field work. We had early morning bird watching followed by observations and theoretical sessions on various topics such as Identification of birds, insects, conservation of environment etc.
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| Certification of completion was handed over to each of the participants at the end of the workshop. |
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| Me with Manoj (Left) and Vishruth Cavale (Right). My room mates during the workshop. We had so much fun in the camp. |
Firstly, it is about learning everything associated with nature such as birds, trees, seed pods, mammals, climate, habitat, so on and so forth. Although I am inclined toward birding, this workshop made me realise that each and every organism on earth is dependent on each other. For ex: trees are important for birds to survive otherwise there will be no birds. Now as a naturalist, you need to have good knowledge about trees so that you can attempt to conserve them thereby helping birds to thrive.
Secondly, creating awareness about the environment so that further destruction is limited.
Thirdly, volunteering when the need arises. There are destructions to the forests due to various reasons and it requires a lot of man power to control that. There are several other instances where forest department require trained men for assistance and NTPits are called for such work.
I am happy to be part of such program as I feel its a gateway to learn more about known and unknown things about nature and as well conserve them.
 |
| Group pic with the mentors: Karthik and Radha Rangarajan. |
These training programs are now getting populous and are being conducted by different org's in different places. So feel free to attend them and experience the best of nature..!
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