Forest Research Institute, Dehradun

Blog: Forest Research Institute, Dehradun

The Forest Research Institute (FRI), a tourist and educational destination, is located in the picturesque city of Dehradun and is encircled by lush forests. This educational center, one of Dehradun's top tourist destinations, is recognized for its breathtaking beauty, diverse flora, and magnificent architecture.

Like any other travel enthusiast's, I began my voyage with a bit of excitement. I was eager to visit as many tourist attractions as I could at first.

This is how the first year went, but eventually, life started to take its own course. I had the chance to travel to various mountain ranges, including the Himalayas, the Aravali, and the Satpura Hills. Nonetheless, I was completely unaware of my strong bond with the forest.

MP Tourism deserves credit for providing me with numerous opportunities to see the state's stunning and spectacular national parks. I had the opportunity to enjoy the forest while touring Kanha & Panna National Park. I didn't know the forest had trees that stated mother earth, dirt, and martial on them, giving it a peculiar smile. That is incredible and magical. My visit to the top national parks of MP like Pench National Park, Madhav National Park, Panna National Park, Sanjay-Dubri National Park, and Kanha National brought me close to the nature. And that's how the forest captures my heart.

Prior to going there, I had no knowledge of the purpose of national parks. These parks are there to preserve the ecosystem. A national park preserves the natural habitats of its plants, animals, and landscapes. India has a wide variety of wildlife. I had no clue of all these amazing things.

When we encounter something in forest that seems miraculous and magnificent, we feel this as a tremendous feeling that affects both our body and mind. It gives us the feeling of being small in a vast world, challenges our perceptions of time and scale, and enables us to genuinely be in the present. Awe can improve our well-being in a variety amazing ways, including through fostering social connections, igniting our curiosity, fostering our creativity, and easing worry and sadness. You and your family will be "wowed" by the extraordinary natural features found in national parks.

I used to ponder the preservation of these woodlands and who was responsible for their upkeep as I made my way through the forest. This is a question I ask myself all the time.

I had no idea that Dehradun had a prominent institution that had been there since 1908 until I got there.

When I first arrived in Dehradun, the FRI's famous edifice struck my eye right away. Residents of Dehradun have been unconcerned about it for the past 100 years. Maybe half of them are not aware that this esteemed institution is one of Asia's best forestry institutions.

To learn more about the magnificent forests that exist in our country, I decided to bring my student to the institute. I planned to visit this facility on Saturday. They have five museums.

There are various entryways into the forest research institute. The campus is enormous and spans a large area.

We started by visiting the photo gallery, which contains ten intricate galleries.

These galleries contain images and significant records pertaining to the founding of this institute. Because this exhibit provides a thorough tour of this institution, I would advise everyone to see it before visiting FRI.

I spent an hour exploring this photo show before continuing to FRI's main building. it has those iconic long corridors. The building is majestic.

One of the oldest organizations of its sort is the Forest Research Institute in Dehradun. The history of the institute is essentially connected with the advancement and development of scientific forestry throughout the entire subcontinent, not just in India. The institute's main edifice, with a plinth area of 2.5 hectares, was constructed over 450 hectares with the outer Himalaya serving as its backdrop. It combines Greco-Roman and Colonial architectural styles.

The structure was once recognized as the largest brick building in the world by the Guinness Book of Records. For undertaking forestry research, the institute has a developed infrastructure that includes fully functional laboratories, a library, a herbarium, an arboretum, a printing press, and experimental field sites. It is located on the Dehradun-Chakrata road, 7 km from the Clock Tower. It is India's largest training facility based in a forest. This institute is attended by the majority of forest officials. A botanical museum is in the FRI building, where a wide variety of trees from throughout the country are on display.

History

Sir Dietrich Brandis established it in 1864 as the British Imperial Forest School. German-British botanist and forestry professor and administrator Sir Dietrich Brandis (31 March 1824 – 28 May 1907) spent over 30 years working in colonial India with the British Imperial Forestry Service. He began his career in the British civil service in Burma in 1856 and soon after became leadership of the country's whole British forestry administration. From 1864 until 1883, he was India's Inspector General of Forests. Under the British Imperial Forestry Service, it was revived in 1906 as the Imperial Forest Research Institute.

He made a fantastic contribution to Indian forestry management.

Brandis began his 20-year tenure as India's Inspector General of Forests in 1864. He helped create institutes for training and research as well as new forest regulations. He established the Imperial Forest School in Dehradun. In 1878, Brandis was made a Companion of the Indian Empire, and in 1887, he was elevated to the rank of Knight Commander in the same order.

The sacred forests on the Shevaroys, the Swami Shola on the Yelagiris, the sacred grove at Pudur on the Javadis, the Devarakadus of Coorg, the Garo and Khasia hills, which Brandis visited in 1879, the sacred groves in Rajputana and Kans (woodlands) of Mysore, the Garo and Khasia hills, the Devarakadus of Coorg in 1868, and the hill ranges of the Salem district. He was one of the first in India to formally connect local people's welfare with forest preservation. Also, he developed an interest in Indian trees in general as well as the forest flora of northwest and central India. At the age of 75, Brandis began his major botanical study, Indian Trees, which deals with 4400 species. Brandis continued to work on Indian forestry even after his retirement.

The Forest Research Institute (FRI) Dehradun was first located at Chandhbagh, which is now the site of the Doon School, when it was founded in 1906 as the Imperial Forest Research Institute. By 1923, the current campus' much larger counterpart was bought. The new buildings' construction then started. The main edifice, designed by C.G. Blomfield in the style of Greco-Roman architecture, was dedicated in 1929 by viceroy Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon. A national heritage site, it is presently.

Museum

FRI has six extra ordinary museums. Every day from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm, the museum is open. There is a small admission fee for vehicles as well as a 40 Rupees  per person entrance cost. The museum is divided into six sections:

·       Pathology Museum

·       Social Forestry Museum

·       Silviculture Museum

·       Timber Museum

·       Non-Wood Forest Products Museum

·       Entomology Museum

 

Pathology Museum

900 exhibits of various economically significant tree diseases and timber decays are housed in the Forest Pathology Museum.

 

Non-Wood Forest Products Museum

The newly created rill method for resin tapping is contrasted with the traditional resin tapping process in a museum presentation. A special collection includes samples of bamboo species from all around the world as well as turpentine oil and rosin. Samples of mining forest products including katha, cutch, lac products, essential oils, edibles, fatty oils, spices, medicines, tans, gums, etc. are also included in the exhibits. Walking sticks, batons, sporting goods, paper, matches, baskets, and items made from grasses, leaves, flosses, etc. are displayed in the exhibitions.

 

Entomology Museum

Around 3,000 exhibits in this museum showcase the different stages of insect pests and the types of harm they may do to seed, seedlings, standing trees, felled timbers, bamboos, and finished goods. The order of the exhibits is based on the plant genera. Important forestry pests like the sal heart-wood borer, the teak defoliator, the Meliaceae shoot borer, the poplar defoliator, the deodar defoliator, the sissoo defoliator, and the babul stem and root borer have been illustrated, along with their biology, life histories, and types of damage, as well as control measures.

 

There are also displays of several insecticides and the tools used to apply them. A description of the life history of termites and methods for preventing them is quite instructive. Several types of commercial timber have been ranked based on how well they resist termites.

 

Silviculture Museum

It offers an overview of the evolution of forests, their genesis and growth, threats to forests, and various dioramas showing forests in tropical and temperate regions, sylviculture systems, ecosystem services, and sustainable forest management. Together with several representations of how forests work and operate, it also displays diverse samples of seeds, roots, barks, and other plant parts.

 

Through imaginatively created informational panels, the Silviculture Museum Gallery highlights the development of forestry in India, the value of forests, and threats to forests like deforestation, forest fires, shifting cultivation, invasive plants, unfavorable climatic conditions, insect pests, and diseases. Together with the creation & execution of working plans for organized forest management, it also celebrates achievements in forestry.

 

Timber Museum

The most well-known and popular commercial woods are on display at the Timber Museum. Visitors can get a sense of these woods' qualities by looking at the 126 commercially significant species that are displayed along the exhibition walls. While the upper half of the planks has been oiled with linseed oil to emphasize the characteristics of the timber, the lower portions have been left in their original state. Photographs of the trees whose planks are displayed and miniature maps showing their distribution in India hang above the planks. The translucent photomicrographs in a different scenario display the common Indian Woods' microscopic structure.

About 16 liters of water are present in one cubic foot of green wood sample, which needs to be seasoned. Following seasoning, the wood still contains a sizable amount of water (2.7 litres). Without proper seasoning, wood can develop flaws including warping, cracking, and twisting. On exhibit are a number of models that depict various air seasoning, steam seasoning, and sun kiln seasoning processes.

The use of short dimensional timbers for large span trusses illustrates timber engineering approaches. Using various patterns and woods, cabinet designing is presented. Yet the main draw is a cross-section of a 704-year-old Deodar tree that was cut down in 1919 from the highlands of U.P. Reading the annual rings allows one to clearly identify the natural and climatic phenomena. This exhibit is highly intriguing since it depicts Indian history from the time Qutub Minar was built to the Jalianwala Bagh event. Another item is a 330-year-old teak section. Specimens of walnut and padauk burrs (outgrowths on the stem) are also of interest.

Plywood, laminated wood, composite wood, bamboo boards, and diaper are used often and affordably, and bamboo and wooden springs for furniture and other items are presented. For diverse end purposes, the mechanical characteristics of various timbers are compared. There is a gun carriage wheel fashioned from Andaman Padauk, Shisham, and rosewood.

 

Conclusion

One of the most popular tourist destinations in Dehradun is the Forest Research Institute, or FRI. I would strongly advise naturalists, explorers, and lovers of the outdoors to visit this location. For pupils who adore the forest, this site is comparable to Macca for them.

I'd want to offer you some advice before you make travel arrangements to FRI:

This is the most esteemed forestry educational and research institute. When you go there, please be respectful. In museums, food and photography are not allowed. respect that.

The goal of this space is to learn while having fun. If you are not looking for something serious, kindly stay away.

 

Thank you for reading.

Dr. Kaynat Kazi

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