We return with an update on the same.

For the second session, we had Jaya Di, our close friend and the founder of Happy Children’s Library, visit. She did an adorable reading session with the tiny tots to keep them interested in reading and books.

Our hopes were high for the second session. We arrived with a great deal of preparation, but none of the boys turned up.We were hoping that a few of their sisters would also come. Even though it was a bit embarrassing and sad that Jaya traveled a good distance for it and none of the students turned up, the tiny tots kept up our spirits and enthusiasm. We ended the day with a mental note that there was probably some miscommunication or the students might arrive for the upcoming sessions.

Firstly, we were investing our time, energy, and money in it, and the economics didn’t seem to work with such a minimal (3 out of 15 ) number of students. Meanwhile, we also didn’t feel it right to discontinue for those three children who were enthusiastically turning up. So we decided to take up one chance of executing it in the upcoming week before taking the final call.

The next week followed with some fun Nature Bingo games and a film screening for the same four students who had made it. So, it was a wrap!

Our questions and wonders about the deviated path of the workshop got me penning these points.

We noticed that the schools in this region are quite far from the villages. It takes more than an hour for the students to reach on foot. So, school dropouts are significantly high, especially among girls. The older children are reserved and have limited exposure to their prospects. So, through the School of Nature, we wanted to open multiple realms of learning. Since the region is indeed abundant in terms of natural and alternative learning sources we wanted to use the treasure troves for good.

We began our efforts by creating application forms and visiting clusters of houses in the center’s vicinity. The identified center was a lease arrangement of an abandoned house in decent condition. We explained the details and importance of the workshop to each of their parents and even to the students on their first day.

What we suspect the reasons for the negative response could have been:

• In our first session, we were less persuasive about the advantages, relevance, and fun part of the workshop. Or the participants failed to understand the contextual relevance of such activities or programs.
• Considering their ways of life, we figured that the community reciprocated poorly for commitments and accountabilities.
• Most participants came from the same part of the village and schools, and the peer pressure might have taken over the interested students.
• Overall, the communities around the place are superstitious and skeptical about new events and happenings.
• The young people may have felt intimidated because of a few incomprehensible factors.
• We were supposed to offer something to hold their interest and attention on the first day, perhaps (which was something we had done with another group that turned out successful.)
• The center offered a basic and raw appeal. We are not sure how much of it pleased the students.

We may have to approach the communities and activities differently the next time. We look forward to breaking the code and re-entering Simrar this time, for good!

The response we received was immense and more than what we anticipated. It was not just with the number of students who showed up, which was 13, but the ease with which the students opened up. The enthusiasm that lasted throughout the session was also a source of energy for us. The first session ended on an exciting note, with the group deciding to arrive early for birding, next week. Also, the group of boys (yes, they were all boys!) got quite motivated to tag along a couple of their sisters from next week. This part thrilled us! .

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The first day was planned light, for the students to grasp the environment and for us to understand the group dynamics, their levels of exposure, and the gap areas we needed to build the workshop upon. The age composition was in the brackets that we wanted to work with, 12-18-year-olds. 

A few basic subjects we plan to cover during this workshop besides birdwatching include:

• Building upon forms of documentation- art, story-telling, writing, presenting.
• Getting the youth and children acquainted with basic English words and sentence formations around birdwatching and nature-related activities.
• Showcasing documentaries and films to substitute physical birdwatching and initiate dialogues and conversations around critical topics
• Introducing ethics of birdwatching, citizen science and its relevance.
• Introduction to professions related to the sectors of environment, sustainability and birdwatching.
• Basics of bird features and their evolution according to the bio-regions/ habitats.
• Getting them to explore and understand the role of birds in an ecosystem and the scope and benefits of birdwatching.
• Build a basic understanding of endemic species or bird diversity of Uttarakhand.

We are excited and keen to see the additional individuals who are going to join us in the next session. However, we do not intend to make it so large that the workshop’s efficiency reduces. We may divide them into batches and manage the activities age-wise. We shall call it a successful landing, once the session ends with the younger lot benefitting from and wanting more of it!

We are grateful for :

• Stationary contributed by Happy Children’s Library, Seem, Nainital.https://happychildrenslibrary.org
• Educational posters, and materials by Nature Science Initiative, Dehradun. https://www.naturescienceinitiative.org
• A couple of binoculars by Colonel Nilesh Korgaokar, Jeolikote, Nainital.

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

A Q&A session was facilitated by Paras, who provided the required translations as needed.

Ben and the students introduced their bioregions, culture, and lifestyle to one another. They continued with writing letters to each other as a lovely gesture of bidding goodbye!

Our Goals for the session:

• Establish that language is not a barrier to communication.
• Eradicate white supremacy by offering an equal opportunity to interact and learn.
• Encourage the students to interact in the areas beyond their comfort zones.
• Showcase alternative career choices and pursuits, especially in connection with the land and environment.
• Offer Ben an experiential introduction to the Himalayan villages, culture, and lifestyles. Similarly, introduce the students to the part of their visitors’ world.

We are back with the Green Life Conservancy’s updates from the second quarter of 2025. We shall be glad to receive your thoughts, opinions, support, feed-forward and more in this regard.

Beginning the communication of the quarter with a heartfelt gratitude to all our contributors for making everything we do possible. Especially to all those of you who fuelled the Visual Storytelling project. Over four days, we immersed ourselves in creativity, fun, and learning. Our facilitators and participants mutually benefited from the workshop, with Sanket’s stream activities being a highlight. We discovered a new art form, natural painting, and learnt to structure stories and craft narratives that reflected the local landscape, culture, and more. Stay tuned for our next workshop in July, featuring an improved format and exciting outcomes! 

Special thanks to –

Ketki Garg, Bengaluru

Kruthi Rao, Bengaluru

Himanshu Gupta, Florida

Simran Raizada, Dublin

Rohan Sarkar, Dublin

Raunaq Shah, Kolkata

Vijay Bhaskar Murthy, Bengaluru

Nilesh Korgaokar, Nainital

Kruthi Subramanium, Bengaluru

Jaya and Atul Shah, Happy Children’s Library, Nainital

We invite you to support our mission, of delivering alternative learning experiences to the youth of Uttarakhand’s rural areas. 

Expansion of our community, mentors and support!!

We are immensely grateful for the fellowship support we have received from the Centre for Learning, (CFL) Secunderabad. It has been engaged in an ongoing enquiry into what is (quality) education. The fellowship is a way of supporting those disenchanted with the mainstream lifestyle and livelihoods to explore ways of living that fulfil one’s emotional and personal needs whilst also being in harmony and nurturing the living environment around us.

A Resourceful Offering

Video based Nature learning module

We design video content through ONDto disseminate knowledge/ awareness. We use them in various forms, and one such form is as a tool for facilitating Nature-based learning and Environmental education. We have curated an easy-to-follow process of a Video-based facilitating module for nature learning. Stay tuned for more such resources!

How to facilitate

Video based module – Communications in the Wild/ Nature

Updates from the quarter!!

What are we upto On Nature’s Duty?

We have officially entered the production cum exploration stage of our documentary project addressing the Human-Wildlife interaction/conflict pertinent across Uttarakhand. Our friend Sanket, a picture book cum performative artist, has collaborated with us on various expeditions we have undertaken as a part of the project.

We are simultaneously researching, attempting to raise funds and build a network. We seek leads and support in this regard.

Visual Storytelling Workshop at the Happy Children’s Library

In continuation, the students involved in the workshop at the Happy Children’s Library came with a lot of exposure to alternative forms of learning, which made it easier for us to facilitate the sessions. They constructed narratives (the part that links OND’s project on the human-wildlife interaction/conflict) besides highlighting our shortcomings and the need for improvements and changes in our facilitation methods. We shall carry forward this learning to our further workshops. We are highly thankful to the children who participated, Jaya and Atul for lending us the opportunity and space to execute it, and all those who helped us through

Check out our social media post about the workshop.

Bird Comics with the students from Primary Goverment School, Majhera, Nainital

Bird Comics is among the best-performing activities across groups and diverse geographies. The current turn was of Majhera’s government school. The activity, in general, brings images and imagination to life, and children thoroughly enjoy creating art. We used early bird flashcards even as reference images for the children to draw bird pictures. The part where they create stories from the art is an interesting combination of imagination, fantasy and reality. A few impressive titles of the comics created by this group of students- Pakshiyon ki daud (Bird Race), Sathbhai ka jhundh (group of Jungle Babblers)

Social Media Post

Nature Vidya Stall at Annual Day of Happy Children’s Library

The Nature Vidya stall, of bird models and an interactive activity, was a grand success during the Happy Children’s Library’s Annual Day. Green Life Conservancy regularly facilitates the Nature Vidya sessions for the library, and the students had to display their Nature-learning through the stall. We designed an easy-to-interact session for students and visitors through which the latter had to identify the commonly heard bird calls in the village. The stall was decorated using beautiful paper-ball bird models that the children had created with Sonal and Samarth. We are grateful for the volunteering offered by Anita and Rita to prepare the students for the stall.

We invite you to consider pledging your support in any kind and frequency. Become a regular donor!

Dear Community,

We, the team of Green Life Conservancy, are delighted to bring you the updates from the first quarter of 2025. First of all, we are grateful and would like to thank each of you for extending your support in any and every form possible. 

You will find sections varying in the newsletter, including offerings, announcements, happy news, challenges, and a funding appeal. Share it as relevant, and follow us on social media platforms for regular updates.

Launch of our Website

We launched the website of Green Life Conservancy Foundation in the first week of January, beginning a journey of documentation and visibility. It was a well-thought-out month-long process of designing and content creation, indulging multiple additions and updates. Now, we are set to regularly update our website describing our latest offerings, developments, establishments, challenges, communal support and more. 

A resourceful offering

Nature based Learning materials for the Learners and the Facilitators.

We have designed and documented modules and sessions to make learning fun and effortless. A few of the materials are generic and widely applicable, while a few are age-specific, season-specific, regional-specific and alike. Usually, we display these curations as creative commons on our website. Through such content creation and display, we aim to ensure the democratisation of knowledge/ information flow. Every learner, facilitator, educator, and parent should have access to the learning material. 

Feel free to go through the resources, use them as you like and keep an eye out for more such learning tools to come-

Delightful Announcements

Expansion of our Community

Green Life Conservancy is now a member of the Western Himalayan Vikalp Sangam, The Himalaya Collective. We credit this move to our friend Alex Jensen, a Research and Project coordinator with the Local Futures organisation, who recommended us to the group! We are delighted about this expansion in our community circle. A bit about the collective- 

The Western Himalayan Vikalp Sangam (WHVS) is a process connecting individuals and organisations focused on alternatives in the Western Himalayan regions of India in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir. Part of the broader Vikalp Sangam, it has been active since 2016

The Himalaya Collective, an open-source platform that shares stories, perspectives and resources, emerged out of deliberations of the Western Himalayan Vikalp Sangam in 2019.

Sparking an Interest in Urban Ecology

After Lucknow and Moradabad, Shruthi facilitated a Nature Exploration Camp conducted by the Pratham Foundation in Bangalore. The students here came from a semi-urban background since they lived in the periphery areas of the fast-paced Bangalore. They had exposure to urban opportunities and modernity, so if they lacked anything, it was the connection with whatever of their natural environment was left. Our facilitator took this opportunity to get the participants to observe the urban ecology they shared.

Check out the documentation of the camp and its Instagram post, show us some love

UPCOMING PROJECTS & WORKSHOPS

The team of On Nature’s Duty, in collaboration with a Performative Artist, Sanket Petkar, from Mumbai, is geared up with a new project addressing the Human-Wildlife interaction/ conflict pertinent across Uttarakhand. 

The concept of the documentary film is the brainchild of the filmmaker Paras. He plans to execute a new method of filming and storytelling to showcase an unbiased image of the perspectives of the various stakeholders of the subject.

Currently, the team is in the phase of research and fundraising attempts. We shall be grateful for any leads or support in this regard.

A Visual Storytelling Workshop.

As part of the OND’s project Sanket will be facilitating a visual storytelling workshop in June 2025 for the children associated with School of Nature’s regular programs. This workshop aims to explore the power of visual storytelling as a means of creative expression, communication, and social engagement. 

It will benefit the participants to gain a deeper understanding of storytelling through visual mediums. Hands-on experience in developing characters, storyboards, and sequential narratives. Exposure to collaborative and participatory storytelling methods which would help the participants to be inclusive towards their surroundings. Fostering the idea of coexistence among young minds.

We are two facilitators aiming to reach 40 children through 2 workshops during a span of 10 days. Happy Children’s Library has aided us by extending a contribution of the stationary materials required for the workshop. Feel free to reach out to learn the budget breakdown/ details, or if you would like to cover the individual components of it, we shall be truly grateful. Every penny of your contribution will allow us to extend this learning to one more child.

After Lucknow and Moradabad, Shruthi facilitated a Nature Exploration Camp conducted by the Pratham Foundation in Bangalore. The students here came from a semi-urban background since they lived in the periphery areas of the fast-paced Bangalore. They had exposure to urban opportunities and modernity, so if they lacked anything, it was the connection with whatever of their natural environment was left. Our facilitator took this opportunity to get the participants to observe the urban ecology they shared.

We planned and designed the activities in the workshop to introduce the life that thrives even in the concrete hubs of the cities. They included Nature Bingo, Nature art in the form of Nest building, and video screenings of birds and insects in nest building actions. Students read an Illustrated storybook highlighting Urban Ecology. We explored the most commonly found trees, insects, butterflies, etc, in the surroundings, followed by a comic creation based on Urban Ecology.

The nest-building activity revealed the young architects present in these children. It was impressive how these students were considerate about aesthetics, size, comfort and cushioning. It was a splendour to observe the students wondering about the size and species of the birds that would build or fit in such nests, the size of the eggs, and the cushioning required to keep them safe and warm.

The video screening session was a challenge, with no projector being present. However, the chosen videos gave a glimpse into the houses of birds and insects and the purpose they mainly serve. The facilitator took this opportunity to introduce the concept of natural building. 

We divided ourselves into groups and read an Illustrated Kannada book, There’s Nothing There, jointly published and supported by the Bengaluru Sustainability Forum, Nature Classrooms and Sutta Mutta project.  The book was chosen as a part of the workshop as it rightly introduces the small elements of nature that we, as urbanites, conveniently choose to overlook. We used it to encourage the students to observe their environment and its inhabitants on their way home that day.

During the Nature Walk on the second day of the camp, the subtle indications of alertness in observing the surroundings directed to the impact the previous reading had made. The nature walk also made it obvious that introducing easy-to-handle tools such as magnifying glasses and binoculars scales up the enthusiasm level in children. The curiosity with which the students watched the Lion ant through magnifying glasses was more precious than any major discovery!

Despite the challenge of leading a large group, which generally causes a disturbance to the normal functioning of the natural environment, we spotted, observed, identified and learnt about a few trees, insects, birds, and butterflies. The nature exploration walk on the premises bordering the Bannerghatta National Park was truly energizing. 

The final activity of creating an Urban Ecology Comic surfaced the authentic and individual observations of the children. Using the Illustrated book as a reference material helped the students to bring their imaginations to life. The activity displayed how uninformed the children were about their everyday surrounding environment. The students hardly drew any birds or insects besides the ones they saw in the book or during their walk. 

The positive side of the activity was that it ensured that each child participated, presented and reflected. Art exposes the excitement, dedication and sheer indulgence in young people. Challenges occur when they have to work in groups to create stories. The stories and art display diversity in the thinking and creativity process, giving a glimpse into an individual’s inner self!