Dudhwa National Park

REPORT ON CERTIFICATE COURSE IN ONLINE FIELD STUDY OF HIMALAYAN TERAI

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KARAVAN HERITAGE AND NATURE SOCIETY

CERTIFICATE COURSE IN ONLINE FIELD STUDY OF HIMALAYAN TERAI

A Report

Karavan Heritage and Nature Society conducted an Online Certificate Course in Field Study of Himalayan Terai for graduate and postgraduate students:

Colleges:

The program was held from 4th June to 10th June 2022.

93 students registered for this program.

This program was organized under the guidance of Dr. Alpana Scott, Head of Geography Department, Isabella Thoburn College, Lucknow.


LOCATION OF FIELD STUDY:
This study of the geographical treasures of Himalayan Terai was done at the amazing campus of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve. This reserve is located in District Kheri and Behraich of Uttar Pradesh on the Indo-Nepal border. It is one of the best-preserved forests of the famous Terai Arc Landscape on the southern edge of the Himalayas.

OBJECTIVES, BENEFITS AND OUTCOMES OF ONLINE FIELD STUDY COURSE:

RESOURCE PEOPLE FOR THE PROGRAM:

COURSE CONTENT:
During this weeklong program, we explored the Terai forest in totality. We shed light upon:
i) Geography and Location of Himalayan Terai (Case Study of River Sharda and its flood plains)
ii) Different Eco-Systems in the Terai Arc
iii) Flora of Himalayan Terai
iv) Fauna of Himalayan Terai
v) Tharu Tribal Community (Case Study of Tharu Tribe)
vi) Forest Management and Man-Animal Conflict,
vii) Careers with Karavan.

We delved upon the rivers as the creating agents of the Terai and the creation of habitats; the habitat specificity of flora and fauna in different eco-systems; the interaction of abiotic and biotic components; the importance of habitats for flora and fauna. Diversity of insects, reptiles, birds and mammals; as also their unique sites, field study techniques, behaviour, threats, conservation status and case studies. We also studied the techniques of forest management and resolution of man-animal conflicts. We shade light upon Terai as the sustainer of Dudhwa.

METHODOLOGY:
The entire process was carried out methodologically. Each session commenced with a briefing about factual information on the topic of the day. This was followed by an extensive right-on-the-field exploration done by Deepti (Camp Leader, NEVS Camp). She was assisted by Anirudh Gupta (Camp Mentor), who did the photography and videography. This exploration involved much action and adventure: nature walks, expeditions, bird watching, jungle safari, boat cruises and scientific demonstrations. We made a technical analysis of the fieldwork to get a holistic understanding of the topic. There are many people with immense knowledge about the geography of Himalayan Terai. We held discussions with these people to build a knowledge bank and shared their hands-on field experience of ecology, habitats, flora, fauna, forest management practices and tribal community with our participants.

In the next part of the session, we replied to the questions asked by the participants. We encouraged participants to be analytic rather than just ask us for general info. Each session concluded with a Brainteaser which was an effort to understand the technical aspects of the topics. We concluded the session with a quick re-cap and a self-introduction by the participants. To further stimulate the thinking process, we awarded points for the best question and best response to the brainteaser.


LEARNING OUTCOME AND BENEFITS OF THE COURSE:
This Certificate Course is a unique program that provides participants: an on-the-spot field exposure to the Geographic Importance of the Terai and the diversity and current status of different habitats and their flora and fauna along with the measures taken to conserve them; learning field studies techniques; understanding the critical importance of natural habitats for both biotic and abiotic components, and most importantly we help participants visualize a career for themselves along with Karavan and other enterprises as well. Certificates were awarded to all the participants. This certificate authenticates fieldwork and earns extra credit in academics. The lucky winner received special gift vouchers for free camping with us at Dudhwa while the other selected winners get special gift vouchers for our camp at Dudhwa.



This online course is a stepping stone to motivate participants to conduct an actual geographical study at Dudhwa itself.



SUMMARY OF FIELD EXPLORATION:

  1. Geographic Location and Landscape of Himalayan Terai: Rivers as creating agents of Terai (Case Study of River Sharda) and Demonstration of River Meander and formation of ox-bow lakes
  2. Habitats:  Wetlands, Riverine, Grasslands and Woodlands
  3. Flora of the Terai: How different flora proliferate over different eco-systems(Case Study of Aquatic Flora, Elephant Grass, Vetiver Grass, Shorea Robusta Trees and Medicinal Plants)
  4. Fauna of the Terai: Exploring the unique fauna that survives in the Terai (Different species of the Animal Kingdom)
  5. Tharu Tribal Community: Human Settlements and Communities in the Terai (Case Study of the Tharus)
  6. Forest Management and Man-Animal Conflicts: The importance to conserve the Terai (For Preservation of Bio-Diversity)
  7. Careers with Karavan: This course is not just a purely academic study it is a job/career-oriented effort.

Associate with Karavan and other green enterprises.

TECHNICAL CONTENT (DAY-WISE)

Day 1: Karavan Heritage and Nature Society

Geography of Terai:

Day 2: Terai Ecosystem

Field exploration at Kishanpur Range


Day 3: Flora of Himalayan Terai

Day 4: Fauna of Himalayan Terai


Day 5: Village Communities around Dudhwa: Reference to Tharu Community- Cultural Perspective

Day 6:

Forest Management and Conservation Practices at Dudhwa

Management of Grasslands and fire lines

Rhino Rehabilitation Project

Dudhwa Forest as sustainers of this region


Day 7: Careers with Karavan

Build your career with Karavan and collaborate with Karavan

Learn about Karavan Model and Organisation we worked with.

Know about green enterprises

GREEN CAREERS:

OUR REPORT CARD

Based on the 74 feedbacks given by the participants:

YOUR RATING OF COURSE STRUCTURE

YOUR RATING OF THE TECHNICAL CONTENT

YOUR RATING OF OUR COMMUNICATION

YOUR RATING OF FIELD EXPLORATION

WAS THIS COURSE RELEVANT

HAVE YOU BEEN BENEFITTED FROM THIS COURSE

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