.FEST: Nature, art trails captivate audience

Bhubaneswar: While the city is gripped with the hockey fever and the enthralling party atmosphere created by the .FEST (Bhubaneswar City Festival), 18 nature lovers joined for the latest morning escapade to Nandana Kanan Biological Park as a part of the city festival.

Popularly known as Nandankanan Park Walk, this nature trail includes a guided tour through the conservatory, enabling the participants to witness the unsung heroes and the roles they play to conserve a plethora of remarkable biodiversity at the famous Nandankanan Biological Park.

Bhubaneswar Nature Walk with its two-pronged approach aims to conduct two walks on Saturday and Sunday at Nandankanan Biological Park and Chandaka Wildlife Reserve respectively. However, Nandankanan Park Walk today as a part of the .FEST saw a surprising diversity of audience including journalists, architects and food bloggers from different parts of the country.

Designed to encourage community participation and to educate the masses regarding the ‘behind-the-scene’ of the zoo management, the walk has seen a warm response from the city dwellers and tourists alike.

The open-air aviary left the wildlife enthusiasts awestruck by a visual feast of the kaleidoscopic range of birds.  From a close up view of the feeding centre to the Veterinary Centre, the walkers were startled by the excellent efforts of the zookeepers add the wide array of animals like the Asiatic Lion and Royal Bengal Tiger.

Young visitors were inspired by the exemplary work done towards the conservation and propagation of some endangered species.

Nandankanan Park Walk is an initiative by Bhubaneswar Development Authority and curated by Playbook to encourage the understanding of the role of community in the preservation of nature.