Sinharaja: Preserving heritage for tomorrow

VISIT: Sri Lanka Telecom in partnership with the Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka (FOGSL) initiated the ‘Preserving Heritage for Tomorrow’, programme in recognition of the importance of creating awareness on conservation of the Sinharaja Forest Reserve.

It includes a trip to the forest reserve, scheduled for the third week of each month, covering three days. Schools are selected by FOGSL from across the island.

Twenty students and five teachers were selected to participate in the ‘preserving heritage for tomorrow’ programme.

The participants were from Gurukula Maha Vidyalaya, Kelaniya; Badulla Central College, Badulla; Sacred Heart Convent College, Galle; Yasodara Devi Balika Vidyalaya and Rathnawali Balika Vidyalaya of Gampaha. The students who were awaiting this tour were given caps and leech socks made of cotton.

The students were advised to wear outfits that were in muted and camouflage shades of colour such as green and brown. This is to ensure that the animals are not disturbed by the presence of humans in their natural habitat.

After lunch, they attended a lecture session conducted at the Forest Information Centre in the Sinharaja Forest Reserve by a forest officer who spoke about the history of the reserve as well as on what they should and should not do during their stay.

These included making loud noises, breaking off branches or carving their names on the bark of trees and bringing polythene bags to the reserve.

After tea, the students went for a nature walk to get better acquainted with the environment, with Marten Wijeysinghe as the guide.

Prof. Sarath Kotagama of the University of Colombo explained the magnetic fields at the reserve at a theoretical session.

This means that a compass would not work and those who do get lost would not be able to depend on one, as the direction given would be wrong. During this session, the groups were divided into four, and the names were derived from nature.

Each student also adopted the name of a bird. After dinner, the students ended a long yet exciting day with session on photography, where Ragula Perera, a wildlife and nature photographer attached to FOGSL taught them basic photographic skills and techniques.

On the second day, all students were expected to get ready for the day ahead and assembled at the lecture hall at 6 a.m, where they meditated until 6.15 a.m.

This helped the students to be one with nature, acquiring listening skills that would have helped them to identify the sounds of different animals and birds.

This was followed by tea and the bird watching session, where the four groups were assigned one member of the FOGSL as a guide.

They were taken on tours to four different parts of the forest so that each group came across different birds. The session ended at 7.30 a.m. where each of the groups made their way back to Marten’s Lodge for a hearty breakfast.

Each group was given an experiment to conduct relating to the primary forest, which is one that has never been logged or disturbed and the secondary forest, which regenerates on native forest that has been cleared, with the help of a member of FOGSL.

The session went on until lunch time. Each experiment was rotated so that all teams got the opportunity to observe.

In the evening, they attended a session, which was conducted by Chandima Ratnayake on blue magpies.

Afterwards they went for a night nature walk, which the students looked forward to. Each group, which had been tirelessly working on their assignments, modulated by FOGSl in the form of a hand written book submitted it. Students were also awarded certificates from SLT along with FOGSL.

Speaking on his experience, a student who took part in the programme said: “This was an amazing experience for us as we were given the opportunity to see the level of biodiversity and endemic species of flora and fauna at Sinharaja.

We also had the chance to meet people who were dedicated to the conservation of nature and that has made an impact on myself, as I too would like to grow up and work in this field. I am grateful to FOGSL and SLT for organising such a programme, giving students from far-away places the chance to experience first hand conservation efforts.”

Gothami students: tuned to music

Hathoon SHERIFDEEN

MUSIC: Students of Gothami Balika Vidyalaya Colombo were happy, as they performed before a large crowd

 showing off their talents at the annual band show.

Hard work made them glitter at the event.

Senior and junior students participated.

Sanjeevani Priyadarshini, a member in the junior band said she used to dream about playing in the band when she was small.

“When the senior students perform in the band at school, I used to look at them and hope I could perform one day. My dream has now come true.”

Thimasha Weerakkody said she is fond of Western music and she can play musical instruments as well.

“Teachers Premaratne and T. F. Greessy coached us. Our band teacher is Diana Fonseka and she takes care of all our needs in the school”, she said.

Buddhika Sammani and Tharushi Shivanka were also happy to perform in the band.

The senior bandleaders are Deepani Randima and Aushdi Kumari Werake, 18. They are studying bio science.

Deepani said she has been learning Western music for seven years and enjoy Western music a lot.

“Music relaxes us. I’m not tired whenever I practice,” she said.

Lochana Welikala, 16, is an O/L student. “We practice one hour before school and after school till 5 pm. It is fun being in the band. It is enjoyable and we learn a lot. We are very united and happy when participating in our activities”, she said.

W. A. Yashoda Poornima said she is very interested in music. Her hobby is playing Western music instruments, mostly piano and guitar.

“I like to read music books a lot. I’m 16 and I like to study science in my A/Ls,” she said.

Pictures by Palitha Gunasena