Page 57 - Annual Report_2

KNOW YOUR PET

10th December 2020 until
Date

date

Project Type Club Project

Rtr. Janani Alwis
Chairpersons

Rtr. Chalani Peiris

As our society lacks knowledge on issues related to pets, this project “Know Your Pet”, was initiated

with the main idea of acknowledging the public on responsible pet caring and public health issues

when taking care of pets. Due to the pandemic situation, this project was conducted on an online

platform followed by two webinars and a newly created Facebook page. The webinars were

conducted by qualified professionals in the field and they included discussions on animal welfare,

and many more public health issues related to dogs and cats, followed by topics that people are not

much aware of when handling exotic pets including rabbits, fish, guinea pigs, tortoises. In addition to

this, in these sessions the public was made aware of the basic knowledge that people should have

when handling injured wildlife animals. Through the live Q & A sessions, the audience was given a

chance to clarify their doubts regarding the discussions and to ask questions they had in their mind,

related to pets.

To ensure the sustainability of this project, a Facebook page was created, to give a chance to the

undergraduates to enhance their creativity, share their knowledge, and the public to enjoy and gain

knowledge from these posts. Within several months, the page was loved by so many people, and the

articles posted were reached very well. People who need emergency advice on pet related issues are

also advised clearly by qualified veterinarians through our Facebook page. It is believed that this

project brought welfare to both animals and humans alike.

(IN)ORGANIC

Date May 21st, 2021

Project Type Club Project

Chairpersons Rtr. Minoli Dharmasekara

Secondary Avenue Raising Awareness

More than a month ago, the Sri Lankan government decided to ban the import of fertilizer,

insecticide and weedicide citing that there has not been a qualitative growth in local agriculture even

at the cost of long-term inorganic fertilizer usage. It was a sensitive matter for most engaged in

agriculture. Sri Lanka, as a nation that has never thought before to keep the first strategic step

towards organic farming, the need to boost a comprehensive dialogue within the society on the pros

and cons of such a national policy became salient.

Hence project (IN)ORGANIC was launched to address the myths related to inorganic fertilizer,

environment degradation, and conservation while calling upon all responsible authorities to

reconsider their stratagem, realizing the status of current organic fertilizer products within the

country. We also focused on awakening agricultural stakeholders about the potential challenges they

might face in the future. Our failure to figure out the actual picture may cause great blunders;

therefore, it is always better to be kept aware during all times.

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