Meet A G Anil Kumar, the humanitarian building homes for 40k birds in Ananthapuram, spending 23 lacs

There is never enough when it comes to doing something for the earth we live and breathe on. And, while you cannot cover the whole planet at once, it is the small steps that make a difference. Keeping close to the heart the need for a better living environment, AG Anil Kumar has put forth numerous initiatives that made him stand class apart in the Ananthapuram district of Andhra Pradesh. In one of his recent endeavors, he is seeking to provide a home to the displaced birds in Ananthapuram. Led by social activist Anil Kumar, youngsters and volunteers from the region have been fixing nests in trees across the town for the past two weeks.

According to the State of India’s Bird 2020 (SoIB) reports, several spectacular birds, many of them endemic to the sub-continent, are facing a growing threat from loss of habitat because of human activities like predominantly cutting of trees by people in the area. It is even done by the government for road construction In fact, areas like Ananthapuram too lost over 1150 trees in merely the last 100 days consequencing in the decrease of the town’s green cover. In order to overcome this, the idea of ‘Green Ananthapuram’ was born, where the town citizens pledged to plant more and protect the existing trees. After this initiative, looking at the growing need for saving the bird population philanthropist and social activist Anil Kumar Reddy rolled out his endeavor of Home For Birds, investing 23 lakhs in the project, to not only give the birds a safe habitat but also inspire the youth to keep special care of our environment and its creatures.
Anil’s group, Discover Ananthapuram, is putting coir-made nests in the trees and in the residential facilities so that the birds do not find it difficult to survive in the urban conditions. They source their coir-made nests all across from Kerala, Coimbatore, and Kanyakumari where approximately 5 women make them daily and distribute them among the volunteers and bird lovers free of cost. These nests are ideal for saving sparrows and other small birds that visit the houses in the region from extinction. Studies have found that coir bird nests are a great nesting alternative for birds, rather than other man-made structures. All the volunteers are visiting every home and asking the homeowners to install the nests in the trees or any other habitable area. This initiative has found its roots in the awareness camps organized in schools. They have already distributed more than 30000nests already and are looking forward to finishing the project as soon as possible.
Talking about this initiative, AG Anil Kumar shares, “Like every other creature on the planet, birds are also a crucial part of the Earth’s biological diversity and ecological balance. In modern times, the increasing rate of urbanization and environmental contamination is taking a toll on the bird population. Through the Home For Birds initiative, my goal is to make people aware of the importance of bird conservation for the wellbeing of our planet. It will also motivate the young population of the country to pay attention to the creatures of the sky and take care of them.”
The entire project is self-funded by the social activist and he is taking the help of all the local bird lovers to make this project successful. He also says that they are currently running a digital awareness campaign on their social media page and anyone who is interested in taking part in their project can contact them over social media. A G Anil Kumar also plans on teaching all the interested individuals how to build the nests as soon as he has completed building 40,000 nests and found a plane in the Harvard book of world records London for the fastest execution of manmade nests made out of natural coir.As India’s bird population crisis is getting bigger over the years, Anil Kumar is aspiring to spread his Home For Bird initiative all over the state to encourage the younger population in bird protection and conservation.