Methodology: Questionnaires, case studies, photography
Language: English
Catalysts: Anand Pendharkar
Youth Fellows:
Parth Mehta
Rahul Kolekar
Ovee Thorat
Sahila Kudalkar
Saloni Bhatiya
Pranad Patil
Coordinator: Manoj Tank
About the Subject:
The moment we think about Biodiversity, we tend to relate it only with forests and villages. When we think of cities and urban area, we only visualize big buildings, industries and other constructions of cement and concrete.
Do the people of Mumbai know that there is a variety of birds living in the city as well as coming from different countries to this city? That many green places (parks) exist in Mumbai? That a number of different types of trees and plants also exist in this city?
The members of this research group were passionately interested in urban biodiversity. They interacted with the students of different schools and colleges to find out their level of awareness about this issue.
Challenges & Learnings:
The youth fellows screened short films on biodiversity and showed power point presentations to school & college students. They organized community events at difference places on aspects of biodiversity of Mumbai. The group members also organized picnics at places near Mumbai for other youngsters from the city. The group used questionnaires before and after the events to document the perceptual change of the youth about urban biodiversity. They also prepared case studies of some of the youth.
The group used Mapping to show the biodiversity hotspots within Mumbai. They also prepared a Yearly Planner as a mid term product of their research. It contained details about nature parks, green places in the city and about birds.
To coordinate among schools and college and to collect data from students was a challenge for this group. Every school and college had different examination dates, timings and study schedule. This is where the group members fine honed their time management and coordination skills. They also learnt to handle multiple responsibilities at a time.
Conclusion:
The respondents of this study showed very limited knowledge about identification of trees, butterflies, migratory birds, and understanding the importance of geckoes, lizards, frogs and bats. Many of them expressed fear about bats, owls, ants, dragonflies, cats and lizards and such creatures because of lack of knowledge. That fear could be baseless and it takes more than just education to rid them from their mind.
End Product:
The group has prepared Post cards, posters and Yearly planner as their final product, using photographs taken by the group members.
