Baripada: Students of SSD Girls' High School of Singarpur recently went on a tour to the Similipal Wildlife Sanctuary to learn about forests, waterfall, trees and nurseries there.

Twenty Class-IX students and hostel inmates of the school were taken on a tour by the forest officials at the sanctuary. The assistant conservator of forests, Batakrushna Padhi, the headmistress of the school and other officials of the forest department took part in the tour. The officials were headed by Gudgudia range officer, Himansu Kumar Satua.

The group of students were taken into the sanctuary through the Kaliani gate and they returned by the same route, said an official of the forest department. They were served breakfast and lunch.

Students were shown the waterfall at Aluakuda and the pine forest. They were also shown trees that were two century old, eco-tourism cottage at Kumari and the orchid nursery inside the sanctuary in the buffer zone.

Similipal Wildlife Sanctuary has two trees which are more than 300-year-old. One is a sal tree having a height of about 150feet and another a champak tree which is about 120feet tall. "Both the trees are more than 300 years old. They are strong and standing tall even after battling natural calamities. There is a story behind the sal tree. About 100 years ago, the then monarch of Mayurbhanj had leased the forest area of Similipal to a prominent timber firm known as Baruah company to cut trees. While cutting the sal tree with their saws, the workers saw a red coloured fluid oozing out from the tree. They got scared and stopped cutting the tree after informing their manager. In the same night two of the wood cutters died. Since then no one touched the tree," assistant conservator of forests, Batakrushna Padhi said. Authorities have developed a pine forest and a orchid nursery inside the buffer zone.

Jasoda Naik, a student, said: "It was a wonderful experience for us. We were not aware of many things about the biosphere here."

"Similipal is nature's paradise. Sixty-three varieties of orchids can be seen in the Orchidium (the nursery) and some of them are rare. In Kumari eco-tourism complex, there are 14 cottages, including 2 bamboo manchans and there are 7 cottages, including one machan in Gudgudia," said the divisional forest officer, Prasanna Kumar Behera.

"The students were told about the flora and fauna under the Gudugudia range and role of the local residents and eco development committee in its conservation and protection," said Gudgudia range officer Himanu Kumar Satua.