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Black-necked stilt
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
On Sunday mornings over the past year, when most of the city was fast asleep, a group of students quietly ventured out for peaceful strolls armed with cameras in their hands. Their stop is Krishnampathy Lake.
The lake, originally constructed by the Cholas to prevent flooding from excess water in the Noyyal, serves as home to a variety of flora and fauna. The wetland is also a crucial stopover for several migratory birds, especially between the months of October and February, making it one of India’s best birdwatching destinations.
The team
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
The students of class IX to 12 from Yuvabharathi Public School, representing the photography club Shutterbugs of set out on an ambitious project – to document the bird species at the lake. ‘Project Birds of Krishnampathy Lake’ was born out of this collective ambition of the students. Within one year, this dedicated team of students, guided by Sathish Ramamoorthy, founder of TREE, an NGO, successfully identified and documented nearly 106 bird species of the 222 bird species mentioned in the eBird portal. Geetha Jayachandran, Principal of the school says that the students actively took the initiative to work on the project all by themselves.
The students, awed by the pristine front of the lake and captured images of migratory, native, and resident birds. As they immersed themselves deeper into the project and ventured further down towards the rear side of the lake, they discovered another sight, a sight of utter destruction.
Krishnampathy Lake supports a variety of flora and fauna
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Here, the water was dark, murky, and contaminated with organic matter – styrofoam, thermocol, and plastics were found in heaps, posing a hazard to aquatic animals, birds, cattle and stray dogs. And the B stench from sewage dumped in the lake. The students collected water samples from the lake and sent it for laboratory testing. The findings revealed that the lake exhibits high levels of BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand), COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand), higher Iron and Manganese ion, and higher levels of turbidity than normal.
Geetha recounts, “The sight of plastics and irresponsible dumping of waste, liquor bottles, stench and filth initially shocked our students. However, their cameras continued to capture all that their eyes saw. What began as a photography project extended to an awareness initiative, as our students got worried about the destruction of the pristine lake’s ecosystem.”
Purple moorhen
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
They documented their findings in the form of a book titled The Loud Silence, which features a collection of images from this birding project. Geetha adds, “The students stretched beyond their comfort zone, and walked the path with resilience and conviction. Our students not only captured pictures but also captured hope of a revival of this beautiful lake. The outcome is this book.”
In a bid to conserve the lake, and promote environmental responsibility, the young volunteers further led an awareness campaign and distributed pamphlets to local residents. Officials from the Corporation, as well as the Forest Department supported the students.
Further, the students also explored the wild in Bandipur as well, to capture exclusive moments of animals.
A collection of images from Bandipur and Krishnampathy Lake will be displayed at Yuvabharathi School Auditorium on June 17. The exhibition will also feature the launch of the book, The Loud Silence
Published – June 18, 2025 04:24 PM is
