HEAL Organises an Orientation Program at Xavier’s College, Kolkata

21 September 2024

St. Xavier’s College Autonomous, Kolkata hosted a program ‘Conservation in Action’ on 21 September 2024 in collaboration with HEAL. This marks the first jointly organised program as part of the collaboration that HEAL and St Xavier’s College has initiated.

More than 500 undergraduate students attended the orientation program. The aim of the program was to introduce students to the pressing conservation issues in their own backyard that threaten the natural world.

The panel with team HEAL along with the Principal and the vice principal
of St. Xavier’s College

Moderated by Prof Bertram Da Silva, Vice-Principal, Arts and Science Departments, the program had an address by our member Ashwika Kapur, about the diversity of species and ecosystems in West Bengal. This was followed by a presentation by HEAL highlighting the conservation threats that we have been working to mitigate.

Address by Vice-Principal, Prof Bertram Da Silva
Wildlife Filmaker and HEAL member Ashwika Kapoor addressing the students
Students applauding HEAL’s presentations

Team member Suvrajyoti Chatterjee talked about human-elephant conflict, Tiasa Adhya spoke on fishing cat conservation and Meghna Banerjee introduced the audience to mass illegal recreational hunting festivals of South Bengal. The program ended on a hopeful note with a screening of Catapults to Cameras, a nature conservation documentary directed by Ashwika and produced by Roundglass Sustain.

Suvrajyoti Chatterjee talking about
human-elephant conflict
Tiasa Adhya introducting the Fishing Cat to the audience
Meghna Banerjee shedding light on
illegal hunting festivals of South Bengal

We are immensely grateful to St. Xavier’s College Autonomous, Kolkata for organising this event and look forward to more such events to further the cause of environmental awareness among young students