BANGALORE: Three months ago, they came up with the idea of a Gubbi Goodu, a home for sparrows, and today Biodiversity Conservation India Private Limited’s (BCIL) Zed Foundation has helped save 600 families of sparrows.Nearly ten thousand sparrow homes were designed to be freely distributed in homes and offices to save the disappearing sparrow population in the city. On March 20, 2011, also known as the World House Sparrow Day, Gubbi Goodu, the campaign, began. Over the course of the next three months, they distributed sparrow homes across the city and set up help desks at malls to create more awareness. Companies like Microsoft and Infosys also helped the campaign by distributing these sparrow homes amongst their employees. As part of these companies’ Corporate Social Responsibility initiative, they are doing their bit to save the sparrow population.In order to accommodate more birds in one sparrow home, BCIL-ZED foundation changed the design from a vertical model to a horizontal one. The newly designed sparrow home can host three birds while the previous model could accommodate only one. These sparrow homes can be hung in balconies, the verandah of your home, or even a tree near your house. What these birds need is some food and water which can be kept in these sparrow homes. They need a nesting place to feel secure in an environment that has changed drastically for them. “One of the reasons for the disappearing sparrow population is the receding green cover in the city,” said Dr Harish, AGM, People Relations, BCIL. Doing their bit to increase the green cover, BCIL has started a seed ball campaign where people are encouraged to scatter seeds on vacant land. They have also started an urban farming initiative to encourage people to grow their own vegetables.When asked about considering this initiative as a business venture, BCIL said that this was not a business initiative and that they were not searching for any return on investment for this project. In the future, in order to take this campaign forward, BCIL is engaged in talks with educational institutions to introduce this campaign amongst students. The intention is to bring back as many birds as possible. As a Bangalorean, if you would like to contribute towards this initiative, all you have to do is pick up a Sparrow House by calling 8431848224.
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