Students plan to protect Surajpur wetland, one tree at a time

NOIDA: The marshy precincts of Surajpur came to life on the hazy winter morning as a group of forest department officials, green enthusiasts, students and birders gathered to observe World Wetlands Day on Thursday. Located about 14.4 kilometres from Noida, the wetland is home to 3,137 waterbirds of 37 species, as per the Asian Waterbird Census, 2023.
A host of activities, including lectures and presentations on the installation of humidity and proximity sensors, wildlife-friendly lighting, adventure camps, and discussion on the feasibility of introducing dock pumps and vermicomposting pits in the wetland, were a part of the daylong programme.Noida police commissioner Laxmi Singh and district magistrate Suhas LY too addressed the schoolchildren on the importance of the wetlands in India.
Dhruv Agarwal and Khushi Singh, third-year Bachelor of Design students at a private Noida college, made a presentation on ways to promote ecotourism in the wetland. “We have suggested that informative quick response codes (or QR codes) can be pasted on each tree that when scanned on mobile devices can provide information on the species,” Agarwal said.
Students also pitched ideas on introducing dock pumps to remove water hyacinths and creating vermicomposting pits for converting the organic waste into fertiliser. They also suggested that wildlife-friendly lighting should be introduced in the wetland areas.
The district forest officer said all the ideas that were presented on the day would be assessed and worked on as per feasibility. “The department is going to work with the students on their ideas. We have also asked them to visit Okhla Bird Sanctuary and to make a presentation on it too. Whatever will be feasible for the wetland we will work on it,” said Pramod Srivastava of the district forest department of GB Nagar.
In November last year, NK Janu, chief conservator of forests (western zone), Meerut, had said that Surajpur will soon be developed as an ecotourism spot to woo tourists and bird watchers from all over the world. While a staycation and a camp area will be developed in the vicinity of the urban wetland in the Yamuna river basin, locals are to be trained to give guided tours to visitors.