Here are some of the activities undertaken by HEAL in recent past HEAL Organises an Orientation Program at Xavier’s College, KolkataHEAL conducted an orientation program to introduce students to wildlife conservation issues in Bengal 21 September 2024HEAL’s Intervention Saves Thousands of Migratory Larks from Falling Prey to Bird PoachersHEAL team dismantles 7 Km of mist-nets across Murshidabad and Birbhum saving thousands of larks from getting poached18 February 2024HEAL’s Battle Against Commercial Bird Poaching ContinuesHEAL members removed bird trapping nets spanning nearly 20 Km from Beel Belun wetland, Murshidabad 10 February 2024HEAL Receives the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Award 2023 at the Youth-Led Climate Action ConferenceTeam HEAL received the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Award 2023 and delivered a talk on HEAL’s ongoing work on thwarting illegal wildlife hunting and commercial bird poaching 03 February 2024Tiasa Adhya Delivers a Talk on Fishing Cat Conservation at the GTF-UNDP World Wetland Day WebinarTiasa Adhya, HEAL’s Director of Ecology and Conservation Program, delivers a talk on the Chilika Red Rice pilot project 02 February 2024HEAL celebrates 7 year anniversaryHEAL members reflected on past achievements, lessons learnt and future goals during the get-together 13 January 2024Screening of Conservation Docu-film ‘Catapults to Camera’Wildlife filmmaker Ashwika Kapur and HEAL co-host a special screening of this one-of-a-kind conservation film07 January 2024Snake Identification and Snakebite Mitigation Program at Lepchaka VillageMitigating fear to help communities appreciate Buxa Tiger Reserve’s snake diversity01 January 2024Giving Back to our Community Conservation PartnersSharing the warmth of community, solidarity, and the genuine spirit of togetherness25 December 2023Awareness Seminar on Snakebite Prevention at Satyajit Ray Film and Television InstituteCan knowing snakes better replace fear with acceptance among urban communities?04 December 2023Panel Discussion on Birding and Anti-poaching Activities in MurshidabadHEAL and Birdwatcher’s Society discuss critical aspects of avian conservation at this jointly organised event03 December 2023Striving Towards Zero Death from Snake Bites in SundarbansHEAL kicks off a project to foster human-snake coexistence18, 25 and 26 November 2023Bengal’s Fishing Cats Steal the Show at a Minicert in KolkataHEAL & The Fishing Cat Project facilitated a storytelling educational session at the Echoes of Earth Minicert at Hard Rock Cafe04 November 2023HEAL at SCCS-Bng 2023Teammate Vasudha Mishra presented her research work conducted as part of HEAL’s Striped Hyena Project t the Student Conference for Conservation Science in Bengaluru09 – 12 October 2023Soumyadip Mondal Receives Biodiversity Conservation Award 2023Our teammate was recognised for his outstanding on-ground conservation efforts13 October 2023Snake Bite Awareness Program in MaldaHEAL received an invitation from the Block Development Officer to conduct snakebite awareness camps in Gazole09 and 13 September 2023Fostering the Spirit of Coexistence on Independence Day 2023Connecting communities to snakes through football!15 August 2023HEAL celebrates World Elephant Day 2023HEAL promotes human-elephant coexistence in Jhargram while getting recognised for its work in Jalpaiguri12 August 2023Snake Awareness Programs for School StudentsEducating the younger generation about snakes and ways to coexist with them01 – 03 August 2023Snake & Snakebite Management Workshop at Sanjeeva GardensHelping urban citizens of Kolkata coexist with snakes30 July 2023Felicitation on Global Tiger Day 2023West Bengal Forest Department, Sundarban Tiger Reserve expressed its appreciation for HEAL’s work in the Sundarbans29 July 2023Plastic Cleanup Drive on World Mangrove Day 2023The second in a series of cleanup drives to help Sundarbans tackle plastic pollution26 July 2023Presentation at Green Hub Central India FestivalAn opportunity to share HEAL’s work to mitigate ritual hunting in South Bengal15-16 July 2023Strengthening human-snake coexistence on World Snake DayAwareness programs organised in three districts to mitigate fear of snakes and promote tolerance16 July 2023Collaborative Plastic Clean-up Drive in the SundarbansHelping communities in Sundarbans to adopt sustainable waste disposal practices5 June 2023Arrest of Illegal Wildlife Trader in BaruipurIntel gathered by HEAL members proved instrumental in the arrest of a major bird trafficker2 June 2023Fishing Cat Rescued and Released in MurshidabadHow HEAL helped promote coexistence between Hamidpur’s residents and a fishing cat31 May 2023Faloharini Hunt Monitoring 2023Efforts to thwart Howrah and East Medinipur’s biggest hunting event16-19 May 2023Gopegarh Hunt Monitoring 2023Documenting hunting activity and state’s enforcement measures in 2023’s first major ritual hunt4 April 2022Humane Committee Meetings to Tackle Ritualistic HuntingMeetings between stakeholders for devising strategies to reduce hunting in ritualistic festivalsMarch-April 2023Arrest of Hunting Party in MurshidabadHEAL members detained a group of hunters, facilitating their arrest later12 March 2023Snakebite Treatment Training for Doctors in JhargramConducted by HEAL in collaboration with Bharat Serums and Vaccines Ltd. to train doctors in treating snake bites6 March 2023Fishing Cat Awareness Drives in East Kolkata WetlandsSpreading awareness on the fishing cat to Kolkata’s peri-urban populace28 February & 3 MarchConflict Mitigation Training of Karnataka Forest Department StaffTraining front-line forest staff in handling human-wildlife conflict situations20-21 February 2023Arrest of Jackal Hunters in MurshidabadGroup of 17 hunters apprehended by Forest Department using intel gathered HEAL’s team26-27 February 2023Arrest of bogari (lark) traders in MurshidabadLark traders arrested by Police and Forest Department, acting on intel provided by HEAL members26 February 2023Fishing Cats Across Kolkata City’s Digital HoardingsRaising awareness and garnering support towards fishing cat conservation among Kolkata residentsFebruary 2023Snake Charmer Arrest and Snake Awareness Programme in MaldaSnake awareness programme conducted by members who assisted in the arrest of a snake charmer1 January & 12 January 2023Snake awareness and snakebite mitigation workshops in higher educational institutesHEAL members conducted snake awareness programmes in IIM Calcutta and Banipur Mahila Mahavidyalaya26 December 2022 & 5 January 2023Arrest of Mongoose poachers from Jhanjra village in old MaldaHEAL’s Malda zonal coordinator assisted the forest department to arresting mongoose poachers26 December 2022Fishing cat awareness rally in MaldaJoint awareness rally conducted by HEAL and The Fishing Cat Project13 December 2022Collaboration with World Animal ProtectionInterview surveys in Jhargram and West Medinipur to study socio-economic drivers of ritualistic huntingNovember – December 2022Counteracting bird poaching in MurshidabadOur Zonal Coordinator Soumyadip Mondal along with a local team removed a 200-m long bird trap net.15 November 2022Arrest of bird poacher in Bilkurul Beel, MurshidabadA team of HEAL volunteers gathered intelligence on a bird poacher and assisted in his arrest28 October 2022Arrest of Fishing Cat poachers from MaldaIntel gathered by HEAL members helps enforcement authorities nab wildlife criminals23 and 28 October 2022Critically Endangered Turtles in Temple Pond Afflicted by Unknown SicknessHEAL members assisted in the rescue of three sick black softshell turtles from a temple pond in Cooch Behar25 & 26 October 2022Learning to train betterSuvrajyoti Chatterjee attended a workshop organised by the Wildlife Trust of India.12-15 October 2022Snake awareness workshop at Sanjeeva Town housing, RajarhatWorkshops aimed at replacing the fear of snakes with knowledge about them. 24 September 2022Training session for disaster management civic volunteers in Cooch BeharCivic volunteers under ‘Aapda Mitra’ scheme trained on managing snakes and preventing snakebite10 & 13 September 2022Talk on Hyena Study in West BengalOur member Vasudha Mishra was invited as a guest speaker for a session on ‘The lesser known stripes of Bengal’ 8 September 2022Snake awareness programme at a school in North 24 ParganasSnakebite mitigation and snake awareness programme at a school surrounded by wetlands18 August 2022Training of IFS officers on wetland laws and conservationHEAL’s Meghna Banerjee conducted a session on how litigation helped provide protection to Dankuni05 August 2022Presentation at the O/O Accountant General, WBMeghna Banerjee spoke about the major conservation issues plaguing West Bengal29 June 2022Impact of an imageHEAL’s Arka Sarkar and Meghna Banerjee share their experiences on photography as a conservation tool22 June 2022Large Indian civet rescued from garage in Cooch BeharUncommon civet rescued and released after local fears were dissuaded by HEAL members22 June 2022International Day for Biological Diversity 2022Fishing Cat release accompanied by an awareness session, and felicitation of local conservationists 22 May 2022Arrest of turtle trader in Malda districtA joint operation by HEAL & Malda FD to nab a major turtle dealer in Gazole18 April 2022Ganga River Dolphin Day 2021Awareness drives conducted in dolphin habitats across West Bengal5 October 2021Dolphin Oil Trade InvestigationAn investigation carried out to expose trade in Dolphin oil and body parts in central West BengalOctober 2019 onwardsHunting Surveys in West MedinipurSurvey to identify ritual hunting dates and locations in West Medinipur February 2020 onwardsHunting Surveys in Jhargram and BankuraSurvey to identify ritual hunting dates and locations in Jhargram & Bankura February 2020 onwardsPost Amphan Relief Drives in SundarbansRelief activities in villages around Sundarbans hit by cyclone Amphan25 May 2020 onwardsPost Amphan Bird RescuesRescue of injured birds and fledglings in the aftermath of Cyclone Amphan21 March – 28 March 2020Covid-19 Relief DrivesRelief drives in villages of West Medinipur, Jhargram and Sundarban during Covid-19 lockdown April-May 2020Bakkhali Beach Cleaning DriveClean up of plastic waste from Bakkhali Sea Beach 8 March 2020Fishing Cat Awareness DriveAwareness Drive about Fishing Cats at Bhangar, South 24 Paraganas1 December 2019PIL for Baghjan IncidentHelp with an PIL filed in NGT to seek remediation for damage caused by blowout of oil well at Baghjan June-July 2020Stopping Faloharini Hunt FestStopping the major hunting festival of Faloharini Kalipuja – once the most destructive in West Bengal 2018-2019Outreach Programs to stem tribal huntingOutreach programs in villages and educational institutions to create awareness against hunting April, 2018 – OngoingSnake Training WorkshopsJoint workshops conducted with Forest Department to train forest staff about snakes and snakebite 11-13 July, 2020