“My mission is to create a world where we can live in harmony with nature. The least I can
do is speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves.”
This is a quote from the popular
Conservation Biologist, Jane Goodall that truly resonated with the success of Sparrow
Conservation project, an initiative organised by the CPS Group Schools with the support of
OT Ravindran foundation. The project with a vision to instil the seeds of conservation in the
young minds achieved popularity and success which was evident through the gargantuan
number of entries for the various competitions conducted for the students across grades. The
students who churned out appreciable entries were felicitated in the culmination event that
took place in the premise of Global Education Campus, CPS Group of Institutes,
Thirumazhisai on the 22 nd of August, 2022. The chief guest for the event, Dr. Rajasekhar,
Chief Scientist, NIOT (National Institute of Technology) motivated the students by giving an
astounding speech on the imminent need to conserve the ecosystem. The Chief Guest was
honoured by presenting a memento that was embellished with the image of the nest weaved
by Shreya of IBDP year 2, which bagged the second prize in the Build a nest model category
of the competition. Mr. Shailendran Murkoth, the entrepreneur striving OT Ravindran
Foundation with the focus of creating and executing projects for environmental sustainability
elaborated on the foundation’s mission to join hands with able young minds in the sojourn to
preserve the ecosystem. The participants of the Build a nest model bagged the coveted first
prize include Aadithyah Jain of IBDP Year 1 in the category, Grade 9 to 12 and Athiyan A of
CAIE 8 in the category, Grade 6 to 8. The prize winners were felicitated with a medal for
their strenuous efforts to cradle the feathered friend. The icing of the cake in the culmination
event was the skit, My friend-welcome back which depicted the importance of conserving
sparrows. The chief guests were in complete awe with the performances of the students and
expressed their appreciations and pronounced the quintessential need to spread this message
to the general public through such interactive mediums. The organisers’ wish to offer ten
sparrow nests were fulfilled as the school handpicked ten able students who came up with
commendable entries in the various events of the competition to receive the honour. Ms.
Kavitha Thota, a person who wears many hats shared not just her keen insights on sustainable
development but also educated the recipients of the nests about its working, and encouraged
them to deploy them in selected areas with a lure to attract the sparrows in the form of grains
and millets. She further stressed to pass on this message to the local populace by making them able partners and allay the ignorance from the minds of the public about the need to
conserve animals which led to the reminiscence of a popular quote by David Attenborough
that states, “People are not going to care about animal conservation unless they think that
animals are worthwhile.”
