Conservation Project No. 4: Leading by Example – Namunukula…

Hello friends, hope everything is ok with you and I actually didn’t expect to come back so soon with yet another conservation project but the things are happening really fast nowadays I couldn’t take a break, at least from writing. So I guess you all remember our Conservation Project at Namunukula. By the time I write this article, the report had just been published and being hailed as a good deed. Well, any deed is a good deed if it leads to the conservation of the Mother Nature.

So as I keep repeating myself, it doesn’t matter how big or small your project is. It doesn’t even have to be a project. How many people you have is not a case to consider. You as an individual can do so much for the welfare the forests, wildlife and the environment. Therefore, don’t wait for the auspicious time, the right number of people, perfect weather, ample budget, etc. Just go there and do your bit.

After our Namunukula (NMK) Trip, Ana was highly engaged in doing something more than that. So he finally came up with an idea of better signposting the path to the Namunukula (NMK). As you must’ve read, we had a time finding the proper path but managed to do it via possibly a better route. There were signposts made of cardboard arrows stuck on the trees which wouldn’t last for long especially due to the moisture in the air and the amount of rains and winds. So Ana decided to make it better and last longer. However it had to be environmentally friendly too.

We just concluded a trip to HP and found some group had nailed A4-size laminated messages not to litter along the road to Pattipola Entrance which was a really good thing. However the only thing was that the heavy rains and strong winds are bound to unstuck them and throw them into the forest at one point. So these laminated sheets will add up to the non-bio-degradable lot making it even more complicated. Now, please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not being an armchair critic and trying to criticize this good deed done by those great people. I’m sure they spent a lot of time, money and energy doing this project so whoever it was, please accept my heartfelt gratitude.

So this was a learning curve for Ana and his team when they explored possible materials for marking the path to the summit of Namunukula (NMK). We discarded the idea of Polythene and Laminated Sheets as they too would ultimately add to this ever-growing collection of waste which the Mother Nature can’t digest. We discarded the idea of using those aerosol cans for paint the rocks to mark the path too. As it’d ruin the beauty of the nature and those toxic ingredients in them might harm the tiny species. After a lot of deliberation, we decided on wood. Yeah, the best option given the circumstances as it is environmentally-friendly, long-lasting and easy to find. To make it blend with the environment (not to camouflage, mind you), Ana had them painted in green.

To make it more useful, he added some environmental messages on to them with a picture of an eagle with piercing eyes to inform that we’re watching your dirty work if you happen to litter, poison or harm the Mother Nature. So he got together with one of his longtime friends, Stefan (the fella who conquered Kurullangala with us), Deepani (another environmental enthusiast cum veterinary) and his one of daughters for this venture. Sadly I’d made prior arrangements with Hasi for another journey, not a conservation project, thus missing this journey.

Ana had contacted the tea estate and got permission and help of three estate workers to do this job. Not only they put up these invaluable signs, but also collected the garbage with the help of those workers. All in all, they went and did an all-around solid job. Here are the pictures of it.

Trail head with the shrine. Please note the arrows being wilted on the tree

There they go

Tough work

Must’ve been very itchy those leaves

Neck breaking work

The expression says it all

Very good friends doing very good work

See the eagle face?

“Please don’t litter”

Helping hand by Ashani

Heavenly path

“No Bottles Please”

They had carried plenty of wooden arrows

Doing it meticulously

Tree climbing was a part of it too

Yeah, we’re watching you

Kept them going

Here are the helping hands with two young fellows. Hope they’ll learn something valuable and help keep this safe

Yeah son, and please pass the message to your friends

Had taken necessary tools too

It was a bit of a hiking experience for them too

Can you see the idiots at work?

Oh my gosh

Not tall enough?

Testing their monkey skills

Definitely campers.

Oh dear, risky too

The happiness and joy after a good deed is something you can’t buy for 1 million dollars

Everyone chipping in

Difficult work for a good cause

Summit Point 1

Around the camping site

Hunting for polythene and plastic

And putting them higher up too

Need to secure them real tight

Please say no to these

Dog tired not drunk

The helping hands with part of the garbage collected

Well guys, I’m sure you all agree that this was indeed an exceptional job. Furthermore you must’ve enjoyed this very short report from me too. I hope these will motivate others to do similar work and spread the message around to keep our environment safe and sound. Tell your family, relatives, friends and anyone else about the importance of having a safe, healthy and protected environment for the future.

Please behave yourselves folks and try to do the following and get others too to do the same in your circles. Let’s not wait for the authorities to do this for us. Let’s also not wait for those ignorant and uneducated politicians to wake up and safeguard this country for us. Let’s put our hands together and do the needful for a better environment.

1. Don’t litter please no matter where you go. Always dump them in the right places. If you go to a National Park, please collect and bring them back with you and dispose of them wisely.
2. Please don’t throw things out of vehicle windows. It’s not only littering the environment but also a hazard for the people on foot. Those who travel by train think the tunnels are there to dump all their garbage. The tunnels are dark places so most of the passengers very conveniently dump anything they don’t want through the windows. I’ve seen so much garbage in those tunnels. So please don’t do it as those tunnels are made in order for the trains to pass through, not as garbage pits.
3. Don’t break glass bottles and leave the broken pieces here and there. Well it’s an accepted fact that we all are under immense pressure at work, home, etc. Therefore we all are itching for an opportunity to release that pressure at the first given opportunity. So when drunk and you have a bit of freedom and a hefty bottle in hand, all that pressure seems to be coming through your body to the hand making it smash the bottle against rocks. Please can I ask you to find some other alternative to do this such as squeezing one of those pressure balls which you can easily buy from super markets? By the way, I’m not asking you to stop drinking and become a teetotaler either. It’s just that do it in a way it will not harm our precious earth.
4. Don’t lit fires and leave them unattended. Most of the wildfires are a result of these undistinguished fire embers and also cigarette butts. So again, I’m not asking you to stop smoking coz you don’t do it by my own money so you’re free to smoke as many cigarettes as you wish but please don’t throw them here and there causing wildfires.

Well folks, I guess enough preaching from me. Thanks for reading and hopefully I’ll be lucky enough to bring about more of these in the future too. This is Sri signing off for now. Take care and protect our nature.