Region’s premier biodiversity conservation organisation Aaranyak (www.aaranyak.org) organised two nature camps for students from two schools located on the fringes of Manas National Park and Tiger Reserve in Assam, as part of its mission to connect the coming generation with nature.

Forty-two and 26 students from Class VII to IX standards from Bormajra ME School and Khamardwisa High School respectively participated in the nature camps that were organised under the IUCN-KfW supported project titled “Securing population of tigers, habitats and biological corridors in Assam, India”.

The day 1 of the camps at both the schools comprised of activities such as – Understanding and Learning from Nature, Understanding about Ecosystems and its Significance and Group Exercise on Observation and Documentation.

Under the segment on “Understanding and Learning from Nature”, the students experienced learning from nature through observation, listening, smelling and touching.

They were subsequently instructed to analyses their experience and document the same in their notebooks. The student performed this exercise with great excitement.

This exercise in observation, measurement, and analysis facilitates deeper understanding of the natural world. As part of the session “Understanding about Ecosystems and its Significance”, the participants were provided with a brief overview of the ecosystem function and relationship among the different components of the ecosystem through the game “Web of Life”.

During the “Observation and Documentation Session”, the students’ observations were related to the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems within the school campus and subsequently they recorded their observations in their notebooks.

During the Day 2 of the camp, students from both the schools participated in a natural trail walk where they learnt bird watching, recorded names of the plants along the trail, learned about various land uses in the area, participated in the tree-hugging and listening activity and observed animal signs.

The trail walks for the students of the Bormajra ME School was conducted from the School Camps to the Manas Conservation and Outreach Centre of Aaranyak along the Digjiri River and Karebari Village Forest. On the other hand, a trail walk for the students of Khamardwisa High School was conducted from Hatijan Bathou Mandir to the Pota River.

Both the Nature Camps concluded with a valedictory session where the participating students shared their enlightening experience of the Nature Camp. The students were also presented with a book on Tigers developed and published by Aaranyak.

The Headmaster of the Bormajra ME School was invited as the Chief Guest during the Nature Camp at the Bormajra ME School, while the Assistant Headmaster of the School and Dr Alolika Sinha, senior conservation biologist of Aaranyak participated as Guests of Honour.

At Khamardwisa High School, the Headmaster of the school attended the programme as the Chief Guest, while Chandrakanta Basumatary of Khamardwisa ME School and two teachers from Khamardwisa High School were the Guests of Honour.

Nature camps at both schools were coordinated by Jayanta Kumar Sarma, Senior Programme Associate in Aaranyak. He was ably supported by the guest resource person Jayanta Kumar Pathak and the other team members comprising Swapan Kumar Das, Momita Narzary, Shaikhong Basumotary, Bijay Basumotary, Barnali Baro, and Pankaj Das of Aaranyak. Food and refreshments during the trail walk at Hatizan were provided by the Dwisa Sher Boro Cuisine women catering group from Hatizan.

“Environmental education programmes help students learn about the nature around them and at the same time allow them to understand the importance of conservation and the threats that the environment faces. Such a programme helps to inculcate a sense of responsibility among students towards the environment and introduces them to tools that will allow them to make informed decisions about the environment around them,” says Dr Partha Sarathi Ghosh, Project Coordinator in Aaranyak’s Tiger Research and Conservation Division.