The Majhera & Doba Eco-Club commenced with a film screening in a ‘Primary Government School’ to introduce the students to the learning that can be derived from Nature Immersion activities-
Igniting curiosity about the avian species through a natural history documentary film.
We screened the Kumauni version of the film ‘Valley of Birds Under Threat’, produced by ‘On Nature’s Duty’, for the children from the government middle school of Majhera, Nainital. The screening was a part of our project ‘School of Nature’, which aims at enabling learning through ecological immersions, especially for children from rural/marginalised are…
It turned into sessions of bird watching, creating art, improving presentation skills, English speaking, and more.
Under the project, we facilitated six sessions of about four hours each between October and December 2024. Birdwatching was a primary part of every session, along with other activities and learning associated with it. Although the number of students varied across the total duration, we had on average eight students attending most of the sessions.
Connecting students to the natural environment and animal behaviours has been a regular part of our sessions and workshops. We initially used our large-screened laptop for film screenings. However, we received wholehearted contributions and donations from members of a virtual community- the Keeday Makauday Foundation which aided in funding a projector for our further sessions.
One of our initial sessions was learning to journal, particularly the experiences and simulations from their time in nature. Here’s a link to the content from the day we went out nature journaling.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCE82BxS7nq/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
We facilitated sessions on story writing, reading environment-based children’s books, theatre and skit performances. These not only strengthened their presentation skills, and critical thinking but also helped them learn about their immediate surrounding habitat and environment.
Students interacted with our friend, Benjamin, a river ecologist, from the United Kingdom. They did great in basic English sentence formation and trying to grasp the sense of conversation. It turned into an activity of introducing their village, its life, lifestyle, and ecosystem to our guests in return for getting a glimpse of the place he was from. They exchanged gratitude letters at the end.
The winter has settled at its peak, and we see everything around us slowing down, migrating away or withering to reduce their energies. So, we have also decided to pause our sessions, allowing the students and ourselves to replenish and nourish during the harsh winters. We shall return with more fun and insightful activities next summer. Indeed, we are keen on doing it for a longer term and bringing a tangible outcome from next time.
We look forward to and shall be happy to hear, receive support (in any form) from our readers. Comments, words of encouragement also go a long way 🙂
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