“Let us save our sparrow’s habitat before it’s too late.”
A unique workshop on ‘Nest Making’ was hosted by Delhi Public School, R K Puram on 13 July 2021. It was taken up by Mr. Rakesh Kahtri, an environmentalist and founder of Eco Roots Foundation, who is well known for saving sparrows by having made thousands of nests so far.
The workshop started with showing a video on saving birds and it was followed by the address of the Principal, Ms. Padma Srinivasan. Next, Mr. Rakesh Khatri was invited to interact with students and instruct them the process of nest making. He spoke about the importance of sensitising young minds towards the habitat of birds and their migration due to the rapid expansion of cities. He shared his life experiences pertaining to the beginning of the process of nest making and the success that followed as 70 to 80 percent of these nests were occupied by birds. He explained the habitation system of birds, the food birds eat, the medicinal value of turmeric to heal an injured bird, using ice cream sticks to feed birds, and placing a bucket full of water in balconies or verandahs to help the survival of home sparrows. He exhibited various kinds of nests made from waste material, tetra packs and organic material.
He showed the step by step process of nest making using materials such as plastic jar, pencil, cloth, jute, rope, wool, paper cuttings and dry leaves etc. He talked about the placement of the nest 10-12 feet in the wall. This was followed by ‘Question- Answer Session’, various queries of students and teachers were addressed. It was also announced that ten beautiful nests’ creators would be awarded a ‘Warrior Badge’ and a certificate for their creations. The workshop concluded with a vote of thanks as given by the Headmistress, Ms. Rashmi Malhotra and a special note by Ms. Preeti Pratihari and Ms. Vinita Gupta.
