Trying something new.

[prashantsingh]

To,
The Prinicipal,
O##### High School
Dehradun.


Respected Madam,
I , Dr Prashant Singh, am a member of a non-government environment conservation organization, "##### ###### ###### #####".

Our organization strives, inter-alia, to sensitize the children and youth towards the importance of our co-existence with all other species in our Biosphere, and of the conservation of the delicate and harmonious balance of Nature. We believe in developing awareness in the young and pure, impressionable minds the awareness towards the environment and wildlife around them and the need to conserve this natural wealth for the future generations. We feel that the earlier these young minds have such values instilled in them, the stronger will be their determination to stand up and protect nature and prevent exploitation of our natural wealth by unscrupulous elements of our society.

#### is an organization of members from different walks of life including doctors, scientists, educationists,philanthropists and nature lovers, who have a passion for pro-active action for judicial conservation of our biodiversity. And it is the need of the day.

#### is planning a day-trip to Cheela Range of Rajaji National Park (RNP) for which we would like to invite seven students from class IXth of your school.

The trip is planned for Sunday, the 27th April 2014, under the leadership of Mr Vinod Rishi I.F.S. (retd).
Dr Dushyant Singh Gaur (Professor of Pathology, HIHT & recipient of the Governor's Award for Nature Photography) and Dr Prashant Singh, (Dental Surgeon & Nature Conservationist) will also accompany the group. The trip inside RNP will be under the supervision of qualified Nature Guides,using vehicles driven by expert drivers, registered at RNP.

The Itinerary of the Trip is scheduled as follows:
Sunday, 27th April 2014

11.00 am The study group starts from O High School. Dehradun for Rishikesh
12.30 pm Lunch organized at Hotel Ganga Kinare, Rishikesh
01.30 pm Drive along Upper Ganga Canal from Rishikesh to Chilla. Study the effect of development structures on forest and wildlife;

02.30 pm - 5.30 pm Jungle Safari in Chilla Forest, Rajaji National Park; Study of ecological elements in a protected wildlife conservation area.

05.30 pm Discussions and analysis of the observations; Refreshments; following which Team will return to Dehradun
08.00 pm Arrival at starting point in Dehradun

During the trip, children will enjoy the educative and enlightening talks on:

a. Uniqueness of Upper Ganga Canal Architecture - Mr Vinod Rishi.
b. Flora and fauna of RajaJi Nat Park and their conservation - Mr Vinod Rishi
c. Wildlife Photography - Dr Dushyant Gaur
d. Animal Dentition - Dr Prashant Singh

Important Instructions:
i The students will be encouraged to carry cameras and binoculars with them, if available.
ii They should be wearing comfortable clothes and caps, all in muted colors
(green / brown / camouflage)
iii Children should not carry any kind of polythene or plastic items with them on the trip.

Trip organizers will make all arrangements for water & food for the trip members.

Looking forward to sow seeds of nature awareness amongst your student.

Sincerely,


Prashant Singh


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The school has agreed to send it's students with us for the day.
Should be an interesting trip.

More when we get back.

[timmy]

This is a wonderful way to fulfill civic duties, Prashant!

I wish I had some airplane fare and a seat on that trip. I would like to go, myself!

If you have some pictures of the outing that you can share here, I would love to see them.

[prashantsingh]

The trip is scheduled for tomorrow morning.
The response from the school and the parents has been more than possitive.
They are now sending 10 students instead of the 7 we had asked for.
Mr Zaheer Bakshi (I.F.G. member) has volunteered to come along. He will be driving his SUV to Cheela and will take care of the three additional kids who have joined the group at the last moment.
A scientist from the Wildlife Institute of India will also be joining us now.
So now we are a group of 15 people instead of 10 planned initially.
Should be great fun.
Once we are back. I will write about the trip and the entire experience.

P.S.: Timmy. Whenever you come to India. You are most welcome to come to this part of the country. It's worth a visit.

[skeetshot]

Well done Prashant

[Katana]

Prashant,

This is a wonderful initiative! Is there any chance you could try this with my son's school? I could talk to the Headmaster if need be.

[anubhav_rulez]

Wonderful initiative...Nothing can be more informative than a hands on practical.

[nagarifle]

[prashantsingh]

Thanks friends.

Prashant,

This is a wonderful initiative! Is there any chance you could try this with my son's school? I could talk to the Headmaster if need be.

Sure. One step at a time.
Let's see how this trip goes.

The scientist from Wildlife Institute of India is Dr Johnson. An expert on water bodies and rivers.

The good thing about Dehradun is that it has a number of famous schools where children from all over the country (and abroad) come to study.
We are trying to target this group so that we can reach out to all corners of India.

[Vikram]

Excellent effort,Prashant. Very well done. Do take some photographs and share with us,please.


Best-
Vikram

[mundaire]

Great initiative Doc! Don't forget to educate the children about the important role managed hunting plays in wholistic conservation strategies as well as the difference between hunting & poaching.
Cheers!
Abhijeet

[dr.jayakumar]

Good work dr. Prasant singh.hope we can follow your foot steps.
regards
dr.jk

[airgun_novice]

Wonderful initiative, Prashant ! Hope there are many more folks like you and similar trips spring up all over India. Best wishes and hope that it's a roaring success. regs, A.

[brihacharan]

Hi Prashant,
> I take a 'Bow' - this is indeed a brilliant idea & initiative...
> I wish you & your team all the success & may this be the beginning that will lead to a 'snow ball effect' with other institutions across India!!!
Briha

[prashantsingh]

Thanks everyone.
The trip was a grand success. The oldest school boy was 18 and the youngest was 6yrs old.
There were 12 kids.
and 5 adults to handle them.
For the first time I realised what a responsible job it is to be a teacher.
Hats off to all our teachers for having the patience to take care of us when we were kids.
Mr Vinod Rishi talked about the flora and fauna.
Dr Dushyant gave tips on wildlife photograpy.
I gave a talk on elephant dentition.
Zaheer was a great help with managing the whole trip and drove his suv through the jungle stretch like a pro.
Dr Johnson gave a talk on every pond , river and stream we came across. He identified water plants and insects which I had never bothered to notice in my previous trips. I found the "water scorpion" most interesting of them all.
We saw lots of Cheetal , Sambhar , Wildboar, birds , two herds of elephants with calfs and a lone tusker.
Some of the kids had never seen these these animals in the wild.
I have asked zaheer to put up some snaps.

[zaheer.bakshi]

It was a pleasure to be a part of this trip. The student were so much excited. They asked so many questions about the trip and wildlife was one of the major discussions. Accompanied by Mr Vinod Rishi I.F.S. (retd) was itself a wonderful experience. He was so informative on the subject and the trip itself. He gifted his extreme knowledge of our environment and the wildlife to students. I was just thrilled with the information shared with such expertise. He Explained about Shiwalik Range which combines three sanctuaries (chila, motichur & Rajaji). Most interesting fact of this range was the water logging which were formed by underground water. It is a life support for the wild animals during summers. He explained the ridge of Shiwalik, the shape of a mountain tells the age of its existence. He can tell the name of any bird flying in the sky.

Dr Dushyant Singh Gaur was another star of his profession. His love for the wildlife and vast knowledge about the chila range made our trip memorable.
Dr Johnson was himself the book of jungles. He was accompanied with his son. His interest for our wild life and the jungles was phenomenal.

Last but not the least Dr. Prashant, the man behind the show. He need no introduction. I call him ''Man with a Mission''. Thanks doc for making this happen.

Some pictures taken during the trip.
http://s1310.photobucket.com/user/zaheerbakshi/library/