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World Sparrow Day: Week-long awareness drives, activities get underway in Lucknow
Ahead of World Sparrow Day, deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak launched a week of awareness campaigns, competitions and exhibitions in Hazratganj on Thursday
Ahead of World Sparrow Day, deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak launched a week of awareness campaigns, competitions and exhibitions in Hazratganj on Thursday.
The events are being organised by EIACP-RP-PC (a programme in the Wildlife Sciences Institute at Lucknow University) and the ONGC Centre of Advanced Sciences at Lucknow University, in collaboration with other collectives from educational and government institutions. The actual celebration of ‘Gauraya Diwas’ or World Sparrow Day will take place on March 20.
In the run-up to the day, an awareness campaign along with an exhibition will be set up at different locations starting with Janeshwar Misha Park on all four days, and fliers with information on environmental conservation and saving sparrows will also be distributed along with a number of nests, where sparrows can feed. A poster-making competition for children will also be held at Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Garden.
“We are inviting everyone in Lucknow to participate in the Sparrow Count activity on March 20,” said Amita Kanaujia, professor and coordinator of EIACP-RP-PC at the Institute of Wildlife Sciences at LU. “From 6:30-7 AM, we are asking people to step outside their houses, and try to count the number of sparrows they see in their immediate surroundings and fill the number in a form we have distributed or message us personally. We know that this will not be an authentic count, but the objective is to force the public to think about why the number in their area is low, if that is the case,” she explained.
The organisers are also distributing nests, bird feed and instructions on what the public can do to increase the number of sparrows in their area.
