In hands of Pune-based foundation, a wildlife reserve thrives near Jejuri

PUNE: In 2014, when Ela Foundation first set up an eight-acre facility for flora and fauna research near the temple town of Jejuri, the aim was understandably modest, shared founder Satish Pande. He explained, “The objectives of Ela Foundation were nature conservation through education, training and research. On about eight acres of land, we are creating a nature conservation model where flora, fauna, soil, water and habitat conservation initiatives are undertaken at grass roots level involving local communities.Indigenous trees are planted and nurtured.“
The foundation aspires to preserve water for the dry seasons and help fauna survive in a sensitive ecological area, located at the cusp of the Sahyadris and Deccan Plateau. The state forest department chipped in with permissions and even started sending its staff to the habitat for training. Three years on, the stakeholders find the results quite satisfactory. From involving local villages and communities, to taking up bee-keeping and running a one-of-a-kind facility across the country, to looking after the population of various species of birds -the complex is a repository of sorts for a substantial number of flora and fauna species.
“We have the only constant effort site in India, as per the norms of British Trust for Ornithology , where bird ringing and tagging is done on a regular basis, along with disease monitoring, migration studies, physiology and ecological studies, bio-acoustics and ethno-biology ," said Suruchi Pande of the foundation. In addition, Suruchi looks after an ornithology facility in Pune, which is run out of the Abasaheb Garware College.
The Jejuri premises also hosts a training centre where attendees are sensitized towards conservation and monitoring diseases, which has bro ught them in contact with various government agencies.“The state forest department has permitted us to conduct faunal studies and we're working on a house sparrow-assisted breeding and conservation project with them.Apart from them, we are working with the National Institute of Virology to monitor bird flu in wild and migratory birds,“ Satish added.
The foundation claims coo peration and participation of the villages located in the vicinity of the habitat. The staff provides training on techniques of constructing nest boxes and grain paper bags.
So far a number of endemic owl species have been spotted at the facility. “We have documented over 130 species of birds at Ela Habitat. We are continuously recording new species, such as the Eurasian Wryneck, Crimson Sunbird, Indian Eagle Owl, etc, and a few endemic species like the Rock Bush Quail and Mottled Wood Owl," Satish informed.