CREW organised the Central Indian Highlands Wildlife Film Festival 2012 in Bhopal, the capital of the central Indian State of Madhya Pradesh on the theme 'Tiger Habitat’. The festival was divided into two phases.

The first phase of the festival began with a Kids for Tigers march in collaboration with Sanctuary Asia, followed by a 3-day-long orientation-programme cum workshop at the Nartional Institute of Technical Teacher's' Training and Research, Bhopal, the Van Vihar National Park, Bhopal and the Satpura Tiger Reserve, Hoshangabad on January 27,28 and 29,2012.

There was a huge turnout of school students, who joined the 'Kids for Tigers' rally in Bhopal on January 27 to raise their voice for the cause of tigers. Students from more than half a dozen schools marched on the road from Palash Residency Hotel to Polytechnic square at rush hour and converged at Priyadarshini Park, where they took part in a rally addressed by the state Chief Wildlife Warden Dr. H.S. Pabla. Kids for Tigers, Bhopal along with CREW organised the event to carry forward the spirit of wildlife conservation and awareness about the importance of saving the tiger and its forests.

On the first day of the workshop the participants from Asian College of Journalism (Chennai), Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication (Pune), People's University (Bhopal) and Makhanlal National University of Journalism (Bhopal) attended an introductory session at National Insitute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research. This was followed by a visit to Van Vihar National Park in Bhopal. The next day, all the participants were taken to Churna in Satpura Tiger Reserve (a five-hour road journey from Bhopal). The participants had the opportunity of experiencing a forest first-hand, interacting with the forest-officers and junior staff, filming their respective documentaries/short-films with valuable inputs and interviews by forest-staff and the villagers of the park-periphery.

The second phase of the festival comprised of a panel discussion, a film-panorama of renowned wildlife documentaries as well as participating films of the festival, and a valedictory & prize-distribution function,  The 2-day event was inaugurated by the state Forest Minister Sartaj Singh on February 26, 2012. The inaugural ceremony, followed by the panorama section and a panel discussion was held at Regional Museum of Natural History auditorium. The Leader of the Opposition in Madhya Pradesh Assembly was the chief guest at the veledictory function  held at National Museum of Natural History on February 27, 2012. The Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan could not attend the closing ceremony as he was indisposed.

The wildlife wing of Madhya Pradesh Forest Department, Environmental Planning and Coordination Organisation (EPCO), Madhya Pradesh Ecotourism Development Board (MPEDB), Sanctuary Asia, CMS Vatavaran, National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research, Bhopal and Regional Museum of Natural History, Bhopal were closely associated with CREW in organising the CIHWFF 2012.

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