Deepa's Jottings

World Wide Fund for Nature - India•WWF-India is a science-based conservation organization engaged inwildlife & nature conservation since 1969.• A part of the WWF Global Network, the WWF-India has made itspresence felt, through sustained efforts towards nature & wildlifeconservation.Nature Club of India-School engagement programNCI is the vehicle through which collective action for theconservation of nature is facilitated. This can only be done byraising awareness, fostering teamwork and social & ecologicalsensitivity. We believe that each one of us can make a difference &bring about the necessary change.Scheduled timings:Monday afternoon : schools around Machohalli(Magadi road) , yelahankaTuesday afternoon : schools around sanjaynagarWednesday afternoon : schools…

Chandra Ravikumar, a volunteer who's very active in Hasiru Usiru, has unearthed this treasure, and says: I was able to find a 1891 catalogue of the trees of Lalbagh from Wiki. This is the link. Does any one know whether a later one is available, or has even been compiled? Is the Marigowda Library open to the public?http://archive.org/stream/cu31924000622252#page/n4/mode/1up Any answers from the tree experts of Bangalore would be welcome!

The Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) has now opened a FaceBook page. The page states: This is  the official BESCOM Page, containing information about Interruptions and BESCOM Procedures. The Meeting Proceedings [ORM/CRM/Board Meeting etc] will be available in this Page. You may post your grievances here which will be attended and resolved. But for any immediate grievances please feel free to contact our central helpline 080-22873333 or just SMS your grievance to 92431 50000 in the format given belowBESCOM<space>Sub-Division<space>nature_of_complaint   BESCOM (Bangalore Electricity Supply Company)  has opened a new Face Book page, in a customer-friendly initiative:   <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bescom/669321596427980"> click…

In an effort to empower hobbyist youngsters with concepts in plant taxonomy and systematics, an "Orientation Course on Plant Taxonomy" has been planned at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore. The course among other topics, will cover: 1.Principles of plant Taxonomy, ecology & phyto-geography2. Herbarium, its preparation & curation3. Botanical Nomenclature4. Field visits This two-day course, conducted over the weekend is free of cost and is scheduled to be held in July. The age limit for participation in the course is 35yrs. The course will take a maximum number of 15 participants, on a first-cum first-served basis. Candidates have to…

Vinay Sreenivasa, <vinay.sreenivasa@yahoo.com>, writes: Dear all,   In the month of May, we at Hasiru Usiru started what we hope will be a monthly series of conversations on the city. Dr.H.S.Sudhira spoke about Averting the Tragedy of Commons for Bangalore  (http://bengaluru.citizenmatters.in/articles/5299-hasiru-usiru-analyses-the-tragedy-of-commons)    This month, we want to do a walking talk.    On June 22, Saturday, Arun Kumar.N, Narayan and Sheshadri, passionate botanists and tree lovers will conduct a tree walk in Lalbagh. The walk will have discussions on the varous species of trees in Lalbgah, how to identify them, whether they are native or have been got in from elsewhere, what…

My friend Nitin Vyas has this experience to relate: "At9.00am on 22nd May on Kanakpura road, close to Thalgatpura Police station. KSRTC bus no. KA 42F 040 ran in to my car from behind. The rear  of my car was completely damaged . (The estimated cost of repairs is Rs 1 lakh.) The bus drove away from the scene as I took my car to the side of the road.. I went to Thalagatpura Police station at 9.15 am to file an FIR against the bus driver. Arun Thimme  Gowda was in charge of registering complaints. He did not respond…

We all know about chicory; that roasted chicory seeds are powdered, andadded to coffee powder, to increase the strength of the decoction. However, the Chicory plant is a very pretty one!   <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/86494503@N00/9015769793/" title="DSC09538 by mohandep, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3752/9015769793_79a6d22281_c.jpg" width="800" height="477" alt="DSC09538"></a>   That's the flower of a Chicory plant...almost makes one want to start planting it in one's garden! In some parts of the world, Chicory is just a roadside weed.

It's the beginning of a new year in schools across the south of India, and once again, I see a massive, and avoidable, wastage occurring...that of brown paper.Every year, children go to a new class or form, and they have to buy a set of new text books and note books. We do not have any concept of using the text books that the students used the previous year. (That's a massive wastage right there, but since text books sometimes change, parents prefer to buy each year.)Each printer and publisher of a school text book obviously goes to great lengths…

The Managing Director of BESCOM, Mr Manivannan, has been spearheading a movement on FaceBook, to bring various facets of this hitherto opaque Government organization to the public. Various initiatives have been launched, and the latest is his attempt to describe how electricity makes it into our homes from where it is generated. Here is the process, in his own words: HOW does electricity, generated at the Raichur Thermal Power Plant (RTPS) come to your home in Bangalore? It's interesting and important to know how electricity reaches your home. It may explain you why the supply is cut off at times,…

The Sloth Bear Foundation presents: Wildlife Conservation and You at S Hotel 60, 13th Cross, 2nd Main, Phase III, J P Nagar Bangalore 560078 +91 80 4245 6060 and at Aloft Hotel 17C, Sadaramangala Road · • Off Whitefield Main Road, Opposite ITPL · Bengaluru 560066 Phone: (91)(80) 6670 7777 · (Click on the name of each hotel to go to the website) Click to see some of the speakers A 2 day seminar with eminent speakers from the sphere of wildlife conservation seeks to address the questions you may have across multiple facets of the topic. The two days…