Chennai’s eco spots
Congested with people, vehicles and buildings, Chennai gasps for breath. But it still has some green areas that allow people to take in fresh air and even spot wild life. Geeta Padmanabhan writes
In an exploding city with an ever increasing population, , where construction is a major activity, vehicles have right of passage, sidewalks have no space for walkers and garbage rules road space, it’s a miracle there are green areas that allow one to breathe some fresh air. They are real, outdoor, semi-wildernesses, within city limits. Know them? Here is a guide to a Chennai eco-spot-hopping.
At Adyar Poonga, Preston Ahimaz of Pichandikulam Forest Consultants (then), offers a lec-dem on “eco-spot”. “It’s where the ecology of the land is allowed to function, relatively undisturbed,” he says. Animals and plants complement one another, balancing the local ecology. When you remove what is there and bring in what is not , the system collapses. “ Leave things alone, protect the green areas and promote them where feasible. Nature is resilient and dynamic; it balances itself,” he adds.
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Joss Brooks and the Adyar Poonga
Joss Brooks, who through his brand of restoration ecology, has given a city dump an unimaginable makeover. Geeta Padmanabhan on the making of the Adyar Poonga.
Joss Brooks is a man difficult to catch up with. It was raining, but he walks up and down the restored mounds and the new “cottages” of Adyar Poonga, explaining the toil behind the transformation. I want the sun shining — on his past. “The story is about you,” I tell him. . He agrees. Reluctantly.
Eco-Village Design Program (EDE)
The Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) Auroville desk based in Pitchandikulam Forest has just successfully hosted a 5 week Ecovillage Design Education Course running from 4th December 2016 to 7th January 2017!
Please follow the link for a quick info
Mugaiyur Eco-park
In 2006 Pitchandikulam began the transformation of an eroded, overgrazed 88 acre site at Mugaiyur into a thriving Eco-park. The natural coastal sand dune ecosystem has been restored and a Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest (TDEF) established to create a matrix of habitats that can support a greater range of wildlife.
Eric Ramanujam: Principal Investigator (Faunistics)
M. Eric Ramanujam has been a wildlife illustrator and owl researcher for nearly two decades. Since 1997 he has been involved in full time conservation and has undertaken wildlife surveys in the Kazhuveli region and Adyar wetland complex. His main sphere of interest is the natural history of the Indian Eagle Owl Bubo bengalensis. He heads the design and art studios in Pitchandikulam.
Selected articles include:
Bubesh Guptha: Senior Wildlife Biologist
Dr Bubesh Guptha specializes in researching biodiversity, birds, mammals, butterflies and reptiles.
As Senior Wildlife Biologist at Pitchandikulam, he has undertaken surveys and studies of the nearby Kazhuveli tank, a significant sanctuary for migrant birds and bio diversity, and has even been credited with discovering a new form of snake in the Seshachalam forest range.
He recently received the BioDiversity Award from the Government of Andra Pradhesh in recognition of his work in identifying a new species of snake in India.
He has several peer-reviewed journal publications to his credit, and the following books are widely available from specialist wildlife publishers:
- A Glance Of Biodiversity From Seshachalam Hills, Andhra Pradesh
- Wetlands And Wetland Birds: Status of Wetland Birds of Selected Districts in Tamil Nadu
- Birds of Pulicat & Nelapattu Bird sanctuaries
Before joining Pitchandikulam, he worked at:
- the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), Coimbatore
- Centre Soil and Water Conservation Research Training Institute and Research Centre, Udhagamandalam (Ooty), Nilgiris
- Biodiversity Research Centre & Monitoring Research Laboratory, Project Tiger Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh
- Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun
- Wildlife Management Circle, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh Forest Department
He has a BSc in Botany, Zoology and Chemistry and an MSc in Wildlife Biology from Bharathidarsan University, Tamil Nadu, and a PhD in Ornithology from Sri Venkadeswara University, Andhra Pradesh.
Environmental Education in the Auroville Bio-Region
Nadukuppam High School
The Pitchandikulam Forest team is involved in environmental education across more than 100 schools in the Bio-Region. The main effort is to make the local communities aware of their region and its importance, especially the Kazhuveli water tank. Our main centre is in Nadukuppam village, where the local high school has been transformed from a low-performing school into a high-achieving model school with excellent academic standards, showing what can be achieved at this level. Children are involved actively in seeds and raising plants in the school nursery, organic agriculture, composting, conducting plays and projects on environmental issues.
Other schools across the region
We also conduct programmes in other government and private schools on themes like planting, herbal medicine, water conservation, recycling, waste, air pollution, organic vegetables, and celebrating special days like World Environment Day and Water Day.
Children on these programmes regularly visit the regenerated forests in Nadukuppam and Pitchandikulam to learn about the forest and biodiversity of both fauna and flora. This education programme is supported by four teachers, who have also formed eco-clubs in the schools for these activities.
These educational classes and tours are also open to other students and participants. There are regular visits to our forests and education centres by women from self help groups across Tamil Nadu and from government officers to learn about the bio-region, forest and animals.
Forest Eco Retreat in Nadukuppam
Our planted forest in Nadukuppam, as well as being at the heart of our social and environmental activities in South India, has over the years taken on a secondary, unofficial function – as a place of deep rest and relaxation for us at Pitchandikulam Forest and our friends.
In the forest, we can build small and simple huts for people to retreat and search their souls for adding value to life. The rich environs of a growing forest, water bodies, birds and butterflies to give company, will be the best backdrop to the retreat.
Embodying ethical tourism, this kind of retreat can enable one to explore the region with a gentle footprint.There is great potential to explore the complexities and richness of rural Tamil Nadu – to engage with the village community, to learn about the Kazhuveli water bodies, a rich wetland ecosystem that is currently greatly vulnerable to human interference.
If one likes some activities and wants to contribute there are nurseries, compost and organic farms to work in. A Bali House with a small library and music is a common place to meet with other friends.
Training Centre for Rural Women
Our work in Nadakuppam to date
Pitchandikulam has been working in the Nadukuppam area since 2003. Since then, it has grown into a major part of our work: covering everything from teachers in local schools, indigenous forest planting, traditional water management, organic farming, rural enterprise for women and a wide range of training. To date, we have helped to set up five rural women’s enterprises in the area, and would like to be able to help even more women setting out in the world of cooperative enterprise.
Our Dream
To consolidate over a decade’s worth of work, our dream is to set up a dedicated centre for women’s training, which will act as a traditional knowledge hub for the Kazhuveli bio-region and its natural and cultural integrity, and allow women to explore new ways in which they can blend different knowledge systems. We can share our experience with other women’s development programmes across India, invite participants and volunteers from our network in India and abroad, and create a centre of excellence in rural enterprise training for women.
We want to build an ecologically friendly place for the trainees to stay, so that all participants can live in a rural environment while learning and sharing their stories. We envisage a sustainable livelihoods learning centre – backed by our experience with the Sustainable Livelihood Institute – with practical demonstrations, activities, intensive education programmes and a regular programme of trainings each month.
How You Can Help
Please contact us to find out more, or contribute to our account below.
SLI – Sustainable Livelihood Institute
Pitchandikulam Forest is a founding partner organization and incubating support for the Sustainable Livelihood Institute (SLI) which opened in 2015.
