Award for eFloraofIndia

The Wipro-NFS Sparrow Awards were instituted in 2011 with an aim to identify citizens who are an inspiration for the Citizens to get involved into conservation. Since last year, a cash prize of Rs.50,000/- are given to each of the three Sparrow Awardees to support them financially in their endeavours.

The funding will help the winners carry out vital conservation and environmental work undertaken by them. It will also help inspire citizens to get involved in conservation movement of India. Nature Forever Society is committed to helping the winners in continuing their positive environmental and conservation efforts.

The Wipro – Nature Forever Society Sparrow Award are not given to professional conservationists, ecologist or environmentalists. It is given to citizens who are doing innovative, inspirational and grassroots’ work towards conservation and environment.

Our sentiments behind the awards

We have often noticed that in the field of conservation while the best known conservationists consistently receive accolades for their work, there is no support offered to the citizens carrying out grassroot conservation work in their local regions.

We believe that such citizens whose job or profession is not conservation, but are making vital and important contributions in a selfless right way to save the environment, deserve accolades. The sentiment behind Nature Forever Society’s Sparrow Awards is to honour such people and applaud their silent efforts.

In the coming years, we aspire to make the Wipro – Nature Forever Society Sparrow Award one of the most prestigious honours one could hold; tough to attain and inspirational to retain.

Objective behind Wipro – Nature Forever Society’s SPARROW AWARDS:
·  To involve the citizens  from diverse sections of the society in the conservation movement
·  To honour the work of individuals and organisations at the grassroots level for strengthening the conservation movement for protection of the environment and biodiversity.

Since its inception in 2011, Awards have recognised inspirational work of citizen non- professional conservationists and researchers.

Wipro – Nature Forever Sparrow
Award 2014 winners were selected through information collected from different sources throughout the year as well as through nominations received from across the country. The credentials of all candidates were further scrutinised and authenticated. 

Nomination process for this year’s awards were closed on  15^th February 2014. What followed was a gruelling selection process, creating a shortlist of nominees meeting the key criteria, the work should be innovative, inspirational and that individuals are suitable role models for the citizens to follow.

Three individuals from different parts of the country were selected as outstanding recipients of the Wipro – Nature Forever Society Sparrow Awards 2014.

Wipro – NFS Sparrow Award Winner for 2014

      J M Garg (Passionate Naturalist) Kolkata .

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Profile of J M Garg

Mr. Garg having always been interested in the avifauna of India, first used photography to capture the beauty that lay around him and later decided to use the Internet to connect with people that had similar interests. On exploring, he learnt that there was hardly any e-group devoted to photographing, identification, discussion, learning etc. on Indian Flora. This is how the idea of eFloraofIndia was first conceived. 

Inspired after reading Robin Sharma’s The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, J M Garg decided to start an online group dedicated to the discussion and identification of Indian trees. Expectedly, he had his inhibitions about this initiative since its success was totally dependent on public participation. He was concerned that people would not only have to join the group, but also participate;
offering up pictures of trees for identification and, just as importantly, be prepared to identify other people’s pictures and discuss these identifications.
The book gave him the faith in his idea and he learnt the value of focus, of passion & of helping others, and of a desire for excellence from it. Mr. Garg started Efloraofindia (earlier Indiantreepix) Google e-group in June, 2007. He wrote to different people and other e-groups for membership and by the end of the month Efloraofindia had around 112 messages, with a membership of around 50 members. 

During the last 7 years since its beginning, he agreed to have faced numerous challenges and difficulties from time to time. But with the help of our Moderators & The Pillars, the group has been able to meet them appropriately. The e-flora model works on voluntary contribution. Mr. Garg personal believes that “the best things in life are free”. Everything that has come out of it has been a result of collective efforts from the contributions of individuals’ time, effort & passion.

Efloraofindia was initially set up as a means of identifying tree species, but it rapidly became apparent that other plants needed to be included. It currently attempts to identify not only Indian trees but shrubs, herbs, grasses and sedges, cultivated plants and flowers, mosses and liverworts, fungi  etc. In this regards, Mr. Garg says he expects support from all citizens particularly Botanists/ taxonomists to extend their valuable contribution towards efloraofindia. He believes that this  is equally true for a layman as is for a botanist/ taxonomist.

He believes that it was his clear thinking that his project could see the light of day. Besides, he owes the success of efloraindia to the selfless nature of their work. Though, Mr. Garg has been working tirelessly for creating awareness of Indian Flora along with its documentation for past 7 years, on receiving the Sparrow Award, he was taken by great surprise.

About working in the field of conservation, he says, “Online learning through efloraofindia has inculcated a feeling of attachment among the members toward the Indian flora. They care more about it as a result of increased knowledge and awareness about it. The group has played a vital role in creating awareness, inculcating a scientific attitude, helping in identification, spreading knowledge and bringing it within reach of a layman, and helping in the documentation of Indian Flora.”

Due to the success of the group, around Oct.’10, Efloraofindia (eFI in short) website was created & updated on daily basis, for documenting flora of India being discussed on efloraofindia google
e-group along with supplementing the working of the group. A species database has also been created here family wise & then followed genus wise. Intent of this database is compilation of all the posts on ‘efloraofindia’ e- group so that it’s useful to all concerned as all the data about a particular species will be available in a single species’ page & easily searchable. It is the largest database on net on Indian Flora with details of more than 8000 species (and with more than 1,60,000 pictures at efloraofindia e-group links).

In the coming future, he plans to add all plant species found in India either directly or through links along with their details. In addition, he wants to add around 1000 new species to efloraofindia website every year. In any case, he wants this hugely successful citizen science initiative to maintain its leadership position as the best resource on net on Indian Flora.

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PR World SparrowDay 2014 (1) (2MB Docx file as Media release)
Declaration of Wipro- NFS Sparrow Awards 2014:
PFA the Media release for Declaration of Wipro-NFS Sparrow Award. You can circulate this to your media contacts.

Contributions of efloraofindia are finally recognised & awarded.
Kudos & thanks to The Pillars, Moderators, Major contributors & other members who are rendering selfless service on the group. It is rather an award to all members of efloraofindia.

I am just one among all of you. This certainly is a proud moment for efloraofindia family for selfless services rendered by all its members.