Jetwing Vil Uyana opens Community Wildlife Education Centre and Library in Sigiriya
Jet wing Hotels recently launched the Community Wildlife Education Centre and Library at Rangirigama Monastery in Sigiriya, the first public library in the area under Jetwing Vil Uyana’s Conservation Fund.
The initiative is aimed at creating opportunities to educate the local youth and enabling the community to acquire a better understanding of wildlife and conservation, which will be further strengthened through workshops and educational programmes.
Over 2,000 books have been already collected for the library through Jetwing’s associates, guests and other supporters while more books are expected to be collected for the library.
The man-made wetland habitat at Jetwing Vil Uyana over a decade has been home to numerous wildlife species including 80 species of birds, 17 species of mammals, 36 species of butterflies and 21 species of amphibians while it has become widely popular among tourists as one of the best places to see slender Grey Loris in the wild.
Accompanied by its Assistant Manager Chaminda Jayasekara, The Loris Night Trail at Jetwing Vil Uyana offers unique opportunity for its guests to catch sight of a small yet significant rarity, the Grey Slender Loris. From this experience, a portion of the proceeds go the Conservation Fund in order to sustain their efforts in preserving this agrarian land and helping the community.
As another initiative to raise awareness about the various facets of the Loris, Environmentalist and author Chaminda Jayasekara presented the second instalment of his book ‘Dry Zone Slender Loris: A photographic educational guide’. After 1,300 days in the field Jayasekara has procured his second educational guide with a more refined perspective of Loris behavioural patterns and new photographs for readers to enjoy.
Speaking at the occasion, Jetwing Hotels Chairperson Shiromal Cooray said: “Jetwing has always been committed to improving the community through awareness and education, and we hope the Wildlife Education Centre and Library will be another stepping stone towards making this society an even better place.”
In congratulating Jayasekara on the launch of the second instalment the book, Cooray said: “We truly hope this enables the younger generation in this area to learn not only about wildlife conservation but various other important aspects. We are as always, immensely proud of Chaminda and his constant efforts to uncover and understand this unique animal. We believe this second edition with new insights will help create more appreciation for the Grey Slender Loris.”
Jetwing Vil Uyana spans across 28 acres; four acres of land is used to grow paddy using traditional and organic harvesting methods while three acres have been used for vegetable farming; five acres consist entirely of the man-made lakes and the balance 17 acres of land includes the forested land with distinct native species attracted to the area.
The property brought Jetwing into the spotlight as leading luxury eco resort for its sustainability practices and its unique eco friendly design. Vil Uyana has been a recipient of global recognition and awards including becoming Sri Lanka’s Leading Boutique Hotel at the World Travel Awards from 2011 to 2015 and the Global Luxury Wildlife Resort at the World Luxury Hotel Awards in 2015.
Vil Uyana which launched in 2006 will celebrate its 12 year anniversary on 28th this month.