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Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Sustainability Day- 24th October. An appeal to recycle our solid waste responsibly

What is plastic doing to our beaches?

The pristine Varkala beach in Kerala
A close-up view of the waves at Varkala beach, Kerala

"Mother earth is a temple, not a dustbin" screamed a notice board in a tea shop at Varkala beach, Kerala.  


This plastic bottle was found lying quite close by to the above notice



Further away, more bottles


The plastic, thermocol, Styrofoam etc which we so carelessly throw away, finally lands up in the ocean, carried by rain, rivers etc.


When I write "plastic" and hit the search button on  http://IndianwildlifeClub.com, I get a few pages of results.  Here are a few random one liners from those results, which sum up our plastic malady.

"Major cause of floods was Mumbai’s plastic bags choking the city’s drainage system."

"Storm-water drains choked with ubiquitous plastic carry bags are partly responsible for Mumbai's woes."

"The Maharashtra government announced the decision to ban the use of plastic bags across the state after reviewing the situation."

"A landmark 1990 study by the research firm Franklin Associates—says
 Plastic is not biodegradable, it litters our waterways and coastal areas, and has been shown to choke the life out of unsuspecting wildlife."

"The leather-back turtle feeds almost exclusively on jellyfish and cannot distinguish between plastic bags and jelly fish"




Fish and sea birds have been choking on plastic litter


What is plastic doing to our National Parks?

We saw a tiger in Corbett national Park with a plastic gunny bag in its mouth.

If we go by road from Delhi to Corbett National Park, we have to pass a place called Kashipur.  Here, for miles at a stretch, we see plastic gunny bags, just like the one our tiger is carrying.  These are filled with more plastic and more non-bio degradable stuff.  They seem to be piled on the road sides for ever awaiting disposal/recycling.



We need to empower the waste recycling factories and give them visibility before we drown ourselves in plastic waste.

The short video I put together on World Oceans Day, portrays the simmering anger of the oceans through the incessant beating of the Dhol.

Watch it at


And now, we have the Bengal tiger holding up a plastic cement bag left out near a water hole, as if to ask what am I supposed to do with this?

Watch this terrible episode we were witness to at the link


Let us empower the rag picker who helps recycle bio-degradable waste.


Dr.Susan Sharma is the Founder of http://IndianWildlifeclub.com  

IndianWildlifeClub is a community of nature lovers who care.  You can join in by registering free at our site.  We are mobile friendly.

Friday, June 30, 2017

Nature Lovers Feel Connected Wherever they go!



Nature lovers feel connected wherever they go!  I experienced this lately when I visited my cousin who lives in far away San Diego.  The cabbage butterfly I saw in the botanical garden of San Diego reminded me of Dr.Surya Prakash from whom I had learnt that the Indian cabbage butterfly migrates by flying 300 to 400 miles a year. It  is one of the three in India which migrate long distances.   Want to learn more fascinating facts about butterflies from Dr. Surya Prakash?  See the short film in our you tube channel

https://youtu.be/KLz3rsawl88

The sparrow happlily mud bathing on the ground of an open restaurant reminded me of the sparrows mud bathing back home.  It also made me appreciate the fact that the restaurant owners who had grown local flowers all around, had made the ground  inviting for birds with leaf moulds and mulches.    

On a cruise in the Soth Pacific Bay, the tour guide kept calling attention to the naval might of the USA and the ships and drones which had occupied the shores of the Bay.  On one side a large group of Cormorants were busy fishing, reminding us how nature, especially birds, can adapt anywhere.  The sea lions displaced were huddled up on bait barges (because of which the cruise was called "Sea lion Cruise").  Having seen the interaction between a mum and pup sealions on the Pacific coast near the Torrey Pines Reserve,  the bait barges seemed like a zoo.  Again, the foresightedness to put these barges for sea lions lazy enough not to go to other available shores? was worth appreciating.

Want to feel some of these emotions I went through?   Watch the short film at

https://youtu.be/HYJ5kY1CSeQ