On the occasion of the International Day of Forests, the Madurai Division of the Forest Department launched two initiatives in a bid to involve public in its conservation and awareness activities.
Launching the initiatives on Gandhi Memorial Museum premises here on Saturday, District Forest Officer Nihar Ranjan said the department was planning to work with those interested in becoming ‘Madurai Vana Nanbargal’ or ‘Friends of Madurai Forests’ and certified wildlife rescue experts in this regard.
“We will issue forms to the persons who are interested in doing voluntary service along with the department. For the ‘Friends of Madurai Forests’ initiative, we will create a database of persons who are interested in participating in awareness activities.
The department will then organise trips to Kutladampatti or other ecologically sensitive areas where the public can help organise clean-up operations,” he noted.
In a bid to mobilise a team of certified wildlife rescue experts, the department was planning to identify trained young men and women who had experience in such activities.
“We will maintain a list of such persons so that we can reach out to the people faster by identifying rescue experts in specific locations,” said J. Mary Praveena, coordinator of Eeram foundation, which is working with the department on the initiative.
Mr. Ranjan said while the department was involved in a majority of enforcement activities in forest areas, these initiatives would enable the volunteers to act as the wings of the department.
Saplings were planted by the department and ‘Vaa Nanba’, a collective of students, entrepreneurs and working professionals in the city, on the Gandhi Memorial Museum premises.
