The Conservation Education Centre (CEC) is the education and awareness wing of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS). The Conservation Education Centre is located on the BNHS Nature Reserve in Goregaon, Mumbai, India. The CEC came into existence on the BHNS Reserve in 1997.
The centre is situated on 33 acres of forest land of the BNHS Nature Reserve. This land was leased by the Government of Maharashtra to BNHS in 1983 during its centenary celebrations. The CEC was established in 1993. The BNHS Nature Reserve lies between the Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Film City.
National Park (formerly known as the Borivali National Park) is the catchment area for Mumbai's lakes and is home for 25 species of mammals (including leopards), 275 species of birds, 150 species of butterflies and various species of flora. It is common to see many of the park's biodiversity occurring within the BNHS Nature Reserve as well.
Since its inception in 1997, the centre has designed and implemented 24 educational projects. It has also developed 161 educational materials, including three teachers' manuals, two student manuals, and five field guides. It has hosted 42 exhibits. It also has 573 books based on education and natural history at its library.
History of CEC
In 1993 the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) initiated a three-year Conservation Education Project (CEP) in Mumbai, Tamil Nadu and Bharatpur. The project was funded by Department of International Development, U.K. (formerly known as ODA) in technical collaboration with Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), U.K. The aim of the project was to study the biotic pressure exerted by the people living in and around three protected areas, namely Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary and Keoladeo National Park.
The outcome of the study was to provide remedies for reducing the biotic pressures involving local stakeholders. The final product of the project was to establish a Conservation Education Centre (CEC) in Mumbai for continuing education in environment education. The CEC became functional in 1997 on the BNHS Nature Reserve (BNR) which was leased by the Government of Maharashtra.
Educational programmes
The educational programmes for students cover basic environmental aspects. As part of these programmes, CEC shows audio-video interactive presentations. The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has been actively establishing nature clubs for the past 10 years under the banner of "Hornbill Nature Club", aptly named after the BNHS mascot. The nature club activities include syllabus based programmes that are conducted throughout the year. The CEC conducts a range of indoor and outdoor activities with students and teachers.
Corporate programmes
Corporate Programmes at CEC are customized employee sensitization workshops that include wilderness camps, eco-days celebrations and volunteering opportunities. Activities such as tree planting, habitat restoration, clean-up drive and awareness campaigns are also conducted. These workshops consist of presentations on carbon footprints, green lifestyle biodiversity plot study and E-waste.
Biodiversity surveys
The USP of the Bombay Natural History Society has been conservation through scientific studies, which form the basis of environment education imparted by CEC. The CEC has been involved in several biodiversity surveys at various locations in and around Mumbai.
The biodiversity surveys undertaken by CEC include: Rapid Biodiversity Assessment Survey of Welspun, Salav (2010-2011) Biodiversity Survey of Nature Park in Navi Mumbai (2006-2008) Biodiversity Survey of ICI Campus in Kopar Khairane, Navi Mumbai (2004-2005)
Online courses
CEC has been conducting online year-long courses in biodiversity conservation and entomology for the past two years. In 2013, CEC launched a two more year-long online courses in basic ornithology and herpetology. The following courses are hosted by CEC:
Leadership Course in Biodiversity Conservation
Basic Course in Herpetology
Course in Basic Ornithology
Young Naturalist course
In 2017, Conservation Education Centre, BNHS (Mumbai) is conducting five online hybrid courses with newly designed syllabi. Two of the courses are of short duration and are of six months duration. Following are the courses of CEC, BNHS: