IITA Forest Center celebrated the day with representatives from 6 schools in Ibadan on 17 October. Students from American Christian Academy, Amao International School, St Teresa Secondary School, Ibadan International School, Kings Junior Academy, and the International School of IITA graced the occasion.
The students listened to key messages from UN representatives who echoed birds’ need for water as they migrate from coast to coast. Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) Executive Secretary Amy Fraenkel said, “During long and often difficult journeys, water habitats provide migratory birds with an essential source of hydration, food, and shelter.” African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) Executive Secretary Jacques Trouvilliez said, “Migratory birds rely on inland and coastal wetlands, rivers, marshes, and lakes at various stages of their migration circle.” They called on governments and all earth users to protect our increasingly threatened water bodies, which in turn threaten the existence of migratory birds who depend on them.
IITA Forest Center Field Supervisor Ademola Ajayi said, “Birds migrate for different reasons, including environmental threats, change in weather, climate change, drought, and increase in predators.” Birds play an important role as social agents, helping us socialize and appreciate nature. Birds also play an important ecosystem service; the scavengers clean our environment by feeding on dead animals.
The students, who had gained a deeper appreciation for nature, gave compelling presentations on water, birds, and their contribution to environmental conservation. One participant, concerned about the negative impact of birds who feed on seeds planted for food on farmlands, raised a cry for an effective and sustainable solution to the heartache these birds cause food farmers. IITA Field Supervisor Olukunle Olasupo responded, “Mounting scarecrows, reflective materials or disks, and bells to make consistent clanging sounds are various options to ward off birds from planted fields. Killing them should never be an option.”
Enjoy excerpts from poems on Water Sustaining Bird Life presented by the effervescent nature-loving students:
Water water, you are fresh.
Even though you are one word, you are still in need of a bird.
A bird helps me live. It makes me want to drive.
Amidst nature’s grandeur where wonders unfold.
They fly through the sky with effortless grace.
A testament to freedom, a joyful embrace.
So let us cherish nature, its birds and its charms.
For they remind us of life’s simple and purest forms.
A reminder that in nature, all worries seize.
Contributed by Folake Oduntan
Contributed by
Related news