THE CROAK is a weekly environmental newsletter put out by the eCoexist team. It is the voice of the environment on its last legs, the final croak that can either be a plea for attention or a call of triumph as the frogs jump out of the well of ignorance and denial.

During the recent COVID 19 lockdown, eCoexist began a series of web talks called REVIVE - as a way to reconnect with self, with community and with Nature. These talks started as chats between friends to see how we were going to work towards a new normal and to find a way to envision a different future. Slowly, our audience grew to include more people and the discussions to cover various aspects of Sustainability and Self. 

Manasi Karandikar and Ketaki Ghate set up their firm Oikos nearly 20 years ago, with a focus on ecological restoration. Having studied with Prof Prakash Gole at the Ecological Society, they set out to educate Indians about the need to restore ecosystems and habitats. Pioneers in their field, the duo have won many accolades for their path breaking work.

In this episode of REVIVE they speak about the relevance of ecosystems conservation and restoration to public health. Drawing links between the current pandemic and the degradation of ecosystems they will walk us through what it would take to rebuild our natural world to protect our own health.

When Oikos began, there was very little awareness among policy makers, urban planners, architects and landscape designers about the need for ecological conservation and awareness, let alone the lay public. Manasi and Ketaki decided to start their firm as a for profit company, that would offer services to land owners and help them manage the habitat on their land. Ecological restoration is a process that involves time, and one needs to recognise the value of allowing natural ecosystems to rejuvenate with minimal intervention. 

How did the team convince people about the worth of choosing to restore landscapes?

When tree plantation become more popular, the Oikos team started to speak to people about the importance of planting native species of plants. The work of Oikos on biodiversity conservation extends to many different aspects of research, study and documentation, training and awareness raising. 

Watch a film here that they made on traditional knowledge of communities in Maharashtra. 

Is the current pandemic a result of bidoversity loss? How so? Isnt the virus itself a part of the biodiversity - how does it evolve to cause so much damage to humans? How can we look for solutions to our health and immunity in the diversity of species around us? And finally how do we change this entire paradigm so that it values and protects ecoystems?

While there are no easy answers, during the REVIVE talks, we have been exploring different aspects of the mainstream paradigm, to see what could change and how. Manasi and Ketaki will present to us an ecological approach to rebuilding our world.  

Every Sunday between 4 to 6 pm, we welcome you to connect with us through the REVIVE talks, that is bringing together a fantastic community of sensitive and brilliant people, with whom we can co create a new future. 

The talks are free for registration and have ample time and space for a deep and authentic conversation with the speaker. Some of our guests are otherwise difficult to reach as they live and work in remote locations and so these are precious opportunities to hear from them in person. 

You are invited to a Zoom webinar. 

Date : 26 July 2020 Sunday
Time: 4 to 6 pm
Title: Ecological restoration: Relevance to Pandemics
Speakers: Manasi Karandikar and Ketaki Ghate

Register FREE here !
https://kisan.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4cLRwDNeTYujzBcQqBcmRg

On 19 July, we launched a new initiative, the REVIVE support network to collect funds for authentic work done by various NGOS on issues of sustainability. We invite our esteemed speakers to recommend a deserving group that needs financial support. Participants of the talk are invited to send small ( or large!) amounts to the eCoexist foundation over the next few days. This contribution is gathered and then sent as a collective sum to the organisation identified by the speaker. 

On 19 July we raised RS 20,000 which was sent to the Grama Vikas group in Mulbagal, Karnataka on the guidance of our speaker S Vishwanath who knows their work closely.

We will continue this effort for all the upcoming speakers. Participants can pay as little as Rs 100 to contribute. 

The registration for the REVIVE talks is FREE and the organisers and speakers both offer their time and energy in creating these talks voluntarily. 

The REVIVE support network allows for all of us to enable authentic work on the ground to help our country and its people through this crisis and to protect our natural resources. We welcome you to join our efforts. 

The Croak is a weekly environmental newsletter put out by the eCoexist team. It is the voice of the environment on its last legs, the final croak that can either be a plea for attention or a call of triumph as the frogs jump out of the well of ignorance and denial. Satirical, urgent and wise the newsletter brings to your attention, topics of global environmental relevance as well as emerging encouraging alternatives. Put together by a team of passionate Nature lovers, The Croak hopes to look at the environmental crisis in its face. It is a tool to reconnect readers to Nature, through questioning and self reflection. To understand the outer environment as a reflection of our own inner state, individually and as a species. And to take responsibility for enabling change.
If you would like to contribute articles on ecology consciousness and sustainability please get in touch with us.

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