Students to highlight diversity, UN agenda at bird fest today

Vadodara: The Banyan City will host a unique festival – the Baroda Bird Festival – on Sunday to celebrate the incredible bird diversity of the city and to support the United Nations (UN) Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Students trained by a city-based environmental organisation will host the bird festival at Pakshi Mitra Pond in Bhayli area.
“Ten children are involved in putting up this entire festival. There are close to 80 species of birds present in the area. The students are able to identify them and they have made drawings and paintings of these birds. They are going to put up the drawings and paintings in the exhibition,” said Hitarth Pandya, who runs Kids for Environmental Development Initiative (KEDI).
“Apart from that, photography is also being done by the children. They have learnt bird photography through a workshop and they will practically implement the knowledge at the festival. At the same time, they will train the visitors,” he said.
“There will be bird walks, bird photography walks, display of photography works, drawings and paintings, there will be food stalls, games, quizzes, exhibition-cum-auction and there will be artefacts that the kids have prepared on their own,” he said. Fest will be held from 11am to 4pm at the pond located near Heera Vanshi Vatika, Bhathiji Mandir at Bhayli.