A befitting launch

How do we start? It was a persistent question in all of us. As if it were means to find an answer we simply wandered in the beaten landscapes of southern Karnataka. Our weekend birdings were all directed towards the scrub forests around Melkote, Gundalpet, Chikkanalli and HD Kote. We devotedly searched for secondary evidence of blackbucks. We took time and patience to speak to the local communities. There were several interesting findings which we felt must be shared with others in this field.

Birding expedition to  Konehalli.

 Konanoor probably being the only place where Black bucks are found near Mysore, our plan was to create awareness amongst the local people to begin with. We were aiming to impress upon them, the need to preserve habitats and to create a sense of pride about the rich biodiversity around them. In the mean time, Manu had gotten into similar issues at Konehalli of Tiptur taluk in Tumkur district. Over the past two years he had collaborated with his friends from MYTHREYA trust that had started a movement to conserve the Grassland ecosystem. Actually this swathe of land is used as a field research station for fodder development, which by default had a thriving population of Blackbucks. Manu and his associates had helped them conduct biodiversity survey and educational programs for the local students and NGOs. 

An adult male Black buck, photographed by Lokesh Mosale

Discussing about all that had happened at Konehalli we got inspired to try out similar things back home. On looking at the report and photographs of the workshops conducted there, we pondered about what more could be done. Working with the community was our prime interest but we knew it was not an easy task as it demands enormous time, resource and dedication. It cannot be a ‘one off thing’ like in a hit and run game. Also our resources were finite and made us skeptical about how long can programs sustain on personal funds. Above all, what could be done should be decided upon what we are capable of doing? 

Brahminy Starling, photographed by Guruprasad B.S.

At the same time we came across the small Grants program offered annually by ATREE (Ashoka Trust for Research on Ecology and Environment). We thought of giving it a serious shot. All of a sudden we became studious to put on paper our intentions, redefining our aims and writing a game plan for the project. The next bit was to re write in jargon to convince an unknown big wig of the scientific community. All the midnight oil we burnt was to collect every possible paper written on black bucks and to derive a small pinch from them into the stipulated text of the project proposal.

What conservation could be done with a small grant for one year? What should be the game plan? What are we good at? Considering these issues we brainstormed among ourselves. Being non academics we felt nobody would consider our interest in research seriously. Surveys and census may not be the best thing for the species at the moment. We decided upon addressing the school going community. For years, we have been doing this and going with a specific agenda seemed to be just another adventure. All that we needed was to get rightly dressed up for the task. So we decided to work on the issue and prepare the right kind of education material for teachers and the school children. Having prepared the material we intended to take them to the schools surrounding the blackbuck populations. The idea seemed brilliant. Very quickly we worked out the budget to fix up the number of schools. We chose to address about a thousand students of ten schools hand picked from five of the districts from Southern Karnataka. Mysore, Mandya, Chamarajanagara, Hassan and Tumkur were chosen for the project hoping that we would definitely go there to meet the children.

Blue faced Malkoha, photographed by Guruprasad B.S.

We felt relaxed having mailed the proposal just before the deadline. What a feeling? It appeared as though we had gone through a tough spell of examinations. It appeared that we had already lived through the entire process of the project. Peering through the computer screen, our eyes were tired and minds muddled up with fictitious figures that one day would have to become the money spent.