Vision of Life; by Sanjay: "Wildfest for Kids", Building Hope for Wildlife!

“You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.”
― Madeleine L'Engle

“We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.”
― Franklin D. Roosevelt

“Only if we make our kids understand the role of a tiger in the forest, then they will definitely save the forest & eventually the tiger too.”

-- Me

Yes, the sharing is about wildlife & forests & there is Tadoba in it (can it ever be not possible!) but it’s regarding the most neglected aspect in wildlife conservation & no, it’s not about the tigers or habitat but it’s about the kids & their connection with the wildlife! It’s about an event rather a movement will be a proper term for it, which we called “Wildlife Fest for Kids”! Last year, in a brain-storming (read as argument at work, but sounds nice if called so) session of Jungle Belles (plz google) we were discussing about how to make people love wildlife as then only they can think about next step i.e. joining hands for conservation, we come up with the idea of focusing on kids for wildlife! As usual, like any idea, it sounded great but how to do it was the question as kids on their own can’t go to the forests as it’s the parents which decides the trip's destination (mostly) & then how can you decide to go to a place about which you know nothing. On top of that, such a place where wi-fi is an issue, no shopping, no TV in rooms (many places), no mobile range & no Siggie of Zomato means no Pizza or Coke, which kid will like to go to! And on top of it most parents, especially of today’s era, want full value of the money they are spending on the trip & wildlife, if you don’t understand in the right way then chances of you not understanding what it has given you in lieu of the money spending are most. In nutshell when most of our country men (And women) visits forests for tourism (wildlife) then they want to see a tiger & they forget it’s a jungle & not a zoo where every animal & bird behaves as per its need & not paid for some show to the tourists who thinks they have paid to their nose & if you don’t see a tiger the trip money is wasted! On such a background, taking the entire family to some forest as a trip is the last priority & that’s the reason most of the kids remain unaware about wildlife in real sense! Agreed there are kids who have been to the forests via organizations like Foliage or Nature Walk but the percentage of such kids is too low considering the cost incurred & it’s just once in a while. And even if any kids loved what he or she has experienced in the forest, chances of visiting the forests again are very less because of our parents’ unawareness about wildlife. One standard reason is, what’s there to visit again the same forest or say the forest itself, & I am sure many readers also must have faced the same question when it’s about visiting forests!

Exactly to answer this question we decided that if the kids can’t go to the forest, we will bring forests itself to the kids in Pune & that's the start of Wildlife fest for Kids, of which first edition was in 2024, i.e. exactly one year back. That edition (event) was too raw as everything was in a way a test case, right from duration to activities, which must be focusing the kids. And the biggest challenge was (well real biggest challenge I will share at end) to keep the kids engaged for all the time & what should be that time! We decided that it will be a four hours event & we will break these four hours in different activities & all of them must be related to wildlife obviously but will be a blend of fun.com & gyan.com as then only it will serve the purpose! Indeed, to our surprise it was a success as people were asking this year when is Wildlife Fest, what better receipt of success there can be than this! And that made us more tense as success is one thing & to repeat is another as it comes with a package of expectations to perform better & so was the second edition of Wildlife Fest which happened on 14th June 25!

Indeed, last years’ experience was with us to guide but kids are as unpredictable as forest, you never know what will happen with them in the next moment & our brains were busy thinking about this aspect. This year one major addition in the team was Tushar Joshi who is a media expert & he suggested we must bring someone who has media value, meaning the media will be interested in that person. I know nobody is bigger than the forest yet we live in a world where the media may not rule my life (personally speaking) but of the masses & if we can get someone who qualifies for both things i.e. media interest & kids wildlife aspect also then what’s harm in it! And first name was Sumedh Waghmare, a guide from tadoba who can mimic many birds & animals & has been in limelight thanks to a reel by Sachin Tendulkar about Sumedh! Anuj put all his efforts for getting Sumedh on board & yes there were some frictions about his remuneration but I feel unless people in wildlife doesn’t get right money it won't ever become sustainable & if some actor or actress can demand lakhs of rupees for mere appearance here is a guy who will be travelling nearly thousand kilometres & give his best about wildlife to the kids so if we spend some thousand then its worth as the cause matters most than the spending! And then rest of the topics were debated & finalized with personalities’ because there are many people in wildlife & great work all of them are doing yet one factor is that person must be able to connect with the kids & make them explain purpose of their sharing by going to their level of understanding & interest, & such must be the subject also!

For example, the subject of camera trapping which helps forest officials to count & identify the animals in the forest, however important the subject may be yet it may connect with the kids & they may lose interest which exactly we didn’t want to happen as it will ruin next person’s sharing as well entire purpose of the fest! And thus, we finalized Dr Prachi Mehta who works for conservation of owls & kids are definitely interested in owls, thanks to Harry Potter (plz google). Then there was a puppet show with characters in forest & this was considering two aspects, one is this genre (kids) have never seen a puppet show (like Kathputali) & animal puppets speaking human language would be fun for them which does happen. And then we have a young RFO (range officer) from Bandhavgarh Tiger Project who travelled nearly double of Sumedh & presented life of forester & hardships as well commitments needed for the job! As well we decided to have some short films about wildlife too, just to keep the kids engrossed. And yes, there were stalls of merchandise related to wildlife & yes, mascots of a tiger & an elephant. Something more we added this time & that is, life size cutout images of four popular tigers in news, Maya, Choti tara, Mataram & Chota Matakasur (these are names given to respective tigers by locals, as forest dept gives them numbers) & with information as well their contribution to the respective forests. This was one more hit thing, as “Selfie with Your Favourite Tiger” which pulled lots of kids & even parents around & such things help kids to connect more strongly with wildlife! And there were book stalls with Anant Sonvane, writer of a book about tigress Maya himself being present at the stall, which made even the parents thrilled to get a photograph with him! Last but not the least we arranged for two mascots of tiger & an elephant respectively & they were a hit among the kids too!

With all stuff loaded yet to plan something like this on paper & execute it & make through are two different things & needed support of many people of which most important was place & Sidharth Gokhale with Nachiket, of Bougainvilla Farm was the perfect place. With lots of greens & trees as backdrop the place was perfect for the event & things started rolling! On the D Day, one more hurdle was there & it was changed (read as erratic) rain pattern of Pune though we have anticipated rains yet the way nowadays it downpour, one such burst was enough to ruin entire decorum yet I believed in our work which if for the nature itself & nature also responded with same vibe & thankfully it didn’t rain except a small shower that too when the event was already on roll! Pune’s forest dept was kind enough to support the initiative & Mr Praveen CCF as well Me Tushar Chavan, DCF (wildlife) were there right from the start as well became partners for the event officially!

As I said, Wildlife Fest for Kids was a big gamble because till now nobody has planned something which is focused on Kids & with wildlife as theme, as there have been many events about wildlife & for kids but fusion of both, well I am proud to say (on behalf of jungle Belles & Nature Walk), this is first of its kind! Though we have a firm belief that if we want to secure the future of our wildlife then we must start from the kids & they responded with full enthusiasm. For more than four hours hundreds of kids were enjoying the presentations, puppet shows without showing any sign of boredom & I heard one mom telling to Hemangi that her son refused to go out even for snacks because he thought he will lose his prime sitting position, this is the best compliment we got, is what I feel! For entire four hours I saw faces of kids (and parents too) engrossed in the event, smiling faces when they saw some funny image or listened such incidence, amazed faces when they saw images of wildlife as well sad when they listened to sharing from Mr.Arpit Mairal RFO from Bandhavgarh forest & how they handle man-animal conflicts (though I will say, coexistence) & they do get engrossed when puppets were giving message for wildlife conservation! Even Dr Prachi Mehta’s presentation about owls was enjoyed by all as kids (and the parents) realized how interesting studying one single species can be & its importance in nature! Sumedh’s presentation about wildlife was epitome of the festival & best part was its not just about mimicking sounds of birds or animals but he tried to explain to the kids that nothing in the forest happens without any purpose as well he shared hardships of his life & journey to reach the stage he was standing! We thanked the parents as unless they wouldn’t have brought the kids to Wildlife Fest it wouldn’t have been a success. Kids are like a car & steering wheel is parents, it’s the steering wheel which decides the path of the car & future of the journey along, & this is why we, at Jungle Belles are keen to make the steering aware to drive the car named kids on the path of wildlife as conservation will follow eventually!

Friends, as I mentions the hardest part of Wildlife Fest for Kids was (and is) funding, though thanks to personalities like Sidharth Gokhle (Bougainvilla farm) & Raju madkar (Madkar Contractions, Kamlesh Jhala (Mayuk Project), Ajay (Asmi Villa, tadoba) & such, who supported generously yet we need many more to join the moment as indeed even on marketing side its good opportunity but more than that it’s the cause which matters, is what I feel & that’s why team Sanjeevani is proudly associated with this fest as well with wildlife! After thanksgiving by JB team, many parents & kids were asking about the next wildlife fest & needs money, because unfortunately wildlife has no glamour to fetch money (yet) but it’s our only hope for our bright future & I think high-time for our corporate biggies to understand this fact, as what’s use of your product when entire future of mankind is in dark, think over guys, adios with this “waidhanik ishara” & a very happy, peaceful, satisfied feeling for the Wildlife Fest for Kids. And a promise that we will be there next year & after that also as we love wildlife & care for it! Three cheers for Jungle Belles, Nature Walk & Tushar Joshi, you rock & with people like you there is hope for wildlife!

You can watch Vibes of Wildlife Fest for Kids on the link below...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/coexistance_is_the_key/albums/72177720327009569/

Sanjay Deshpande

smd156812@gmail.com

Sanjeevani Dev.

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