Workshop on camera trap, GIS and honey bee identification

RONO HILLS, 6 Mar: The Zoology department of the Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU) conducted a two days workshop on “camera trap, GIS and honey bee identification” for post graduate students and Ph.D. scholars, to expose them to modern tools and technology to study wildlife and basic keys for identification of honey bees.

While attending the programme, RGU vice chancellor prof. Saket Kushwaha urged the participants not only to learn about using the tools but also to think for improvising and manufacturing the tools to materialize the ‘Make-in-India’ initiative of the central government, by availing the start-up scheme.

RGU’s registrar Dr. N.T. Rikam said, “It is indeed a highly needed exposure to camera trap and GIS, which has wide application in different fields. It will instill a spirit to shoot wildlife with camera trap rather than with weapon,” he further said.

Dean faculty of life sciences prof. Sumpam Tangjang and head in-charge of zoology department Dr. Daniel Mize also spoke.

On the first day of the programme, Bangalore based Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF)’s scientist Dr. Sahil Nijhawan and his team taught about the application of camera trap in the study of wildlife and also trained the students about the know-how of the installation technique of camera trap in the field.

On the   second day, Scientist-G from Dehradun based Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS) Dr. SPS Kushwaha taught about use of GIS to analyze the suitability of a habitat for a wild life.

RGU assistant professor Dr. Hiren Gogoi trained the participants to identify honey bee using keys features of various species to understand the diversity of the effective pollinator.

The programme was attended by 42 students of the anthropology, mass communication, geography, botany and zoology departments of the RGU.

Earlier, the workshop begun with a voter’s pledge led by Dr. N.T. Rikam.