Nisarg Vidnyan Mandalनिसर्ग विज्ञान मंडळ, नागपूर
ENमराठीहिंदी
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Dry deciduous forest of the Umred hills with a rocky stream, early morning.

Stand at the edge of the Muniya forest at dawn and you hear it before you see it. For 35 years we have worked beside the villages here, keeping their forests, rivers and farms alive.

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80G · 12A · FCRA · CSR-1 · NGO DARPAN registered

In 1991 a teacher took children out of the classroom and under the trees. Today the same idea helps 40 forest villages care for 9,385 hectares of their own forest.

Read our story

Eight ways we tend the forest

Each one grows from the same root: science, put in the hands of the people who live with the forest.

  1. Forest Rights & GovernanceHelping forest villages get legal rights over their forest, and look after it together.9,385 haof forest held by 40 villages under community forest rights
  2. Water & Natural ResourcesBringing water back to dry streams, wells and farm ponds, with village participation.15 lakh litresof rainwater held by 2 stone check dams after the first rain
  3. Natural FarmingHelping tribal and small farmers stop buying costly chemicals and make their own natural manure.113farmers reached directly
  4. Animal Welfare & Threatened SpeciesRescuing animals, caring for cattle, and protecting wildlife around NETRAVAN.30 cattleof 5 Indian breeds cared for at our goshala
  5. Women EmpowermentSkills, savings groups and income for women in tribal and nomadic families.150women trained, 12 of them started their own business
  6. Nature EducationA "School of Concepts" that takes learning outside the classroom, since 1991.60+students study at the Dnyandeep library at Besa
  7. Food & Nutrition SecurityForest food, fruit trees and nutrition advice, so families eat well all year.2005training for forest-produce collectors began
  8. NETRAVAN CampusOur own field campus, where the farm meets the forest.20,000+trees planted on NETRAVAN and community forest land

13 years of work. 96.01 km² protected.

The forests around Umred shelter tigers and leopards, and feed the villages around them with tendu, mahua and honey. NiViM stood with both.

After a 13-year effort with villages and the Forest Department, 96.01 sq km was officially declared the Muniya Conservation Reserve. Around it, Gram Sabhas now hold community forest rights, plan their own forest, and earn from it.

  • 96.01 km²officially declared the Muniya Conservation ReserveFY 2021-22
  • 9,385 haunder community forest rights, held by 40 villagesFY 2024-25
  • ₹734 a dayearned by tendu collectors, against about ₹300 under MGNREGSFY 2024-25
How forest rights work
Villagers seated under a shed, listening during a forest rights committee training.
Forest rights committee training at NETRAVAN.
Women and men of a Gram Sabha standing together on their community forest land.
Gram Sabha members on their community forest land.

Read our growth rings

A tree keeps every year in a ring. So do we. Choose a ring to see what changed on the ground that year.

1991the seed

FY 2024-25

  • 20,000+ plants planted
  • 9,385 ha under community forest rights in 40 villages
  • 90 acres moved to organic farming (52 farmers)
  • ₹16.73 lakh earned from tendu by 228 people

From NiViM's annual activity reports. See every report.

See the work up close

Every photograph here was taken in the field by our own team.

Bird watching with children during Nisarg Shala.
Bird watching with children during Nisarg Shala.
Women of an Umred village meet in their field.
Women of an Umred village meet in their field.
Langurs at a water point kept filled by our team in summer.
Langurs at a water point kept filled by our team in summer.
Laxmi, the first handicapped cow cared for at our goshala.
Laxmi, the first handicapped cow cared for at our goshala.
The reading hall at Dnyandeep Abhyasika, Besa.
The reading hall at Dnyandeep Abhyasika, Besa.
A herd of blackbuck at NETRAVAN.
A herd of blackbuck at NETRAVAN.

Recognised by those who have seen the work

  1. 2011National AwardNarotam Sekhsaria Foundation, Mumbai
  2. 2012Best NGO AwardNagpur Municipal Corporation
  3. 2014Vasundhara Samman PuraskarKirloskar Foundation, Pune
  4. 2018Environment NGO AwardReady 2 Initiative Worldwide Forum, with RGNIPM Nagpur and CII New Delhi
  5. 2024Special Guest, Republic Day ParadeAfter the work was recognised in "Mann Ki Baat"

Supported by

  • Bharat Agroecology Fund
  • Global Greengrants Fund
  • HDFC Bank
  • Western Coalfields Limited
  • Rotary Club of Nagpur
  • Lasenor
  • Ankur
  • Government of Maharashtra
  • Directorate of Agro Tourism, Maharashtra

It started under the trees.

Nisarg Shala began as a Sunday nature school at Shahu Garden, Nagpur. Dr. Vijay Ghugey called it a "School of Concepts": children learned by seeing and doing. That root still feeds everything we do.

Sepia photograph of children seated under trees with their teachers.
Nisarg Shala in its early years.
  1. 1991Nisarg Shala, a Sunday nature school, starts under the trees at Shahu Garden, Nagpur.
  2. 1992Registered as a society and a public trust in Wardha.
  3. 1997Eco-friendly festival campaign begins in Nagpur.
  4. 2005Forest produce and tribal livelihood work begins.
  5. 2009NETRAVAN campus is established at Khapari (Davha).
  6. 2014Biodiversity Management Committees set up in 32 Gram Panchayats.
  7. 2017Dnyandeep library opens at Besa.
  8. 2020State Wildlife Board approves the Muniya Conservation Reserve, proposed by NiViM in 2007.
  9. 2021Muniya Conservation Reserve officially declared on 11 May. Forest rights committees begin.
  10. 20229,885 hectares of forest land allotted to Gram Sabhas of 45 villages.
  11. 2024Invited as a Special Guest at the Republic Day Parade, New Delhi.

What holds us up

A registered society and public trust since 1992. Every certificate a funder asks to see, in one place.

All 12 registrations
Societies Registration Act, 1860MH/49/92(W)
Income Tax 12AE20084 / 2026-27
Income Tax 80GF20215 / 2026-27
FCRA (foreign contributions)83870218
CSR-1, Ministry of Corporate AffairsCSR00005067
NGO DARPAN, NITI AayogMH/2018/0220070

Help this forest grow its next ring.

Picture these hills a generation from now: streams that still run in May, farms that feed the families who work them, and children who know every bird by name. That future is planted now, by the people who choose to stand with it.

  • Give as an individual

    Your gift is eligible for tax benefit under 80G. NRIs and foreign donors can give under our FCRA registration.

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  • Partner through CSR or a grant

    CSR-1 registered (CSR00005067). Choose a programme, and we will show you exactly where your support takes root.

    Partner with us

  • Give your time

    Join a nature camp, a field survey, or teach at Dnyandeep. Bring what you are good at.

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