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BACKGROUND
Way back in September 1985 a few young wildlife enthusiasts and amateur naturalists got together to give shape to the idea of establishing an informal but active group for conservation education. It was in this gathering, that the major trust areas, objectives and the philosophy of the association were discussed and decided. And these amateurs concluded the meeting with a unanimous decision to form AHMEDABAD NATURE LOVERS’ ASSOCIATION.
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INVOLVEMENT The first major issue in which ANALA made its presence felt was the struggle against a proposed Five Star Hotel in one of the rare green patches of Ahmedabad city. Though ANALA was one of the many groups who participated in this movement, the representation did force the authorities to change their devision. Encouraged by this share of success, ANALA then moved on to a remote village called Bakor in Panchmahal district to conduct an environment education camp for the students of four selected schools from Ahmedabad and many schools of neighbouring villages. During this time our volunteers interacted with the local teachers and conducted various study classes from which we gained insight into the problems of the people. The teachers and the taught did not stop at talking and thinking about conservation. They made elaborate plans and chalked out tasks to the extent that they formed a Nature Club, the Panchmahal Paryavaran Mandal. It is a matter of pride to ANALA too, to find that the interest of the members resulted in the Village Panchayat inviting Sundarvan Nature Discovery Centre, Ahmedabad to set up a Nature Park, very close to where we had the camp. In March 1986 ANALA went on to conduct a Science Popularisation March throughout the state of Gujarat with a street play performing troupe. To highlight the importance of ecology and nature conservation and to create awareness on these issues, the group travelled through almost all the districts of Gujarat performing street plays. This was organized with the help of Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad. Campaign against marketing of banned drugs and awareness programmes on the Bhopal tragedy also formed part of our activities. ANALA Email: |
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