Guwahati: With an aim to expose young students to the richness of a protected biodiversity area so that they can learn about nature, Aaranyak organised an education tour inside Pobitora wildlife sanctuary on 28 and 29 March. The premier biodiversity conservation organisation brought 64 high school students in two groups and engaged them in nature-oriented exercises and interactions with conservation educators, forest officials, wildlife biologists, wildlife photographer and filmmakers.
The students came from six schools located at the fringe areas of Pobitora forest reserve but they did not get an opportunity to visit the biodiversity-rich area. They were engaged in various exercises and games like brain mapping session, tree hugging, landscape observation and expression, leaf album making, jeep safari and creative leaf collage making. Effectiveness of the forest therapy was also introduced in the program.
Organised in collaboration with Pobitora forest reserve authority, Pobitora ecotourism development society under the sponsorship of LEA associates South Asia private limited (LASA), the program also witnessed the participants’ interaction with forest officer Nayanjyoti Das, wildlife photographer & filmmaker Champak Deka, LASA officials Gautam Patnaik, Basanta Bezbaruah and Dr Ruby Das, Aaranyak associates Jayanta Kumar Pathak, Dr Alolika Sinha, Wasima Begum, Sultana Sharmin and Ankita Sarma.
Located about 40 kilometer away from Guwahati, Pobitora forest reserve boasts of the highest density one-horned Indian rhinoceros population in the world (and second highest concentration in Assam after Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve. The 38.81 square km sanctuary houses 107 rhinos besides a large number of Asiatic water buffaloes, wild boars as well as a wide range of bird species, amphibians and reptiles.
