CAP AND NATURE CLUB AND ANIMAL WELFARE CLUB – CLUB FOCUS

The Editorial Team

On Campus Feb 3, 2016

By Nagamalai (BE Mechanical Sandwich, 2013-2018)
“There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more”
― George Gordon Byron
Nature is the external world in its entirety. It is the creative and controlling force in the universe or it is the universe itself. Man has been fascinated by nature and has been admiring nature from the time he learnt to admire and appreciate. Nature is the epitome of human life on earth, but we fail to understand this basic principle that shields human life and those reliant on it.
Since humans are the only animals that impressively manipulate nature, we consider ourselves as the cream of the crop in this environment, which is scientifically based on evolution. We humans, misunderstanding the concept of the ‘Survival of the fittest’, deem that the only way to survive, is by wiping out all other life forms. There once happened to be clubs and associations for the sole goal of enjoying and observing nature and animals, but these organisations in the recent times have a crucial role in protecting nature from the social animal.
There are various organisations such as the Greenpeace, WWF, Kalpavriksh, Wildlife Trust of India etc. that help in guarding and conserving nature. Two such clubs igniting the young minds of the students in our college to protect and preserve nature are the CAP and Nature Club and the Animal Welfare Club.

CAP AND NATURE CLUB:
This club was started to emphasize the importance of nature among the students and to initiate steps to conserve nature which is the sole right for each and every human being in the world. Then what about CAP? CAP refers to ‘Character and Personality’. The club is also concerned in honing the character and personality of the students of our college and preparing them for a better future in this competitive world. Every year, the Secretaries of the club are recruited by the Faculty Advisors of the club based on the interview process organized by the college. There are about 60 members in the club from various departments including the Executive members, selected by the Secretaries ,under the guidance of the faculty advisors.
The faculty advisors of the club are:

J. Hema – Dept. of Biotechnology
S. Jayanthi – Dept. of Biotechnology
V. Ilayaraja -Dept. of Information Technology
A. Mahaboob Subahani – Dept. of SW – EEE

The office bearers of the club for the academic year 2015-16 are:

Secretary(Boys) – Rajesh M (V year, BE SW Production Engineering)
Secretary(Girls) – Santhiya K (IV year B.Tech Biotechnology)

EVENTS:
One of the important events conducted in the club is the guest lectures.
GUEST LECTURE ON TERRACE GARDENING:
The very first function of the club for the year 2015 – 2016 was a guest Lecture on “Terrace Gardening”. It was organized on Aug 20^th, 2015 in D block ground floor. The session was taken over by Dr.C.V.Nagendhiran – Pioneer of Vertical Aeroponic farming in India. He was excellent in his speech about Roof top gardening , mentioning the importance and maintenance of Aeroponic farming.

GUEST LECTURE ON THE IMPACT OF CONTAMINATION ON BIRDS
The next lecture was held on Sept 2^nd, 2015 in D block which was about “Impact of Contamination on Birds” by Dr. S. Muralidharan, Principal Scientist from Salim Ali centre. His lecture revealed about the contamination caused by mankind on the environment which highly affects the survival of birds.
Some of the events conducted during the Intrams include:

Guess the personality
Free the tree
Dumb C
Connections

EVENT NAKSHATRA:
This was the last event for the odd semester. This was held on Oct 14^th, 2015 and it was exclusively for girls. Under this event, Mehandi designing, Nail art and Drawing competitions were conducted.

EVENTS FOR FIRST YEAR STUDENTS:
As per the new regulations of the college, first year students were enrolled under ‘Personality Development Course’ in the club. In this year, about 237 first year students from various departments were enrolled in the club. The various events organised for the first year students include:

Trash to cash workshop

This event , conducted on 10 Oct 2015, stressed the importance of recycling and avoiding wastage of food and other useful materials. The event was presided over by Mrs. Sangeetha and Mrs. Chitra from Siruthuli foundation.

Trip to Annaikati

A field trip was arranged to the bio-reserve park in Annaikati on 18 Oct, 2015. About 275 students and faculty advisors went for a trekking in the morning followed by some fun events in the afternoon.
The CAP and Nature club has done other work like placing placards near trees and plants around the campus. The placards contain the common name, native name and botanical name of the trees. The club has done a great deal of work in preserving the flora and fauna and creating awareness among students to protect Mother Nature.

ANIMAL WELFARE CLUB(AWC):
The animal welfare club focuses on fostering students to love animals and prevent cruelties inflicted on them. The members of the club are grouped under different categories such as administration, editorial, web designing, HR, finance, publicity and event coordinator.
The staff advisor of the club :
Mr. N. Ganesh Kumar – Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
The student representatives selected by an interview process are:

Secretary(Boys) – Ranjith P(Dept. of Biotechnology)
Secretary (Girls) – Shanmuga Priya M(Dept. of Biotechnology)

The important activities of the club include adoption of animals, visiting zoos and animal shelter homes, screening of documentaries against cruelty towards animals and workshops on first-aid for animals.

EVENTS:
GUEST LECTURE:
A guest lecture on ‘How to become a responsible Engineer – A perspective on animal welfare’ was organised on the the 3^rd of September, 2015. It was presided over by Mrs. Kalpana Vasudevan, the managing trutstee of ‘People for Animals’. A few videos on abuse of animals and cruelty towards them were shown. She stressed the fact that every student in this phase of his/her life should be concerned about subjects that they think are insignificant. It was an interactive session and some of the students were keen on volunteering for the social cause against abuse of animals.
The AWC conducted two events during the Intrams.
Fun with animals:
The event was an exhilarating and fun filled one. The students participated in the event actively and gleefully.
Check ur witzz:
It was an event kindling the knowledge on animals. Including a quiz competiton with lots of exciting prizes .
In the previous academic year, the AWC conducted a dog survey(count) at R.S.Puram. The survey totalled the number of domestic dogs and stray dogs; the conditions in which these dogs live were also surveyed. The club members visited the Saravanampatti dog shelter. This year the team has planned to visit the VOC zoo and the ‘Human animal society’.
Anatole France once mentioned that a part of the human soul remains unawakened until he has loved an animal. The AWC helps the students to awaken this part of their soul and treat animals affectionately.
The coalescing union between life and nature is inevitable. Even though we recognize the value of nature we forget that we are plundering it and thereby exhausting nature of its resources. We have to remember that some animals are on the verge of extinction, mainly due to the activities of humans like habitat destruction, global warming, urbanization, pollution and many more. We are denying the future generation the pleasures of enjoying nature in all its abundance. We should understand the influence of nature on human life and protect it. We also have seen the consequences that have resulted, when we human beings disturb the balance of nature. Therefore,we should be mature enough to understand the underlying fact that nature is an integral part of our lives and also vice versa. We should live our life to the fullest and make the world a better place to live for ourselves and the generations to come.
Nagamalai (B.E. Mechanical SW, 2013-2018) is a sports maniac and likes reading fiction. He has keen interest in current affairs and loves to hang out with friends.