World sparrow Day 2025

The Department of Forestry, DIBNS, Dehradun commemorated World Sparrow Day-2025 on 20th March 2025 with great zeal and enthusiasm. The theme of the year was “I Love Sparrows”, which aimed to raise awareness about the conservation of sparrows  as their numbers have been decreasing over the years due to pollution, loss of green spaces, and construction activities. . The Department conducted an online quiz through Google Form, where 172 participants from various national and international universities/ colleges namely, Dolphin (PG) Institute,  Forest Research Institute, Plymouth University, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, UUHF Ranichauri, HNBGU Srinagar, SKUAST Srinagar actively participated. All the participants achieved the passing pscore of 50%.  6 participants namely Bhushan, Biswaraj Das, Ajay Kumar Panchkatti, Nikita, Ngapanshing Muirang & Suman Rawal from Dolphin PG Institute achieved perfect score of 100%, while 2 participants namely Mr Ashwin (University of Massachusetts) & Ms Manjari (Plymouth University) secured 90%. . In a field observation activity, students explored their campus and nearby localities to study the nesting behavior of sparrows. It was heartening to observe that large number of houses in comparison to the previous years  had installed the wooden sparrow houses to provide shelter to these beautiful birds, It was an evidence that the awareness on the conservation of the sparrows has increased over the years among the public and they are taking corrective steps for their conservation.  However, only 01 natural nest was observed, which was located in the campus of the Institute. This made students realize that more safe nesting spaces need to be created for the birds. Through such meaningful activities, the department stays committed to raise awareness among rural and urban community on their role in maintaining ecological balance, including natural pest control, pollination and seed dispersal. Simple yet impactful steps like planting trees, reducing pesticide use, and creating nesting spaces can help restore their numbers and preserve biodiversity. Such awareness activities also give the students to reconnect with nature and contribute in the conservation of the  common bird species and their ecosystems..