One Day Visits

A “Virtual Tour To The Indian Sundarbans" was organized by Department of Botany, Deshbandhu College, University of Delhi on April 26, 2022. The invited Speaker for the event was Dr. Krishna Ray, Associate Professor, Department of Botany, West Bengal State University, India. The speaker took the participants on a virtual tour of Indian Sundarbans through her awe-inspiring videos and photographs. The participants were mesmerized by beauty and diversity of the flora and fauna of this beautiful mangrove ecosystem. The event provided the participants an opportunity to get a first-hand experience of the ecological restoration work done by Dr. Ray and her team to protect this fragile ecosystem from degradation.

The virtual tour was attended by more than 85 student and faculty members from different colleges and universities. The event was convened by Dr. Preeti Rawat, Assistant Professor, Department of Botany, Deshbandhu College, University of Delhi under the guidance of the Teacher-In-Charge, Dr. Aparna Nautiyal.

Yamuna Biodiversity Park located in Wazirabad, New Delhi is a natural conservation site for specific group of endangered plants. A group of 70 students from B.Sc. (H) Botany and B.Sc. (P) Life Science were accompanied by the faculty members from Department of Botany. The Yamuna Biodiversity Park is spread over an area of approximately 457 acres near Wazirabad village on the flat alluvial plains of the Yamuna. It has become a home for biologically rich wetlands, grassland communities, a wide variety of fruit yielding species and an abundance of medicinal herbs. The Park also comprises a native flora and fauna which used to exist a 100 years ago and then became extinct locally. The main attractions were migratory birds, and the wetland ecosystem.

The field visit to Botanical garden of Indian Republic (BGIR), Noida, Uttar Pradesh was organized as part of curriculum in Plant systematics paper. The students of B.Sc. (H) Botany II-Year accompanied by faculty members visited different sections of the garden related to medicinal plants, cacti and succulents, ferns and Pteridophytes, aquatic plants, etc. Students also visited the Herbarium situated in the garden and learnt the techniques of preparation on herbarium specimens. Students interacted with Dr. Ansari, Dr. Manish Khandpal and Dr. Mayank Dwivedi, and gained knowledge about their areas of research. It was a knowledgeable and learning experience for them.

A visit to Mother Dairy plant, Patparganj, New Delhi was organized for the students of B. Sc. (H) Botany, 3rd year on 13th April, 2019. This trip was in partial fulfillment of the B. Sc. (H) Botany 3rd year curriculum for the paper, Industrial and Environmental Microbiology. A total of about 59 students had participated in what turned out to be a fruitful and memorable trip. The students learnt about the steps of procurement of milk, pasteurization and distribution. The visit concluded with the students and teachers enjoying unlimited ice-creams served by the kind Mother Dairy staff.

As a part of the curriculum, students of B. Sc. (Hons) Botany 1^st Year visited Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary located in Tughlakabad, New Delhi on September 11, 2018 accompanied by some faculty members to study the natural flora and fauna. The park is a thorny shrub forest exhibiting rich biodiversity. Students also learned about the role of Dragonfly and Gambusia (mosquito fish) as a bio-control to lower mosquito population. Students also learned about the role of Water Cabbage (Pistia) in controlling pollution in aquatic ecosystem. Further, as a part of the Butterfly Census program under Bombay Natural History Society Conservation Education Centre (BNHS-CEC)- Delhi, we conducted a survey of the Psychophilous flora in the park area and observed/counted a number of butterfly species. Students observed various immigrant butterfly species breeding on Cassia fistula (Amaltas) and other plant species. Briefed about the mimicry patterns in butterflies, are the second most important pollinators to most agricultural crops and help in preserving plant biodiversity. Students also learned about the local species of flora and fauna in Delhi conserved in the Butterfly Biodiversity Park.

A visit to Mother Dairy plant, Patparganj, New Delhi was organized for the students of B. Sc. (H) Botany, 3rd year on 28th April, 2019. This trip was in partial fulfillment of the B. Sc. (H) Botany 3rd year curriculum for the paper, Industrial and Environmental Microbiology. The students learnt about the steps of procurement of milk, pasteurization and distribution. The visit concluded with the students and teachers enjoying unlimited ice-creams served by the kind Mother Dairy staff.