On 4th Jan 2024, Emerald Heights International School, Indore, hosted the Round Square Conference(RSC), which was attended by aspiring environmentalists of Class 7. The opening ceremony had inspiring talks by Shri Bhalu Mondhe and Shri Dev Kumar Vasudevan on conservation of wetlands. The lectures encouraged the young delegates to become torch bearers of environment conservation. Shri Vasudevan’s invigorating session on birds, their instincts, intelligence and importance to mankind invoked curiosity among the young audience, leading to interesting discussions in the baraza session.

TNV organised a bird watching camp on 5th Jan, 2024 at Sirpur Lake, for about 150 students of Emerald Heights International School. There were six experts of TNV who conducted the bird watching sessions, including TNV joint secretary and ornithologist Shri Ajay Gadikar. The children were divided into batches of 25 each. They were all then given booklets containing photos of 50 common birds with their brief description; to help them spot and identify the birds they were sighting. Some of the birds that were sighted were waterfowls like the northern pintail, spot billed duck and waders like the grey-headed swamphen, bronze-winged jacana and many more, including cormorants and wagtails. The birds were busy feeding on small fish, amphibians, grubs and some aquatic shoots, which was a fascinating sight for the young birders. The highlight of the session was the sighting of a lone greylag goose which was sighted at Sirpur after a period of four years. The session ended with TNV Caps being distributed and refreshments served.

World Wetlands Day is celebrated every year by the Ramsar Secretariat, Geneva, across the globe, on 2nd February. This year the venue was Indore and in particular, the Sirpur wetland, declared as Ramsar Site in August 2022, along with Yeshwant Sagar of Indore. Dr Musonda Mumba, Secretary General of Ramsar Convention, Geneva, Switzerland was in Indore for the Wetlands Day functions on 2nd Feb 2024. She was the chief guest on this occasion.

In their endeavour to raise awareness in the society regarding various aspects of nature and wildlife, TNV organised a snake awareness session on 16 July 2024, to mark the World Snake Day. Yogendra Kumar Mimrot, a young Snake rescuer conducted this very interesting session. He spoke about the behaviour of snakes, their role and importance in nature. He explained the difference between the venomous and non-venomous snakes and informed about the measures to take to prevent being bitten by a snake and what to do in case of a snake bite. Dr Uttam Yadav, in-charge of the Indore Zoo, was the chief guest. On the occasion, the chief guest Dr Yadav, on behalf of TNV, presented a head torch to the speaker Yogendra Mimrot.

TNV has done extensive work, spread over three years to document the birds and their habitats in Bhopal with 312 species (migratory, vagrant and resident) featuring in it. Bhopal Camera Club and Ela Foundation, Pune, have helped in the documentation. Top wildlife expert Dr Ranjitsinh, who was also former Divisional Commissioner of Bhopal, has written the foreword of this wonderfully illustrated coffee table book. The authors are Dr Satish Pande, Abhilash Khandekar and Pramod Deshpande. Dy Chief Minister Shri Rajendra Shukla and Water Resources Minister Shri Tulsiram Silawat released the book. Senior officials of the MP Government and a large number of bird watchers, environmentalists, architects, authors and industrialists were also present for the event at Bhopal's well known heritage hotel Jehan Numa Palace, on 17th July, 2024.

On 29th July, TNV celebrated the International Tiger Day with a talk and film show by a young Naturalist and Researcher, Shri DP Shrivastava from Bhopal. He is the Principal Investigator of the Urban Tiger Conservation Project He spoke on the subject - Understanding prospects of Tiger survival in urban landscape. Before he spoke about the various facets of Tiger conservation, etc, he showed two very interesting films to let the audience have a glimpse into the practical work, research, data collection, tiger movement in a city landscape, of Bhopal and occasional man – animal clashes. The films that he screened were – The secret life of Bhopal Tigers and The Urban Tiger Volunteers On the occasion, a tiger paw made in brass, designed by Shri Bhalu Mondhe was released by Shri Shrivastava. Shri Mondhe had modelled this brass paw on the mould he got from Kanha National Park, in the eighties on one of his trips. The paw is of a full-grown male tiger. The talk ended with a very exciting question and answer session.

Status of vultures in MP was the topic of a very interesting and informative talk by the vulture expert Shri Dilsher Khan on the International Vulture Awareness Day on 7 Sept 2024. He is a member of the Madhya Pradesh Vulture Committee. The second speaker was Shri Mohan Das Nagwani, who is part of Shri Dilsher Khan’s team. He has been assisting him since a long time in his vulture conservation work. They informed the audience about the importance of vultures and why they should be conserved. Their dwindling numbers are worrying and all steps should be taken to preserve and conserve this endangered species. The duo shared their vast experience in this field with data and figures. They also informed that out of the nine species of vultures found in India, seven can be found in Madhya Pradesh. The chief guest was Shri Surendra Bagada, a passionate wildlife conservationist and bird watcher and founder member and President of the NGO Wildlife & Nature Conservancy (WNC).

On the occasion of the wild life week (1st to 7th October), The Nature Volunteers (TNV) organised a programme, on 6th Oct 2024, wherein a booklet on Butterflies (in Hindi) was released. This programme was held at the Sirpur Lake, Indore, a Ramsar site. This booklet is the fifth in the awareness series, called 'Paryavaran Jagran Shrinkhla'. The Chief Guest was Commissioner, Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) Shri Shivam Verma. Shri Bhalu Mondhe welcomed him and he was then taken around the butterfly park and was shown different types of butterflies and their host plants. Ms Grishma Trivedi, the author of the book explained the role of butterflies in the ecosystem. Many eminent personalities of the town were present on the occasion. The Commissioner, along with two other IMC officers, also inspected the Sirpur Nature Knowledge Centre and patiently heard the issues brought up by TNV, regarding the pending work at the under construction Knowledge Centre. He assured everybody that all the unfinished work will be completed within a year.

The Nature Volunteers celebrated World Wetlands Day at the Bilawali backwaters in Indore on 2nd Feb, 2023. District Collector of Indore Dr Ilayaraja T, IAS, was the chief guest on the occasion. He was taken along the trail by the members present, led by TNV President Shri Bhalu Mondhe. The collector appreciated the presence of many species of resident and migratory birds. The members also apprised him of the challenges and problems being faced by the wetlands of Indore district. The Collector took note of these challenges and problems and has promised all possible help he can provide to resolve these issues so that the wetlands of the district become healthy habitats.

A one-day conclave to save honey bees organized by TNV at the Pritam Lal Dua Auditorium on 18 Feb, 2023. The event was conducted in association with Under The Mango Tree Society. Ms Sujana Krishnamoorthy of the society was one of the key speakers at the Conclave. The District Collector Dr Illayaraja T, IAS, attended the first half of the conclave. The Chief Guest Shri N K Sanodiya, IFS, CCF Indore released a booklet on honey bees – the third in the series published by TNV to sensitise the public on important environmental issues. Dr DM Wakhale, Senior Scientist at the Central Bee Research and Training Institute Pune, was also one of the key speakers at the conclave.

On 26 March, 2023 a team of 11 birders led by TNV ornithologist, Shri Ajay Gadikar conducted a bird watching camp at Kishanpura Lake in Machal village on the Indore-Dhar road. The team also studied the threats which this birding hotspot is facing. The highlight of the birding session was a sighting of the fastest bird (and the fastest living being) – the peregrine falcon. TNV is aiming to conduct such events frequently at different wetlands in an effort to protect the local ecology.

On 30th April 2023 TNV organized a very well attended talk by Dr Raghu Chundawat, a conservation biologist and a well-known expert on tigers and snow leopards. The talk was conducted at the Pritamlal Dua Auditorium, Indore. The chief guest of this event was Shri PC Dubey (Retd PCCF). The subject of Dr Chundawat's talk was `Expanding Tiger Conservation beyond Protected Areas; Need For An Inclusive Approach'. The talk focused on developing an alternate approach in conserving tigers, as the tiger numbers are increasing (in the recent count the numbers have gone up to 3167, an increase of 200 from the previous count). Dr Chundawat recommended building additional pockets (satellite areas) in forest areas where tigers can live safely and can also move between the different protected areas. The buffer areas of the tiger reserves, he added, should also be further strengthened to ensure friendly co-existence of both tigers and humans here. According to Dr Chundawat the participation of locals would be the key to success of this new approach. He recommended that wild life tourism be conducted differently and also that the present practice of conducting it like conventional tourism be discarded. He added that one of the primary aims should be for nature tourism to provide livelihood to the locals and only then will they see the tiger and wildlife as a friend and not as an enemy. He gave the example of a small country like Scotland which does not have the biodiversity that India has and yet generates a few billion pounds through nature and wilderness tourism. He shared his concern that our laws are such that in order to conserve wildlife and nature we have not only imposed restrictions on potential poachers but we have also kept the well wishers - both individuals and organizations - at an arm's length. He also expressed concern at the fact that although the tiger numbers have increased but they have sadly vanished from certain pockets in the country, which is not a healthy sign. Chief guest Dr PC Dubey also spoke and informed the audience about how the forest department is trying to make such policies that tiger tourism can benefit the locals even more. The event ended with a Q&A session, presentation of mementoes to the speaker and chief guest and a vote of thanks.

The Nature Volunteers celebrated the World Environment Day on Monday on 5th June 2023 at two different cities - Indore and Bhopal. The Indore event took place in the morning at Sirpur Lake. It was led by Shri Bhalu Mondhe (President, TNV), Shri Dev Kumar Vasudevan (Secretary, TNV) and Shri OP Maheshwari (Treasurer, TNV). It included a bird-watching session, planting trees at the newly created butterfly park and brief addresses by some well-known environmentalists present at the function. On this occasion, 10 of the participants became TNV's life members. The Bhopal event took place in the evening in which an urban park at Shivajinagar was adopted by TNV to be developed as a 'biodiversity park'. The inauguration event was led by Shri Abhilash Khandekar (VP TNV) and was attended by some dignitaries of the city.

On 24th June, 2023, The Nature Volunteers (TNV) organised an enriching bird-watching program and nature walk at Sirpur lake, in partnership with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Participants got the opportunity to connect with nature, observe local bird species, and enjoy the picturesque surroundings around Sirpur, while fostering a deeper appreciation for biodiversity and conservation efforts.

The Nature Volunteers, in collaboration with the Maheshwari Samaj, organised a successful plantation event at Fal Bagh, Sirpur, on 17th July, 2023. Demonstrating their commitment to environmental conservation and community engagement. Hundreds of trees were planted, promoting a greener and healthier environment for all.

TNV (Bhopal Chapter), along with the Rotary Club (East Bhopal) and Mandar and No More Foundation (Bhopal) conducted a month-long awareness campaign about snakes in Bhopal city, beginning with the World Snake Day (16th July) and concluding on Nag Panchami (21st August), to make people aware of the snakes around them, preventive measures in case of a snake bite and immediate action to be if any incident occurs. The campaign also aimed at sensitising the people towards the atrocities on snakes committed by snake charmers in the name of religious rituals and practices, particularly on Nag Panchami. The most common practice of making snakes drink milk is very harmful for them. They cannot digest milk and eventually die. Thousands of captive snakes, particularly cobras and boas, perish soon after the festival. Therefore, the public needs to stop entertaining snake charmers and raise their voice against such cruel practices. The inaugural session was held at EPCO, Bhopal on 16th July 2023 in the presence of various dignitaries from the Rotary Club and TNV, including Shri Abhilash Khandekar (senior journalist and vice-president of TNV). Throughout the campaign TNV and the partner organisations reached out to the people at various levels and certainly made a mark through their combined efforts. The campaign ended at the Barkatullah University (Bhopal) on 21st August 2023, where a booklet, 4th in the awareness series, called 'Paryavaran Jagaran Shrinkhla', about snakes was also released in the presence of Shri Arun Tyagi (Chairman, MP Kayaking and Canoeing Association), Shri Vishwas Ghushe (Chairman, Environment Awareness Vertical, Rotary Club East Bhopal), Shri Om Prasad Sohani (snake expert), Shri Sunil Deshpande (Secretary, TNV Bhopal) and Shri Abhyudaya Kelkar (Jt Secretary, TNV Bhopal). An important session during the course of the campaign was held at CSIR-AMPRI (Bhopal), better known as Regional Research Laboratory (RRL), on 18th August.

On 17th December, 2023 more than 50 bird watchers of Indore gathered to participate in the first ever Indore Bird Race and covered 14 important birding locations, of Indore district, simultaneously. Bird Racing originated in Mumbai in 2005. It is an activity where groups of birders, all at the same time, are bird watching across various spots in a city. In the maiden Bird Race in Indore, all the teams put in tremendous effort and documented 172 species of birds in a half-day event. Some of the birds sighted were Ferruginous Duck, Sarus Crane, Pin-tailed Snipe, Green sandpiper etc. The event was part of an HSBC sponsored Indian Bird Races. These Races are now held in many cities of India, every year. The ebird app was used to collect the data.

Crisis in water bodies will result in a crisis in our lives. Dr Sriparna Saxena delivered a lecture on Aquatic Biodiversity: Understanding & Conservation, as part of the Annual Environment Lecture (eighth edition) of The Nature Volunteers (TNV) on 23 December, 2023, at Indore. Dr Saxena, the head of the Department of Aquaculture at a private university, emphasised the importance of conserving water bodies to safeguard our lives, ecosystems and the natural food chain. The depletion of ponds and rivers, exacerbated by urbanisation, poses a significant threat. The crisis extends to the Mahasheer fish, the state fish of Madhya Pradesh, found in the Narmada. These fish are in danger due to their reliance on clean water. Pollution, coupled with the introduction of externally bred fish in large quantities, poses a severe threat, sounding an alarm for the Narmada ecosystem. Shri Ashok Chitale, senior advocate, presided over the session

On 16th January, 2022, the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, TNV and Youth Hostel Association of India (YHAI), Indore, conducted a bicycle rally, covering some key heritage landmarks, of Indore city – historical and natural. It started from the Krishnapura Chhatris and terminated at the Sirpur bird sanctuary, emphasising their historical significance and the need to conserve and preserve them. About 50 cyclists participated, led by Mr Ravi Shankar Bhatia and Mr Deepak Bhalse of the YHAI. At Sirpur, they were apprised about the many interesting historical facts about Sirpur lake by TNV president Mr Bhalu Mondhe. Mr OP Maheshwari (Treasurer, TNV) and YHAI dignitaries, Mr Devendra Bhatnagar (Chairman) and Mr Rajiv Killedar (Vice-president) also took part. Mr Bhalu Mondhe possesses a remarkable record of heritage conservation in the city of Indore of more than four decades.

Fifth June, every year is celebrated as World Environmet Day. TNV celebrated the occasion at Sirpur Lake with various interesting activities marking the day. A bird-watching session, Planting saplings at the newly created Butterfly Park, a part of the upcoming Nature Knowledge Centre in the vicinity of the lake. A booklet on 'Grey Water' was released by the chief guest, Smt Devajani Patra (Member-Environment and Rehabilitation, Central Department). It talks about the water polluted by chemical ingredients of various products we use and which gets discharged from our homes and workplaces to further poison the already scarce usable water sources. The event was a huge success because of the keen participation of many nature lovers from Indore and its neighbourhood. The event was also attended by the officers of Narmada Control Authority and team TNV was represented by Shri Bhalu Mondhe, Padma Shri, Shri Abhilash Khandekar, Shri Dev Kumar Vasudevan, Shri Om Prakash Maheshwari, Shri Vijay Rangnekar, Shri Ajay Gadikar, Prof Dr SL Garg, Shri Kaustubh Rishi, Shri Sajid Lodi, Shri Neeraj Bagwan, Shri Praveen Kekre, Shri Vikas Tiwari and Shri Somesh Bhavanani.

The first National Conference on Urban Biodiversity Conservation was conducted in Indore by The Nature Volunteers in association with World Researchers’ Association and EcoSoul on 5 & 6 Aug, 2022. A very well attended two-day conference where experts from all over India attended and presented their papers. The first day proceedings were conducted at Hotel Radisson Indore. Day two saw participants visiting Sirpur Lake and Bird Sanctuary which had just been accorded the status of a Ramsar site – the highest honour for a wetland. The conference was held at Kesar Parvat in Kesharbardi Village of Mhow Tehsil. A core team was created to draft the “Indore Declaration on Urban Biodiversity Conservation.”

TNV and Ela Foundation, Pune, organised the third Certificate course in Basic Ornithology from 11 Nov 22 to 13 Nov 22, in Indore, after having successfully organised the course for two years, in 2016 and 2017. Dr Satish Pande of Ela Foundation, Pune and his team covered various aspects from avian evolution to conservation of birds in the three-day course. In a holistic approach, bird biology, ecology, avian conservation, treatment of sick birds and migration were discussed and explained, along with new topics like ethno-ornithology. Ornithology is a very large and vast subject; so, for a beginner, just reading books is often inadequate to understand the subject. Most aspiring bird watchers or amateurs learn about birds and their world, most effectively through direct interactions with experts. Therefore, this kind of a course is very helpful and useful for all those who want theoretical and practical knowledge and information regarding this very interesting topic. All the participants were taken on two field visits, one to Yashwant Sagar to understand the Wetland Birds and the other to The Daly college school premises to learn about the woodland birds. The participants were from varied backgrounds; students, teachers, academicians, bird enthusiasts and avid birders. The Chief guest, on the concluding day, was Prof SKBandi, Chairman, Basketball Trust. Certificates were presented to all the participants.

The VII Annual Environment Lecture of The Nature Volunteers was held on Saturday Dec 10, 2022. The speaker this time was the eminent naturalist and environmentalist Shri Pradip Krishen who is also India's most famous tree man. His talk was titled `About the Desert’ and the venue, the conference hall of Hotel Lemon Tree, was overflowing. Shri Krishen's best-selling books on trees viz., Trees of Delhi: A Field Guide and Jungle Trees of Central India have taken trees to the layman in an unprecedented manner. They have also received much well-deserved critical acclaim. He is also involved in restoration or rewilding of degraded desert habitats, his well-known projects being the Rao Jodha Desert Park near the Mehrangarh fort in Jodhpur and the Kishan Bagh project in Jaipur. Shri Krishen spoke eloquently about the desert ecosystem with special reference to its flora and the efforts involved in rewilding. He also emphasised that deserts are not wastelands as believed by most people but that they are thriving ecosystems. He also spoke about the need to concentrate on local species of trees and other flora as they exist in symbiotic relationships with other flora and fauna and do not harm the local ecosystem. He concluded his talk by speaking about the need for conservation of desert ecosystems in line with how they have evolved and to avoid greening of the desert with non-local flora species. The session ended with an invigorating Q&A session. The function was conducted by the TNV Joint Secretary Ms Vindhyeshwari Kumari. Shri Pradip Krishen was honoured by the President Shri Bhalu Mondhe, who presented him with a memento. The vote of thanks was proposed by the Secretary Mr Dev Kumar Vasudevan.

To create awareness regarding cleanliness and good health, TNV and the Youth Hostel Association of India (YHAI), Indore chapter, jointly organised a large-scale cleaning drive at the Sirpur Lake area on 3rd January 2021. It generated a very good response. Almost 100 volunteers participated in it. Also, on the occasion, to promote the message of good health, a cycle rally was organised from the Gangwal Bus Stand to Sirpur Lake.

On 10 th January, 2021, the Forest department organised the first ever bird survey at Sardarpur sanctuary, in Dhar district, about 105 kms away from Indore. There were 27 participants who were part of the survey, on 5 trails. A total of 71 species were spotted. Shri Ajay Gadikar, ornithologist and TNV member helped the forest department in compiling and finalising the technical report of the sightings.

On 24 th Jan 2021 TNV organised a webinar on butterflies. The speaker was the former CCF, MP forest Department, Shri Anil Nagar, an expert on butterflies. His topic was Jungle ki baat, titli ke saath. It was a very interesting and informative talk.

A three-day bird survey was conducted at Gandhisagar sanctuary from 12th Feb 2021 to 14th Feb 2021, by the Forest department, the third one at this location. A total of 80 participants from 07 different states had participated in it. The bird survey was done on 24 trails and a total of 222 species were documented. Many TNV members, along with Secretary Shri Dev Kumar Vasudevan participated in it. Our member and ornithologist Shri Ajay Gadikar helped in collating the technical report of the outcomes.

The first ever bird survey was conducted at Ralamandal sanctuary on 07th March 2021 by the Forest department. An enthusiastic group of 24 had gone birding, on 5 trails and a total of 84 species were documented. TNV members, along with Secretary Shri Dev Kumar Vasudevan also participated in good numbers and our member Shri Ajay Gadikar helped in collating and finalizing the technical report of the sightings.

The second wave of Covid 19 brought back the lockdown and all were confined to their homes, so we decided to again go online and organise a talk titled "Birding with the Brigadier" by the eminent birder Brig Arvind Yadav on 12 th June 2021. Brig Yadav, a passionate birder, posted in Mhow, had completed one year of birding around Mhow, so we requested him to give a talk and share his experiences. He has submitted 105 checklists with 276 species from 11 hotspots around Mhow. 15 species recorded first time in Indore region including two species sighted first time in Madhya Pradesh. Kashmir Flycatcher and Indian Blue Robin, both passage migrants, were recorded for the first time in MP by Brig Yadav. Striolated Bunting, Red Headed Vulture, Common Buzzard and Pin Tailed Snipe were some other interesting sightings by him. Mhow lies on the southern Malwa plateau, the watershed of the Chambal and Narmada river basins. It has not been fully explored by birders. There is a lot to learn from this passionate birder and hopefully this webinar would have helped many bird watchers. The attendance was very good and we wrapped up with everybody wanting another session with him, which we hope to organise in July 2021.

On 24th July 2021, at the Sirpur Lake, TNVmembers and many nature lovers organised, a plantation event, for the proposed Butterfly Park. Host plants that attract butterflies and plants rich in nectar were planted. This upcoming butterfly park is set in about half an acre of land, located near the Interpretation Centre at the Sirpur Lake. In a survey conducted last year, here at Sirpur, about 35 species of butterflies were spotted. With this Butterfly Park coming up, one can hope to see a rise in the number of species that will be found here. The event was a great success thanks to the contributions and efforts of Youth Hostel, Indore and the NGO Wild Warriors. The plants were provided, free of cost by Shri Vineet Bhatnagar, Shri Manish Jain and Shri Naseem Matkawala of the organisation `Prakriti’ and also Shri Akhilesh Jain, all for improving the environment.

Ratapani Sanctuary Butterfly survey was carried out from 10.09.21 to 12.09.21. It was the first ever butterfly survey to be conducted in the sanctuary. The objective of the survey was – To establish baseline data of butterflies in Ratapani wildlife sanctuary and to create public awareness about butterflies and their ecological importance. The Ratapani sanctuary area is 825 sq km. The survey was carried out in 04 ranges of the sanctuary, a total of 74 trails were covered. 104 species of butterflies were recorded during the survey. 80 members from 08 states participated in the survey. TNV members Shri Ajay Gadikar, Shri Neeraj Bagwan and Shri Neel Gadikar participated in the survey.

A webinar was conducted on 7th Aug, 2021 on - Beyond Birding: The Art & Science of Bird Watching. The second in the series of talks by the Mhow based eminent birder, Brig Arvind Yadav. On popular demand, after the first very successful webinar by him in June 2021, this second online session was organised.

The book, Threatened Birds of Madhya Pradesh, was released in Bhopal on 7th Oct 2021, in an impressive function in the august presence of Shri Ramesh Kumar Gupta IFS, PCCF & HOFF Madhya Pradesh, Alok Kumar IFS, PCCF (Wildlife) & CWLW Madhya Pradesh and many other esteemed forest officers. The Book is published by The Nature Volunteers, Indore and sponsored by the MP State Biodiversity Board, Bhopal. It is authored by Dr Asad Rahmani, Mr A.M.K. Bharos, Mr Ajay Gadikar and Mr Praver Mourya and is edited by Mr Dev Kumar Vasudevan. This 232-page book contains an account of 47 such threatened bird species that are found in Madhya Pradesh. Many of these species are endemic or semi-endemic to the Indian Subcontinent, which has special relevance for conservation of birds in India.

On 14th Nov 2021 another webinar was conducted. The topic was - "Birding in Sikkim: An Avian Paradise through my lens". The eminent Mhow based birder Arvind Yadav had just returned from a study trip of the North East during which he had visited Sikkim for a couple of days for birding. In a very well attended talk he exposed the audience to the rich avian life of North East India. Besides giving valuable tips to birders who wished to visit Sikkim for birding he also shared information with the audience about the many bird species which are endemic to that part of India. It was a very interesting session, a visual treat for a very passionate and involved audience.

The water hyacinths had spread over a very large part of Sirpur Lake and were proving harmful for the biodiversity of the lake, thanks to the negligent attitude of the Municipal Corporation. So TNV decided to take action to bring this grave issue to the notice of the authorities. On 25th Dec 2021 a symbolic protest, to remove the water hyacinth from the lake, was undertaken. TNV was joined by Youth Hostel, Indore members and many environment loving citizens to help remove the weeds. This protest had the desired effect and the authorities finally started the task of removing the weeds from the lake.

TNV conducted a well attended 3-day photography exhibition, on 11, 12, 13, February 2020, at the Pritamlal Dua Auditorium, showcasing the outstanding works of the globally acclaimed wildlife photographer Shri Rajesh Bedi, New Delhi. Some of the beautiful exhibits were seen for the first time in the city, especially those of elephants from the Rajaji National Park and tigers from the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve.

Sustaining the Environment- Challenges and Solutions was the theme for the three-day webinar organised by The Nature Volunteers (TNV) from 27th to 29th Sept 2020 On the first day it was the environmentalist, wildlife expert and author from Pune Dr ErachBharucha. a surgeon by profession. His talk was on - Wetland management: Challenges and possible solutions. He spoke about the various types of wetlands. How to conserve them and the biggest hurdles and threats in the conservation process. He spoke about the importance of Communication, Education, Participation and Awareness (CEPA) to be able to achieve success in conservation works. He made the audience aware of the many initiatives of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), with whom he is associated, like the Pakshi Mitra Sammelan gatherings at Aurangabad and Nasik that led to the declaration of Jayakawadi and NandurMadhmeshwar respectively as protected areas. He also gave the example of the restoration of the Pashan lake, an Urban lake in Pune. On day two, it was Dr Pankaj Shrivastava, IFS, Director IIFM, Bhopal. Dr Srivastava is an expert on river Narmada. He has deeply researched the interleakages between forests and hydrology. His topic was - Forestry for River Rejuvenation. He stated the importance of the green cover in watershed management, that is, how forests and trees help maintain the water level of rivers. He informed about the importance of Choral forest for Indore. Also, about the success stories in this area, from Central India. The Day three talk was on SDGs and India; Progress and Pitfalls by Mr Ajay Jha. Mr Jha has more than 16 years’ experience in the development sector. A lawyer by profession, he is employed with Public Advocacy Initiatives for Rights and Values in India (PAIRVI), New Delhi, as Director since 2008. Mr Jha explained about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with a brief description of each. He informed about the 17 goals and 169 targets set by the United Nations in 2015 under its ‘2030 Agenda’. That brought to a close three days of very informative and interesting lectures and presentations. Many a questions and queries were also put before the guest speakers by the nature loving audience who had joined in from different parts of the country, which were adeptly answered by the speakers. The moderators for the three days were Mrs Vindhyeshwari Kumari, Mr Sajid Lodi and Mr Dev Kumar Vasudevan. Mr Ravi Gupta managed the webinar on the online platform Zoom.

Harness Solar Power and Compost Green Waste to sustain the Environment. Experts discussed how solar energy can help protect the environment and convert green waste to black gold! It was a two-day webinar held on Saturday 7th Nov & Sunday 8th Nov 2020 Speaker : Dr Susmita Bhattacharjee, Indore *Founder, Pushan. Solar energy expert, working for innovative solar energy solutions for a sustainable ecosystem from renewable resources. Topic: Solar power, the bright alternative Speaker: Mrs Sarika Gadikar, Indore *IT Professional and a home composting expert Topic: Composting – recycle smart!

On 21 st November 2020, in village Pitambali, in Badwah district, on the shores of River Narmada, the foundation stone was laid for a multifaceted project for the conservation and promotion of Mahseer (genus Tor), the state fish of Madhya Pradesh.

Speaker: Mr VIVEK MENON, the elephant expert Mr Vivek Menon, a leading Indian wildlife conservationist, environmental commentator, author, photographer and policy think tank with a passion for elephants. Founder of five environmental and nature conservation organisations, Mr Menon spearheads Wildlife Trust of India as its Founder, Executive Director and CEO since 1998. He was awarded the Rufford Award in 2001 for International Conservation for his work to conserve the Asian elephant. It is one of the many international recognitions for his conservation action. He gave a virtual talk on the magnificent but endangered beast – The Elephant, its habitats and challenges on 12th December 2020.

On 25th December 2020, TNV organised the first bird watching programmeat Dhar, in association with the INTACH Dhar Chapter and the organisation Kanva Van of Dhar. The event was conducted at all the important lakes and wetlands of Dhar district, where many species of migratory and resident birds were spotted.

On 2nd Feb 2019, we celebrated World Wetlands Day at Sirpur Lake. Smt Smita Bharadwaj, IAS, MD MP Financial Corporation was the chief guest, Shri Sudhindra Mohan Sharma was the keynote speaker. The world over, wetlands are under severe threat and TNV has been a leading torchbearer in the field of the lake conservation movement.

A workshop on "How to be a Birding Buddy" was held on 7th April 2019 at Indore. TNV Indore and Early Bird Bangalore joined together to conduct it. It started post lunch and finished by 6 pm, on that Sunday, at Govindram Seksaria Institute of Management & Research (GSIMR). The workshop was conducted by Ms Garima Bhatia and Ms Abhishekha Krisnagopal from the Early Bird team. 35 interested participants enrolled for it. Resource material like brochures and pamphlets were given out for this interactive workshop. The interaction between the speakers and the participants made it very interesting.

TNV, like every year, celebrated the World Environment Day on 5th June 2019 at the Sirpur Lake, an Important Bird Area (IBA), continuing its endeavour to create awareness in the society towards the environment. This year, we had a bird-watching session and made seed-bags which would have saplings growing soon, for the large scale plantation drive which would be done in the weeks to follow. The chief guest Mr Jayantilal Bhandari highlighted the career opportunities in environment conservation in his speech. Mr Ambrish Kela and Swami Atmanand were the guests of honour.

The highlight of the year was the book launch function, on 3rd Sept 2019, of the much-awaited Birds of Indore brought out by TNV. The former Minister for Urban Administration Shri Jaivardhan Singh was the chief guest. Shri Yashwant Rao Holkar of Maheshwar presided over the function. Shri Jitendra Singh Raje, IAS, Executive Director, EPCO, Bhopal was the guest of honour. Dr Satish Pande, a leading ornithologist and environmentalist of India and the founder of the ELA Foundation Pune, was the special guest. It was a very well attended function and everybody present appreciated the end result of three years of hard work by our dedicated team.

TNVs 6th Annual Environment Lecture (AEL VI), on 26 December 2019, was delivered by Dr K S Gopi Sundar, Director SarusScape, International Crane Foundation and a global authority on cranes and wetlands. He spoke on “SarusScape: Conserving Water Birds in Agricultural Areas.” It was a most enriching, informative and educational talk. The Pritamlal Dua auditorium overflowed and the audience heard him with rapt attention.

This year, on 20th March, TNV, in partnership with the Foundation of Ecological Security (FES) celebrated the International Sparrow Day with an interesting event. It was an evening with the doyen of wildlife conservationists, Dr MK Ranjitsinh, an IAS officer of the 1961 batch. In conversation with India’s top wildlife expert was Mr Abhilash Khandekar, vice president TNV and a well-known environment journalist. Dr Sinh has had an unparalleled role in India’s wildlife conservation history. He was the prime architect of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 and of the Central government schemes to assist national parks and sanctuaries. Mr Bhalu Mondhe, president TNV welcomed Dr Ranjit Sinh at the outset. The tete-a-tete, held at the Hotel Palash Residency, Bhopal was a full house with nature lovers sitting in rapt attention, taking in every word. The evening wound down the memory lanes of wildlife conservation and conservation issues based on Dr Sinh’s recently published book — A Life with Wildlife.

After a successful first year, TNV organised its second Wildlife and Environment film festival, in association with GSIMR, Indore. The three day event was held from 17th May to 19th May, 2018 at the GSIMR Auditorium. The theme of the film fest, this year, was Water. This year TNV initiated an environment award - `Paryavaran Prahari,’ to be awarded to someone doing outstanding work for the environment and nature in the region. This year it was awarded to the environment activist and conservationist Shri Kishore Kodwani, during this event.

World Environment Day Function was celebrated by The Nature Volunteers at the Sirpur Lake Important Bird Area (IBA)on 5 th June 2018. All the nature lovers gathered there were taken for some bird watching along the lake. A photography competition was held and the winners were felicitated.

On 29th July is the International Tiger Day, observed every year since 2010 when it was first created at the Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit. This year, on this occasion, TNV held a film screening for the students of The Daly College, Indore. The programme, held at the Dhirubhai Ambani Auditorium in the school on 27th Aug, 2018, was attended by all the boarders and staff. The film screened was ‘The truth about Tigers’ by Shekhar Dattatreya. It was a vivid tale of a tiger from the time it was born to the day it dies. It gave insight into the life of tigers, the growing threat to their habitat and the need to protect our national animal, besides giving a lot of other vital information about it

It is the National Wildlife Week every year from 2nd October to 8th October. This year, on this occasion TNV organized a talk by Mr R Sreenivasa Murthy, a senior Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer, Member Secretary/APCCF MP State Biodiversity Board. One of the leading experts on Tigers. The person who was instrumental in bringing back the tigers in the Panna Tiger Reserve. TNV wanted more and more people to know the success story of the Panna Tiger Reserve. At one time the Park was left with no Tigers at all and it was the tireless efforts of our guest speaker, Mr R Sreenivasa Murthy that Tigers were successfully re-introduced in Panna. Mr Murthy addressed a full house at the Pritamlal Dua Auditorium, Indore on 5th Oct, 2018. He spoke at length about his experiences and with special reference to Panna. He said that the conservation of tigers of Panna was mainly possible by linking tigers to the pride of the local communities. Dr Upinder Dhar, Vice Chancellor Shri Vaishnav Vidyapeeth Vishwavidyalaya, Indore was the Chief Guest.

The fifth edition of the prestigious event, the Annual Environment Lecture Series was held on 22nd December 2018 at the Rajendra Mathur Auditorium, Indore Press Club, This year, Shri Ravi Singh, Secretary General and CEO, World Wide Fund for Nature – India delivered the key note address. He spoke on – `Why Conserve Our Wetlands’. Shri Anthony de Sa, IAS (Retd), Chairman MP RERA & Adviser WWF – MP, presided over the session.

The Nature volunteers organised a bird monitoring and documentation workshop on 22nd Jan, 2017 with the help of Bird count India. The idea is to help understand and conserve our birdlife.

TNV organised its first Wildlife and Environment film festival, in association with GSIMR, Indore. The three day event was held from 13th April to 15th April, 2017 at the GSIMR Auditorium. It was a very successful event with a packed hall on all the three days.

After the successful first year of the Basic Ornithology course, TNV and Ela Foundation, Pune, in association with GSIMR, Indore, organized this Certificate course for the second successive year from 16th November to 19th November, 2017, at the GSIMR Auditorium. Experts from the Ela Foundation, Pune conducted the course.

The guest speaker for the fourth Annual Environment Lecture was Shri Saleel Tambe, renowned wildlife and nature photographer and conservationist. He is settled in London, UK. `A rendezvous with nature’ was the topic of his talk. The lecture was held on 20th December, 2017 at the Pritamlal Dua Auditorium, Indore. The District Collector Indore, Shri Nishant Warwade, IAS, presided over the function.

The occasion was a historic one – the launch of the reproduced Sir Patrick Geddes’ first development plan of Indore by The Nature Volunteers (TNV), Indore. The Brilliant Convention Centre in Indore was the venue on 12th February 2016. The function of the book launch was held along with the Indore Municipal Corporation’s (IMC) Smart City Event. The famous Geddes’ plan is now a 100 years old and TNV plans to use this opportunity to bring back focus on scientific urban planning and making Indore a green city. Sir Patrick A Geddes (2.10.1854 – 17.4.1932) was a globally acclaimed urban planner, sociologist, botanist and educationist. A man of many talents, Geddes was invited by Maharaja Tukojirao III to Indore to design and plan for the evolving city of Holkars in the early 20th century. The Geddes’ Master Plan was released – once again after a 100 years! The Union Minister for Urban Development, Shri Venkaiah Naidu, the Chief Guest of the function, did the honours in the presence of Indore MP and Lok Sabha Speaker, Smt Sumitra Mahajan and the Chief Minister, Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan. The occasion was a historic one – the launch of the reproduced Sir Patrick Geddes’ first development plan of Indore by The Nature Volunteers (TNV), Indore. The Brilliant Convention Centre in Indore was the venue on 12th February 2016. The function of the book launch was held along with the Indore Municipal Corporation’s (IMC) Smart City Event. The famous Geddes’ plan is now a 100 years old and TNV plans to use this opportunity to bring back focus on scientific urban planning and making Indore a green city. Sir Patrick A Geddes (2.10.1854 – 17.4.1932) was a globally acclaimed urban planner, sociologist, botanist and educationist. A man of many talents, Geddes was invited by Maharaja Tukojirao III to Indore to design and plan for the evolving city of Holkars in the early 20th century. The Geddes’ Master Plan was released – once again after a 100 years! The Union Minister for Urban Development, Shri Venkaiah Naidu, the Chief Guest of the function, did the honours in the presence of Indore MP and Lok Sabha Speaker, Smt Sumitra Mahajan and the Chief Minister, Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan.

The Nature volunteers organised a bird monitoring and documentation workshop on 22nd Jan, 2017 with the help of Bird count India. The idea is to help understand and conserve our birdlife. A nature walk and a cleaning drive at Sirpur Lake were carried out to celebrate this year’s World Environment Day, 5th June, 2016. People from all walks of life including a large number of students and senior citizens participated. An oath to protect the environment was administered to the participants by four Padma Shri awardees of Indore – Shri Kutti Menon, Smt Janak Palta McGilligan, Shri Bhalu Mondhe and Shri Sushil Doshi. TNV, a leading environmental NGO of Indore, which was founded on June 5, 1992 by Shri Bhalu Mondhe also commenced its silver jubilee celebrations. Founding member and Vice President Abhilash Khandekar spoke on the journey so far and the vision for the future. He also complimented the IMC for preservation and improvement of Sirpur Lake and listed some suggestions. The Padma Shri awardees released an eight page TNV brochure. Distribution of cloth bags by TNV all over Indore was also commenced on the occasion. The function was conducted by Shri Sanjay Patel and the welcome songs were performed by students of Shri Gautam Kale’s Sangeet Gurukul. The vote of thanks was proposed by Dev Kumar Vasudevan, Secretary TNV.

TNV believes that there is a great need to generate awareness about environment and nature. To give an insight into the world of animals and birds – conserving them and their habitat and make more and more people aware and sensitive about co-existing with nature – its fauna and flora. In its endeavour to achieve this, TNV has been organizing many a programmes. One such was the ornithology course. From 17th Nov to 20th Nov 2016. Renowned ornithologist Dr Satish A Pande and his team of experts from the Ela Foundation, Pune - Dr Suruchi S Pande, Shri Rajkumar Pawar conducted the certificate course.

This was the third edition of the prestigious event, the Annual Environment Lecture Series held in association with GSIMR on 17th December, 2016 at the GSIMR auditorium. The guest speaker was Shri Manu Bhatnagar, Principal Director, Natural Heritage Division, INTACH, New Delhi. He spoke on `Conserving our natural heritage’. Shri Abhay Bharkatia, Member, Governing Body, GSIMR, chaired the session.

Chitrangana Agle Reshwal on the pakhawaj, accompanied by Deepak Khasrawal on the harmonium. Environment Day celebrations at Sirpur Lake on 5th June, 2015

The guest speaker for the second Annual Environment Lecture Series was the legendary conservationist and ornithologist, Dr Asad R Rahmani, Former Director of the Bombay Natural History Society. He spoke on ‘Conservation beyond tiger: Need to take action’. The lecture was held on 12th December, 2015 at the Pritamlal Dua Auditorium, Indore. The session was chaired by the District Collector Indore, Shri P Narahari (IAS). 12th

The inaugural lecture was delivered by Ms Archana Godbole, a leading Pune based environmentalist, who is the founder of Applied Environmental Research Foundation (AERF), Pune, which has been working for the conservation of the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot region for the last 19 years. The lecture was held at the Pritamlal Dua Auditorium on 20th December, 2014. Conservation of Western Ghats was the topic of the lecture. This is the only environment lecture series of its kind. The session was chaired by the eminent lawyer Shri Ashok Chitale.