Assam school students’ drive for urban bird nest conservation spreads wings

Guwahati

An inaugural by students of an eastbound Assam schoolhouse adjacent National Highway 37 to conserve vertebrate nests successful municipality areas has taken flight.

Chorai Bandhob (Friend of Birds), a student-led radical from Bongaon Chola High School successful Golaghat district, launched Bird Nest Conservation Day connected February 14, 2025. The observance was reasonably low-key, focused connected distributing terracotta nesting platforms locally.

A twelvemonth later, the inaugural caught on, expanding beyond Golaghat. Two non-government organisations successful the district—GRASS and Asharay—teamed up with Chorai Bandhob to standard up vertebrate nest conservation efforts. Students from 16 schools successful the territory observed Bird Nest Conservation Day connected Saturday (February 14, 2026) portion a parallel lawsuit attracted students from 40 schools to a centralised venue successful the adjoining Majuli district.

Girimallika Saikia, the headmaster of Bongaon Chola High School and manager of Chorai Bandhob, said the radical launched the first-of-its-kind inaugural successful India to motivate radical successful municipality areas to physique and support nests. “The motto this clip was ‘space for nests, aboriginal for birds’, emphasising long-term, sustainable solutions. This progressive planting saplings of section fruit-yielding trees that supply nesting abstraction for birds,” she told The Hindu on Sunday (February 15, 2026).

Ms. Saikia said the radical decided to grow the inaugural crossed Assam and beyond aft uncovering retired that galore specializer vertebrate taxon are declining owed to urbanisation and situation loss, starring to the homogenisation of generalist taxon adaptable to municipality conditions.

The students—mostly from economically disadvantaged Adivasi families successful adjacent beverage gardens—did not instrumentality agelong to clasp the origin enthusiastically. They were convinced that effectual vertebrate conservation requires allowing birds—particularly 20% of the world’s avian taxon that are recovered successful human-dominated landscapes—to breed successful a harmless nesting environment.

The programme featured creation dramas, exhibitions, and seminars connected vertebrate and nest conservation. Organisers clarified that the prime of February 14 had nary transportation with Valentine’s Day.

“The inaugural was inspired by Nest Box Week, observed since 1997 by which England’s British Trust for Ornithology has been celebrating since 1997, from February 14. The time besides suited america due to the fact that mid-February is perfect for consciousness campaigns up of the breeding play of astir birds successful India, which typically begins successful March and ends successful July,” Ms Saikia said.