On the occasion of World Sparrow Day, organized by the Alive Charitable Trust in collaboration with Pimpri-Chinchwad Science Park, a special lecture titled ‘Festivals of Biodiversity’ was delivered by the chief guest and speaker, Swanand Kesari, under the ‘Let’s Save the Sparrow Campaign’. This marks the tenth year of the campaign.
Swanand Kesari, a citizen science expert, has implemented various biodiversity recording projects. In his lecture, he explained how ordinary citizens can make scientific biodiversity records, how these records contribute to various projects, and how they relate to our everyday lives. Kesari elaborated on the importance of keeping biodiversity records with clear and practical examples.
“In Pune, ordinary citizens have recorded over 100 species of ants. This highlights the importance of enriching biodiversity records. The data collected through citizen science is immensely useful to scientists. Not only does it document local biodiversity, but it also helps in understanding environmental changes. This enables humans to take appropriate measures for environmental conservation, making human life easier. Experts may not have the time in their lifetime to record thousands of observations, but observations made by millions of citizens, even without formal scientific education, can be invaluable for research and save time.”
Swanand Kesari
The ‘Let’s Save the Sparrow Campaign’, organized by Alive, saw enthusiastic participation in various competitions this year. Competitors came from Pune, Mumbai, Thane, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Latur, Satara, Sangli, Ratnagiri, and other regions of Maharashtra, as well as from Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal, and abroad, including Dubai, Germany, Canada, and Brazil. Approximately 400 people participated in the various competitions.
The competitions included the story contest “My Story – Sparrow’s Story” and “Sparrow Poetry Contest” in Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati, and English. Winners of the story contest in the categories of youth, open, and senior groups were awarded the ‘National Kirtankar Otorakar Bua Story Award’. Winners of the Sparrow Poetry Contest in the Kumar, Open, and Senior groups received the ‘Vijayaben Vaghela Poetry Award’. Winners of the Sparrow Painting Contest were honored with the ‘Shravan Kamble Painting Award’ in the Child, Youth, Open, and Senior groups.
Nandakumar Kasar, CEO of Pimpri-Chinchwad Science Park, who presided over the event, wished success to the Alive initiative and highlighted the long-term usefulness of such initiatives. He also shared experiences of students from across India engaging in environmental experiments and emphasized the importance of public participation in science.
Dr. Bhalchandra Pujari gave an introduction and hosted the event, while Umesh Waghela, founder president of Alive Trust, spoke about the trust’s activities. The secretary, Chaitanya Rajarshi, coordinated the competition judging committee and expressed gratitude. Trustees Rajendra Kamble and Ravindra Gaikwad contributed to the event’s organization. The campaign received valuable support from Halgauda Omkar of Sai Engineers and Dhananjay Shedbale of Diksha Exports.
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