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 areas.

The screening session continued with a round of interaction with the filmmaker Paras, and the curious minds came questioning and answering to the best of their abilities. We also conducted a quiz to analyse the children’s retention ability. It was invigorating to watch the students engrossed, not just during the film but also for the entire session.

• The activities were designed for the viewers to recollect what they watched or listened to from the film and relate them to their immediate surroundings. Since the film was from the nearby areas and in the local language (pahadi kumauni) children could easily relate to it.
• Through the film, we used an approach of storytelling using anecdotes from nature. It aids the children in personifying the birds and starting to feel like one of their own, one step at a time.
• The quiz also emphasized the bird names, physical features, habitats, calls, behaviours and similar factors. Therefore the children probably got hold of a few names and began to wonder a few more ‘whys’ around these birds and stories.
• We announced gifts and returns (what our budgets allowed!) for those who would watch the film with concentration and answered the questions at the end. This encouraged most of them to engage thoroughly during the screening. However, we declared in the end, that every child will get something in return for participating and even trying. Such are our small attempts at trying to eliminate unhealthy competition.
• Well, the screening and activities were a part of initiating something with these children and building some form of curiosity and interest in them towards the rest of nature. We aim to convert the same into joining our sessions of School of Nature which shall soon begin regularly.
• There shall be another round of quick activity/ interaction in the coming days, during which the children will be presented with gifts and gauged for their interest in further sessions. They will be offered the details and registration form to join the School of Nature sessions.

The entire purpose of the film and even of the platform ‘On Nature’s Duty’ is to connect the viewers with the rest of nature. At least, we try to spark some interest and build in perspectives of looking at it. Such screenings help us facilitate it, particularly for the young people, among whom it is highly required.

School of Nature believes that there is no better classroom than nature for learning the ways of life. Films and stories like these are a gateway to facilitate such learning with the help of tools such as working in and with the rest of nature.

The film that was showcased was entirely self-funded. GLC is also offering a School of Nature session simultaneously with the Nature Vidya course designed by the Nature Science Initiative, Dehradun, as a base at a Library based in Nainital District of Uttarakhand. We are keen on improvising these activities, customising them according to the children, and increasing the sessions. Check out the space for more updates. Support us by subscribing, and funding so that we can take up this program on a full-time basis. Feel free to comment or write to us 🙂