Times News NetworkKanpur: Society for Conservation of Nature (SCON) conducted awareness programmes in many Etawah schools in the ongoing seven-day Seven Species Conservation campaign during Wildlife Week-2026, highlighting threats to the endangered and rare Indian skimmer found in Chambal and nearby areas.Students learnt about threats to the bird and pledged to protect it. They also promoted conservation of the Indian skimmer and other wildlife through paintings, slogans and discussions.Ram Janm Singh, a member of State Resource Group Basic Shiksha, said the bird was important to the river system and Chambal ecology. Its distinctive structure and skill in catching fish while skimming the water surface made it unique, but human interference and river pollution threatened its survival, he said.Mukesh Babu, assistant teacher, Musawali, said the extinction of rare species indicated that the natural system was in crisis. Children and villagers living along river banks should be encouraged to protect the bird’s nests and eggs, he said. Mohit Pandey, head, zoology department at Chaudhary Charan Singh Parasnatak Vidyalaya, Havra, called for the week-long campaign to become a continuous mass movement. Young people could use social media and digital platforms to spread its conservation message globally, he said.Arun Kumar, assistant teacher at Saifai, said school children could become strong advocates for environmental conservation. Protecting Indian skimmer nests on sandy islands was essential, he added. Anupam Kaushal, assistant teacher at Purv Madhyamik Vidyalaya, Kuiyan, said industrialisation and illegal sand mining had severely damaged the bird’s natural habitats. Manju Bhadauria, principal of Jan Sahyogi Inter College, Modhi, said local awareness was severely lacking and school programmes could build sensitivity towards wildlife.SCON general secretary Rajiv Chauhan said the seven-day campaign would focus on one endangered species each day.
