::::: Madras Crocodile Bank Trust Centre for Herpetology

Clubbing for Conservation- Three organisations-the publishing house Orient Longman Pvt. Ltd. (OL), the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust (MCBT), and Trust for Environmental Education (TREE); launched NatureQuest, a programme to raise awareness about wildlife and conservation, on 14 June 2003 in Chennai.

Apart from raising awareness, the programme also aims to create a meeting ground for people interested in wildlife and conservation, so as to channel this positive energy in the right direction. NatureQuest programmes include talks, discussions, photo and painting exhibitions, slide shows, wildlife documentary screenings, and interactive sessions with filmmakers, researchers, conservationists, are among others. Keeping the younger audience in mind, activities integrating wildlife and nature with arts, crafts, music and theatre have been organized. Wildlife filmmakers, researchers, photographers, indigenous craftspeople, musicians and theatre artistes are associated with these programmes. The venue for the events is the Bookpoint auditorium at Anna Salai, located very conveniently in the heart of the Chennai city. NatureQuest, to date, has organised several talks and discussions by eminent wildlifers, screenings of wildlife documentaries, wildlife book launches, career counseling, exhibitions for school students and interactive sessions with live reptiles. Today, NatureQuest member list exceeds over 600 and includes children and adults from all walks of life. Programmes, 2-3 a month, are held to packed audiences with extensive press coverage.

Would you like to be a NatureQuest member? Mail us at naturequest@gmail.com and copy to mcbtindia@vsnl.net, with your address and phone numbers. You will be included in our mailing list that keeps you informed of all future programs.

Programs conducted to date
14-Jun-03	Launch of NatureQuest & release of CrocBank’s first four GOI/UNDP sponsored Sea Turtle Conservation Manuals & the CrocBank’s newsletter ‘Herpinstance’.
12-Jul-03	Monsoon: India’s God of Life, film by Shekar Dattatri.
19-Jul-03	Sea turtle conservation in Chennai with Dr. Kartik Shanker.
26-Jul-03	Down to Earth, an exhibition of Blodsow’s eco-friendly art, with a live performance by folk-music band Oikyotaan.
15-Aug-03	Close encounter with crocodiles, snakes, tortoises and iguanas from the CrocBank—in the city!
26-Aug-03	Readings from Ranjit Lal’s Birds from my Window and Zai Whitaker’s Salim Ali for Schools.
13-Sep-03	Troubled Islands: the story of the legal battle being fought to sustain the ecology of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, presented by Pankaj Sekhsaria of Kalpavriksh
02-Oct-03	Croc Boy, a children’s film by Rom Whitaker
01-Nov-03	A photographic presentation on the Nicobari tribe of Little Nicobar Island, by CrocBank researcher Manish Chandi.
22-Nov-03	The Ridley’s Last Stand, film by Shekar Dattatri, followed by a talk on sea turtle conservation in Costa Rica, by Dr. Jack Frazier.
20-Dec-03	Crane: Bird of Peace, a international travelling painting exhibition targeted at children, conducted with the International Crane Foundation.
05-Feb-04	The Secret of the Jaguar Revealed, a film by UK. filmmaker Nick Gordon.
14-Feb-04	Release of The Marine Mammals of India, a book by Kumaran Sathasivam.
22-May-04	Working with clay: a workshop for children by Maria Anthony Raj, from Cholamandal Artists’ Village.
26-Jun-04	First anniversary of NatureQuest . Studying the Asian elephant, a talk by Dr. R. Sukumar.
16-Jul-04	Medicinal plants and traditional knowledge: display and talk by vaidyars from the Irula Tribal Women’s Welfare Society.
7-Aug-04	Launch of Snakes of India: The Field Guide, a book by Rom Whitaker & Ashok Captain.
28-Aug-04	Birdwatching in Chennai, presented by V. Santharam, followed by the release of Birds: Beyond Watching, a book by Urfi Abdul Jamil.
18-Sep-04	The Asiatic lions of Gir, a presentation by Dr. Ravi Chellam
29-Oct-04	‘Careers in wildlife’ a career counselling program for school students.
3-Dec-04	Launch of the book “ The Bhopal Saga by Nityanand Jayaraman to commemorate the Global Day of Action for Bhopal. Performance by Paul Jacob from his album ‘No more Bhopals’ and a talk by Dr.Pughazhendi on the effects of effluents in villages around the Kalpakkam nuclear reactor.
10-Dec-04	Presentation by David Baron on ‘Living with dangerous animals: Lessons from America’.
18-Jun-05	“Of tigers and tiger reserves” .Screening of two short films of Shekar Dattatri followed by an interaction with the filmmaker on the tiger crisis.
23-Jul-05	“Joy Guru” – An evening of traditional Baul music followed by an interaction with the artists
31-Jul-05	“Tigers fighting back”, a film about tiger conservation in Asia was screened jointly by Ecotone and Sathyam Cinemas in collaboration with NatureQuest followed by an exclusive interaction with Dr Ullas Karanth, India's foremost authority on wild tigers.
18-Aug-05	“Toxic Reality: Do we know how using chemical-based products in cities can harm communities living on the fringes of chemical factories elsewhere?.” Program on clean environment for school students .Screening of the movie “Death of a community foretold” By Alphonse Roy and interaction with children from the affected areas
3-Oct-05	“World Habitat Day” was celebrated where students from various colleges presented their views on the water crisis and situation of slums.
21-Jan-06	“Healing the ravaged planet” ,a illustrated talk by Suprabha Seshan of the Gurukul Botanical Sanctuary a veritable Noah's Ark of rare and endangered plant species.
25-Mar-06	"Understanding Tigers" An illustrated talk by Dr Ullas Karanth. Although a pall of gloom hangs over the future of India's tigers, world-renowned tiger biologist, Dr.Ullas Karanth, strongly believes that there is still hope for the beleaguered big cat. The key to saving tigers, he believes, is in understanding them. His two decades of research have given him a rare insight into the life of this secretive predator and we were privileged to have him as a guest speaker . The occasion also marked the release of Dr.Karanth's new book – A View from the Machan, a superb collection of essays