Media & Environment

Trek Report

        INTO THE MAZES OF NATURE

A three day trip  (September 13 -15) to Kodaikanal was planned and executed by the  Eco Club of PSG College of Arts and Science. A team of 23 members headed by Professors.C.R.JAYA PRAKASH and L. RAMARAJ in a van.

13/9/12

     The most awaited trip to Kodaikanal started at 6.45 am from PSG CAS. The team jabbed for breakfast at Udmalpet.  On the way to Kodaikanal we visited Silver Cascade falls .We reached the Palni Hills Conservation Council at Kodaikanal for lunch.

 An Introduction about the place and purpose of trip was given. Facts about Bombay shola forest was intimated. Practice for street play was given to the students by Prof.Ramraj. PHCC has a nursery that plants saplings in the forest .Boat house is about about 200 metres from the cottage and  easily reachable by foot. Some of our batchmates went for a cycle ride in a drizzle. The place looked so romantic with lavender coloured Cherry blossom trees on full bloon.

14/9/12

      We started to Berijam Lake via  Silent valley, Caps valley, Madhikettan solai view points from where the overview of places like Theni,Madurai were visibly seen. A trail was taken from the valley to the road via forest. It was a breath taking view of purity of nature. The Berijam Lake housed hundreds of gracious  Water lilies and fishes. Some birds and bugs were identified. The Berijam lake guest house was surrounded with lot of leeches which terrified our team mates. After lunch we returned to cottage and had a practice for the street play. Information about plants and trees around was given by Mr.Antony, the person in charge of the cottage. A rehearsal for street play was done after dinner and we played informative games.

15/9/12

     The final day started with bird watching around 6.30am. An Ornithologist, Mr. Arun Sankar accompanied us. We identified the rare and endemic bird of Western ghats, the Nilgiri Wood Pigeon in the Bombay Shola. We performed the street play - Nature Strikes Back twice and there was a good response from the toruists .We returned to cottage around 12.30. After lunch we returned back to Coimbatore via Palani. A Small session was conducted to obtain feedbacks about the camp. individually. A Quiz on Wildlife was conducted by Arun Sankar who happens to be the Treasurer of PHCC too. We reached college by 8.15 pm.

         Variety of trees, flowering plants, fruits found in the locality are:1. Wild jasmine- gelsminum semervirens

1.  Peach-  prunus persica
2. Butter fruit- persea Americana
3.  Shampangi-sambucas
4. Australian black wood- acacia melonoxylon
5.  Plums- prunus domestica
6. Custard apple-  anona  squamosa
7.  Cherry blossom- prunus cerasoides
8. Joe pye weed flower- Eupatorium
9.  Princess flower –tibouchina
10.  Fashion fruit- passiflora edulis
11.  Blue Quang dong –Eleocarpus glandis
12. Wood sorrel-  oxalis
13. Wild tobacco- lobelia
14.  Pear-  pyrus
15.  Champak- michelia champaca
16. Gold fish plant-  neolitsea zeylanica
17.  Sage-  salvia
18. Basil-  ocimum basilicum
19.  Nilgiri bamboo-  ilex wightiana
20.  Idli flower-  hydrangea
21.  Red cestrum-  cestrum elegans
22.  Thyme-  thymus vulgaris
23.  Rose mary-  rosmarinus officinalis
24.  Poppy-  papaver somni ferum
25.  Thoothuvalai-  solanum tribolatum
26.  Fox glove – digitalis pururea
27.  Silver oak-  grevillea robusta
28.  Mexican weeping pine-  pinus patula
29.  Common morning glory-  Ipomea pururea
30.  Wild dahlia-  albelia chinensis
31.  Copper beech -  fagus sylvatica
32.  Walnut -  juglans
33.  Yellow jasmine
34.  Camellia
35. Water wisteria
36.  Jacaranda
37.  Natha poditus
38.  Cinnamon
39.  Citrus sinensis
40.  Pelargonium
41.  Geranium
42.  Fushia
43.  Prunus ceylanica
44.  Cuprusses arizonica
45.  Tree fern
46. Poincettia cherrima.
47. Buxux Linnaeus
48.  Litsea glabrata
49. Cherry blossom-  prunus cerosoides
50. Wild jasmine- gelsminum semervirens

 

       TYPES OF GRASSES:

1. Weeing lovw grass- eragostis currula

2. Wood brome grass- bromus ramosus huds

3. Wood meadow grass- poa remoralis

4. Yellow foxtail grass- setaria pumila

5. Torpedo grass- panicum repens

6. Stiff grass- eragrosts cilia nensis

7. Sweet grass- imerata cylindria

8. Sheeps fescue grass- festuca ovina

9. Spear grass- heteropogan contortas

10. Reed canary grass-  phalaris arundinacea

11. Perennial rye grass-  lolium perenne

12. Purple grass-  andropogan lividus thwaites

13. Mouse tail fescue grass-  vulpia myoroz

14. Pampus grass-  cortaderia selloana

15. Lesser canary grass- phalaris minor

16. Little Love grass- eragrostis minor

17. Jobs tear grass-  coix lacryma jobi

19. Johnson grass- sorghum halipense

20. Love grass- chrysopogon aciculatus

 

     TYPES OF BIRDS

1. Grey breasted laughing thrush

2. Scarlet minivet

3. Red whiskered bulbul

4. Black eyed susan vine

5. Velvet fronted nuthatch

6. Oriental White eye

7. Paradise fly catcher

8. White cheeked barbet

9. Jordon laughing thrush10. Chloropsis

10. Nilgiri wood pegion

11. Black lored tit

12. Small minivet

13. Ashy minivet

14. Malabar parakeets

Reddish blue brown butterfly and a Malabar Giant Squirrel was also seen by us.

Thus the journey into the mazes of nature enlightened the students with awe inspiring sights and was an unforgettable trip. It also revealed the might of nature and its importance. The purpose of the trip was ultimately achieved with the street play by students. Such informative trips are a real eye-opener to the query on nature.

THERE IS ENOUGH IN NATURE FOR EVERYONE’S NEED NOT FOR ANYONE’S GREED.

WE HAVEN’T INHERITED THE EARTH FROM OUR ANCESTORS JUST BORROWED IT FROM OUR CHILDREN.

SO THE SOLE AIM IS TO SAVE MOTHER NATURE.

 

Report by J.Kalaiarasi, II BCom.

 

About Kodaikanal

Kodaikanal, the tourism town of Tamil Nadu is blessed with a variety of colorful flora and fauna.

It lies in the lap of one of the oldest mountain range, the Western Ghats. It was earlier known as Palni hills which is comprised of two distinct geographical zones.

 Upper Palanis is at an elevation of 1520 - 2250 metres bordering the state of Kerala and the Lower Palanis is at an elevation of 1000 - 1500 metres.

 The lower Palanis has Coffee, Banana, Orange, Avocada, Pineapple and Cardamom.

 The Upper Palanis has terraced potato and garlic farms.

Rainfall

Winter period (January – February)	44.7 mm
Summer period (March – May )	155.1 mm
South West Monsoon (June – Sept.)	218.3 mm
North eastMonsoon (Oct. – Dec.)	417.9 mm
Total	836.0 mm

Facts compiled by Hari Prakash ( I MSc Software Science).

 Misty trail

                               The three days trekking campaign at Kodaikanal was a misty learning experience for a group of twenty three trekkers. This particular trek was arranged to train the street play members of Eco Club. The crew started along with two staff coordinators, Prof.C.R.Jayaprakash and Prof.L.Ramraj, at 6.30 AM from college on 13-09-2012 and reached Palani Hills Conservation Council, Kodaikanal by 12.30 PM. We were a given a guest house to stay and it gave us a Home Away from Home experience. The guest house was surrounded by leeches. Though none of us were bitten, some were affected by the obvious Leech-Fever which prevailed throughout the trek.

                              The first day was short. After the lunch, we had a glimpse on the basics of street play rendered by Prof.L.Ramraj and then were given practice. The session didn’t last long but was given a short break as we went for a time of walk and cycling in the boat house nearby. We again rehearsed the play before we dinner and gave rest to our physic.

                              The next morning was absolutely breath taking as we went for a trip to the Berijam Lake after some view points. We experienced the moisture of the cloud as it went through us and the mist hid the person next to us and left us in awe of nature. We then came to know that the place in which we stayed had the Bombay Sholas behind and we missed a sight at it. Back at the guest house, we were offered a chance to learn Gardening. We also practised the major part of the street play and were made ready to perform it soon enough in the surrounding. But, the source of the play, Prof.L.Ramraj had to leave us due to some official work back in Coimbatore. He left in the evening.

                             The third and final day at Kodaikanal was a fitting finale to the three days camping. We were given a NCC parade by Magesh anna. We staged our street play at Moyar’s Point and the response we had from the crowd and the forest officials who were there to witness it was encouraging and we proved to be a genuine success. We also visited places like The Berijam Lake, Thoppi Thooki Paarai (Cap Rock), Silver Cascade, Rock Pillar, Silent Valley, and Boat House.

                             On the last two days, we went birding along with Prof.C.R.Jayaprakash, who helped us to identify some species of birds like the rare Nilgiri Wood Pigeon and other birds, and learn about them.

                             The trek was flavored by the Pears that covered the major part of the trek. We were surrounded by Pear trees and obviously, the trek was named after it in Tamil as Baerikanal ( Halves of Pears in Tamil and Kodaikanal) and the food that was served was home-made and gave a home experience all the three days.

                            Birding, Trekking, Street play, Pears, knowledge. All, along with nature, made this three days a nature lover’s Paradise. Inspite of the freezing cold, we felt warm and enthusiastic. We reached Coimbatore on 15-09-2012 at 8.30 PM with heavy hearts.

NATURE IS FASCINATING YET, VULNERABLE.

 

                                                                                                          By-

                                                                                                                                           G.AFSHAN FAAIZA

                                                                                                                                           1^st, B.com e.com.

Pre Event Report 

Earlier report.

Eco Club is happy to announce its first trek to Kodaikanal. The dates are September 13 -15 ( Thursday - Saturday). Team: 23. Stay: The heritage buildings of Palni Hills Conservation Council ( Just above Kodai Lake).

Following students have paid the fees of Rs.1,500 by the closing time, 3 pm on Monday. Both the Staff Coordinators, Jayaprakash.C.R and Ramaraj.L will be joining the team.

Here is the final list:

1. Priya Ram ( II BSc  Costume Design)

2. Karthick ( III BCom)

3. Kalai Arasi ( II BCom)

4. Shibi Sankar ( III BCom)

5. Harish.V ( I BSc Vis. Comm)

6. Vinesh.S ( II MJMC)

7. Semmalar Annam ( II MJMC)

8. Pradeep. K.L ( III BCom)

9. Kanaga Prabha ( I BBM)

10. Afzhan Faaiza ( I BCom)

11. Suganya ( I BCS)

12. Divya.K ( II BA Economics)

13. Mahesh Kumar ( I MJMC)

14. Loganathan ( I MJMC)

15. Karthikeyan ( I BCom)

16. Niveditha ( I BA English)

17. Roshan ( I BCom e com)

18. Vandhana R ( I BCom)

19. Hariprakash ( I MSc SS)

20. Aashika ( I BSc Nutrition)

21. Mahalakshmi.G ( II BSc Vis Com)

22. Niveditha ( I BA English)

23. Sai Nehali ( I BCom)

Do’s and Dont’s for the participants

Bring the following items with you

A sneaker shoe.

Two pairs of extra socks. Better if it is wollen.

One set of green dress and another set of casual wear.

Light weight rain coat/wind sheater/Poncho/jerkin

Handy torch

Personal medicines

A small back pack

One litre water bottle

Food plate

Thermal wear/warm clothing (to sustain the moist weather).

Camera/Binocular/Book on Birds/Animals.

An air pillow which will be of use while travelling too.

Adequate balance of talk time in Mobile.

Note:

Students need to sleep on carpeted floor. Adequate blankets will be provided.

Vehicle journey to Kodaikanal is tedious. Those who have travel sickness can avoid the trip or bring precautionary medicines.

Basic medical kit will be  arranged by Eco club. The expenses for complicated medical treatments have to borne by the participant.

Basic books on birds/animals/nature can be collected from College Library using your friend/Senior’s card.

The trip will be documented in stills and video.

The treks will be of moderate type only because of the big size of the group. Hence sightings of wildlife not assured. However shola birds can be easily seen even in PHCC campus.

Food and stay is arranged at PHCC campus itself.

WARNING: Venturing into the forests will be done with the permission of Forest Department only with adequate precautions. Yet, no one can predict the nature and behaviour of wild animals in their home. Hence trekkers should be aware of risky, adventurous mishaps. Students cannot claim compensation or blame the organisers of the trek for such unseen incidents. Eco Club or its Staff or the management of the College cannot be blamed for such events. Students are to inform their parents about this risk factor and then join the trek. They have to sign an undertaking in this regard before the journey.  

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