About India's Nature: Monsoon Beauty -

Monsoon Beauty is a community science program organized by India’s Nature - A community science initiative - to encourage community/citizen scientists, novice & casual natural historians, and expert naturalists, especially those from rural India, to observe and record biodiversity during the monsoon season in India.

The program was first organized in July 2021, with a second edition in 2022. In 2022, in addition to general biodiversity, the program also focused on beetles (Beetle Mania 2022). In 2023, along with general biodiversity, the focus will be on beetles, orchids, and ferns, as well as exploring non-traditional habitats that are often overlooked.

For specific and complete details - schedule, events, awards, guidelines for Monsoon Beauty 2023 click on this link

About India’s Nature

India’s Nature: A community science initiative dedicated to biodiversity, addressing climate change, and natural history conservation and education, has been actively engaging in citizen and community science events since 2020. These events have multiple objectives, including:

1) Cultivating a deep appreciation for nature among participants.

2) Creating a supportive environment to nurture natural history educators and biodiversity leaders, especially women, from underprivileged rural communities.

3) Documenting biodiversity in relatively less explored areas.

India’s Nature is driven by a group of volunteers who lead and coordinate its activities. The initiative relies primarily on the personal resources of its founder-volunteers for funding and support, supplemented with some external contributions.

Some of the events organised by India’s Nature may be viewed on this link with some specific ones listed below :

1. Monsoon Beauty (2021 and 2022)
2. Nature in Winter 2021-22
3. Beetle Mania 2022
4. Local events organized by collaborating groups

We invite organizations, collectives, individuals to collaborate / partner with India’s Nature for the Monsoon Beauty 2023 events. We look forward to your support, guidance, and expertise. Kindly express your interest and share your details via this Collaboration Google Form.

Volunteers are also welcome to join. There is always work to be done and volunteers from any background are welcome. They can assist in organising walks, promoting the event, compile lists of natural history literature, aid in data analysis, help with Social Media work, help with design work etc. Certificates of participation will be presented to volunteers who actively contribute and engage in the events. Remarkable volunteers will receive natural history materials as a token of recognition for their contributions and preferences in future opportunities. To join as a volunteer kindly do share your details via Volunteer Google Form.

To learn more about the events or to express your interest in volunteering, kindly reach out to us at indias.nature.01@gmail.com.

We eagerly anticipate your presence at Monsoon Beauty 2023!

Sincerely,

Ramnarayan

Founder - India's Nature
&
The India’s Nature Team

Why beetles, orchids, and ferns?

The choice of these taxa is driven by a few factors:

• Interest from citizen scientists and natural historians in learning more about the life around them.
• The need to focus on organisms that do not normally receive great attention and require some effort to broaden observation processes and techniques.
• The opportunity to develop simple natural history information and material suitable for citizen scientists and other natural historians across education levels and languages.

There are many taxa that are all equally worthy of attention, but some have more support than others. Monsoon Beauty aims to raise interest in all biodiversity, but it also specifically seeks to draw attention to organisms that are not well-explored by citizen scientists or not academic natural history observers.

Last year's beetle mania event was a success, and it helped to increase interest in beetles and improve people's beetle observation skills. This year, we hope to build on that success by further exploring beetles, while also bringing attention to wild orchids and wild ferns. We believe that these taxa have the potential to capture people's imaginations and inspire them to learn more about the natural world.

Why Orchids ?

Orchids (Orchidaceae) are the second largest group of flowering plants globally, with approximately 28,000 accepted species. They come next to the Aster family (Asteraceae) with 32,000 species. Orchids possess distinctive evolutionary adaptations and inhabit various habitats. They establish symbiotic relationships with pollinators (birds, insects, mammals, etc.) and mycorrhizal fungi, relying on them for reproduction and nutrient absorption. Orchids' presence within an ecosystem indicates its overall health and functioning.

The specific requirements of orchids and their associations with other organisms make their documentation an interesting way to unravel the intricate network of natural interactions. Additionally, studying orchids allows community scientists and aspiring natural historians to appreciate the complexity and abundance of ecosystems. Orchids, as highly evolved flowering plants, provide a glimpse into the interdependencies that sustain diverse ecosystems.

Documenting orchids is vital for engaging community scientists in comprehending and monitoring the well-being of ecosystems. By observing and recording orchid populations, valuable insights may be gained regarding the complex interactions and interdependence among species within ecosystems. This involvement exposes observers to the intricacies of nature and may help foster greater interest in environmental stewardship.

The agenda of India's Nature: Monsoon Beauty - Orchid Odyssey 2023 aims to encourage the exploration of orchids due to their unique evolutionary adaptations, their role as indicators of ecosystem health, and the opportunity they provide to explore and understand complex natural interactions.

Some Orchid Statistics

1. 1256 orchid species recorded in India, 307 are endemic to our country, and only 11 species are protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
2. 10500 Species Worldwide

CitSci Documentation (and Projects)

The Biodiversity Atlas of India group does not, as yet, have a flora (or Orchid or Fern) section.

References / Sources

1. https://weather.com/en-IN/india/environment/news/2021-04-22-ecologist-jis-sebastian-on-how-orchids-act-as-climate-indicator
2. https://www.orchideen-wien.at/en/what-are-orchids-and-what-is-so-special-about-them/
3. https://www.orchidconservationcoalition.org/pdf/articles/orchidconservationrwls.pdf
4. WWF Traffuc India : Orchid Factsheet - https://www.traffic.org/site/assets/files/17878/final_orchid_factsheet-_2022.pdf
5. https://nrco.icar.gov.in/files/PDF/Orchid%20Diversity%20of%20India.pdf
6. https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/d6a0766fef2b47b199ef82ae7b778a86
7. https://www.wwfindia.org/?21122/protected-orchids-of-india

Why Ferns ?

Ferns are one of the oldest and most diverse groups of vascular plants on Earth, with a global count of approximately 12,000 species. (India has 1267 ferns and fern ally species recorded in India, including 70 endemics to our country). Ferns are often overlooked due to their lack of seasonality and dramatic flowering or fruiting phases, but they play a crucial role in ecological processes and have cultural and economic significance in some regions.

The Flora Fern-tastic 2023 event aims to draw attention to this remarkable group of plants and encourage a closer examination of their ancient lineage. By documenting ferns during India's Nature 2023 Monsoon Beauty Citizen Science Biodiversity documentation event, we hope to shed light on their ecological significance and raise awareness about their importance in our natural world.
Some Fern Statistics

• 1267 ferns and fern ally species recorded in India, 70 species are endemic to our country
• 28000 Species Worldwide in 763 genera

CitSci Documentation (and Projects)

The Biodiversity Atlas of India group does not, as yet, have a flora (or Orchid or Fern) section.

References / Sources

1. https://www.amerfernsoc.org/about-ferns
2. https://www.britannica.com/plant/fern
3. Wikipedia contributors. (2023, June 27). Fern. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 11:59, June 28, 2023, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fern&oldid=1162178605
4. Qian, Hong, Jian Zhang, and Mei-Chen Jiang. "Global patterns of fern species diversity: An evaluation of fern data in GBIF." Plant Diversity 44.2 (2022): 135-140. - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pld.2021.10.001
5. https://bsi.gov.in/page/en/pteridophytes

For More information

• or to volunteer;
• or to support the initiative
• or to organize a walk (or a talk)

Contact via

• email - indiasnature.01@gmail.com
• WhatsApp -(India's Nature) +91 70372 45201
• inaturalist message to @ram_k
• instagram : @indiasnature1

Posted on July 11, 2023 02:46 PM by ram_k