Balipara Foundation connects youth with nature
02.04.2020
The Balipara Foundation is working on nature-based education for local youth through several activities.
During the Assam Valley School’s second Round Square Weekend held in March, the Balipara Foundation participated in a conference titled, “No one is too small to make a change”. Rhea Hussain, Gautam Baruah and Saurav Malhotra from the Balipara Foundation presented to 800 primary through secondary school students at the local co-educational boarding school.
The objective of the two-day workshop was to build a sense of environmental activism and to help the children understand the interconnected dynamics of our ecosystem services. The Round Square Weekend instructed the students on sustainability, community conservation, waste management and environmental activism through various activities.
The children engaged in numerous environmental activities throughout the weekend. They learned about bird watching to understand the types of species around campus. Waste management was also an important component of the workshop - there was a “trash monster” competition that allowed the kids to recycle some of their waste in a creative way. Another interactive workshop was the snake awareness programme, which taught the students about the species present around the school, how to identify different types of snake bites, the types of species which may or may not be venomous and precautionary measures for a harmonious way of living with these animals. The weekend concluded with a communal resolution to safeguard nature and preserve the planet.
In a bid to continue its youth awareness programmes, on 8 March, through the Balipara Foundation’s Eastern Himalayan Naturenomics™ School, 23 students from various schools and colleges in the State of Assam, India, participated in a one day workshop called “Bird Quest”. This birding workshop targeted youth to learn more about the basics of birding, bird identification techniques and the importance of bird conservation.
The Eastern Himalayan Naturenomics™ School offers multiple educational courses for both children and adults interested in understanding their natural environment. This interactive bird watching session was facilitated by Dr Miraj Hussain from Assam University, Silchar.
Dr Hussain instructed the youth on the basics of bird identification, including through the sounds made by birds commonly found in the area. The students were given a botanic tour of the Eastern Himalayan Naturenomics™ School’s campus, where they were able to identify eight bird species.
Learn more about the Balipara Foundation
Watch a video, “Connecting Children’s Learning to the Natural World”
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