Be the face of SGNP

In a first-of-its-kind initiative, Sanjay Gandhi National Park has announced a Naturalist Training and Leadership Workshop scheduled for naturalists and nature enthusiasts alike. The workshop which will take place on the weekends of 3-4 September and 17-18 September presents an opportunity to work closely with SGNP as volunteer naturalists and resource persons for various activities.

An expert-led workshop
The workshop will bring renowned names such as Bittu Sahgal, Editor, Sanctuary Magazine, along with Dr. Santosh Yadav, Dr. Suraj Pandit, Dr. Parvish Pandya, Dr. Amol Patwardhan, Dr. Anish Andheria, Shardul Bajikar, Zeeshan Mirza, Saunak Pal, Abhishek Thakore and Nandu Chavan covering subjects like natural history, conservation biology, geology, archaeology, outdoor ethics and more. It will include field-based as well as classroom-based sessions, wherein experts from various fields will interact with participants over flora, insect and invertebrate studies, reptiles, amphibians, birds, mammals and more.
“Through structured activities and events, we have been sensing an ever-increasing need to drum up a consistent, well-informed, trained and motivated set of resource people who can conduct more activities and engage with the public with better preparedness,” shares naturalist Shardul S. Bajikar, “We have had a diligent set of volunteers who have been helping SGNP so far. But even this group needed to be briefed about a broad-level technical know-how, safety, first-aid, etiquettes and public speaking.”

The final outcome
The participants who successfully complete the workshop will be accredited to volunteer as a resource person with SGNP and will get to avail a host of learning opportunities in the days ahead.
“In continuation of our outreach agenda, we want these volunteers to be the face of our campaign. This means that they will lead out groups into the forests, conduct slideshows, public engagements etc. under the SGNP banner,” explains Bajikar, “We at SGNP are also working on a mechanism through which a respectable remuneration can be paid to them for the period they work for us.” The team is also discussing about how to implement identity cards for the volunteers to ease out the functional aspects. The itinerary, fee and selection criteria for the workshop can be found at: www.facebook.com/SanjayGandhiNationalPark

What you need to know about the workshop:
Part One: September 3-4, 2016 (Saturday – Sunday)
Part Two: September 17-18, 2016 (Saturday – Sunday)
For registrations, contact Nature Information Centre (NIC) at 022 - 2886 86 86 (registration by call only)