Film Festival on Wetland Issues kick started

The six day’s Film Festival on Wetlands organized by Hasiru Hejje and Regional Museum of Natural History to mark the World Wetland Day-2015 was inaugurated by renowned artist and Social activist Badal Nanjunda Swamy at the Auditorium of the Regional Museum of Natural History.

In a gathering of a hundred college students, most of them from the JSS Law college Mrs. Mujeba Khanum, Educational staff of the Museum welcomed the gathering and Mr. Manu K  gave an introduction to the significance of the day . This day in 1972, on the shores of Caspian Sea at a fishing village called Ramsar, over 50 heads of Nations met to discuss the plight of Wetlands and their inhabitants, he said. Ever since, there has been a constant increase in the membership of Nations more and more wetland sites are identified for conservation. The call of the year is Join Us in conservation of Wetlands.  He mentioned the legacy of lake conservation movement in Mysore and how in spite of its success the pressure on them remains same. While there are external threats of encroachment upon many wetlands the internal mis-management and land use change in the disguise of development are also a serious threat to the wetland species.

Inaugurating the festival Mr. Badal expressed happiness about the enthusiasm of the participants and explained to them how the lure of development mutes common man against the loss of parks and lakes. He made special mention to Kukkarahalli his home village where the custodians are the University of Mysore. In spite of all the professor and technical know how in them, no body raises their voice against an atrocity against Nature. While the management heads for an all out effort to spin money through human centric projects, the academicians turn a blind eye… what role would they be to their students he asked.

Mrs. Mujeba Khanum who thanked the guests and the gathering also mentioned special thanks to the Press for their coverage which led to the booking of all the shows even before the inaugural. 

world wetland day - 2015 !

Celebration of World Wetland Day 2015

On account of the World Wetland Day being celebrated world over, we are conducting a six day Film festival in collaboration with the Regional Museum of Natural History, Siddartha Nagar Mysore.  The festival will begin on the 2^nd February 2015 and four films will be screened in two sessions every day at the Auditorium of the RMNH.  The films are based on the water and wetland conservation themes and highlight the importance of precious water and the fragile ecosystems they support. The beneficiaries of the film screening would be school children and visitors to the museum. The content of the films is ideal for the age group of 12 to 18 years and the screenings are summarized as follows:

	10.15 am  to 12.00 noon		1.30 pm to 3.30 pm
02-02-15 onwards	a.   One Water        59 min. Directed by: Ali Habashi and Sanjeev Chaterjee b.   Point Calimare; Little Kingdom by the Coast       25min. Dircted by: Sheker Dattatri		a.     Hawai: Message in the Waves  48 min. Narrated by: Lokepa Naeole b.    Chilika; Jewl of Odisha             22 min. Directed by : Sheker Dattatri

   We request you to make use of this unique opportunity and send your children for the screenings. The auditorium would take 120 students per show and the organizers request the school authorities to intimate in advance for block booking of the seats to 9886383793 or 9902441987.

Entry Free.

ವಿಶ್ವ ಜೌಗು ಭೂಮಿ ದಿನ - ವರ್ಲ್ಡ್ ವೆಟ್‌ಲ್ಯಾಂಡ್ ಡೇ

ಕಣ್ಣ ಮುಂದೆಯೇ ಕಳೆದುಹೋಗುತ್ತಿರುವ ಕೆರೆ - ಕಾಲುವೆಗಳ ಪತ್ತೆಗೆ ಯಾರಿಗೆ ದೂರು ಕೊಡೋಣ? ಕೊಟ್ಟರೂ ಯಾರಾದರೂ ಹುಡುಕಿಕೊಟ್ಟಾರೆಯೇ? ಹುಡುಕಿದರೂ ಅವು ಮೂಲ ಸ್ವರೂಪದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಕ್ಕುತ್ತವೆಯೇ?

ಕಳೆದ ಮೂರು ದಶಕಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಮೈಸೂರಿನ ಎರಡು ಡಜನ್ನಿಗೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಕೆರೆಗಳು ಕಣ್ಮರೆಯಾಗಿವೆ. ಈಗ ಅಳಿದುಳಿದಿರುವ ಮೂರು ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ಕೆರೆಗಳೂ ಹೇಳಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವಂಥ ಸುಸ್ಥಿತಿಯಲ್ಲಿಲ್ಲ. 8 - 10 ಅಡಿಯ ಆಳದಲ್ಲಿ ನೀರು ಸಿಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಭಾವಿಗಳೂ ಈಗ ಬರಿದಾಗಿವೆ. ಕೊರೆಸಿ,ಕೊರೆಸಿ ಅಡಿಗಡಿಗೂ ತೆಗೆದ ಕೊಳವೆ ಭಾವಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನೂರಾರು ಅಡಿ ಕೊರೆದರೂ ನೀರು ಸಿಗುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ. ಅಂತರ್ಜಲವೂ ಬರಿದಾಗಿದೆ ಎಂದೇ ಇದರ ಅರ್ಥ.

ಭೂಗೋಲದ ಮುಕ್ಕಾಲುವಾಸಿ ನೀರೇ ಇರುವಾಗ ನೀರಿಗೇಕೆ ಈ ಹಾಹಾಕಾರ? ಜಲಯುದ್ಧ? ಮೂರನೇ ಮಹಾಯುದ್ಧವಾಗುವುದಾದರೆ ಅದು ನೀರಿಗಾಗಿಯೇ ಅಂತೆ! ಹಾಗಿರುವಾಗ ಸಿಹಿನೀರಿನ ಸೆಲೆಗಳನ್ನು ಉಳಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕು ಅಲ್ಲವೇ? ನೀರಿನ ಸೆಲೆಗಳ ಸಂರಕ್ಷಣೆ ಹಾಗೂ ವಿವೇಚನಾಯುತ ಸದ್ಬಳಕೆಗಾಗಿ ಪ್ರತಿವರ್ಷವೂ ಫೆಬ್ರವರಿ 2ನೇ ತಾರೀಕಿನಂದು ವಿಶ್ವ ತೇವ ಭೂ ದಿನ( ವರ್ಲ್ಡ್ ವೆಟ್‌ಲ್ಯಾಂಡ್ ಡೇ) ಎಂದು ಪ್ರಪಂಚದಾದ್ಯಂತ ಆಚರಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.

ಕ್ಯಾಸ್ಪಿಯನ್ ಸಮುದ್ರ ತೀರದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಇರಾನಿನ ರಾಂಸರ್ಎಂಬಲ್ಲಿ 1971 ರ ಫೆಬ್ರವರಿ 2 ರಂದು ನಡೆದ ಸಮಾವೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಜೌಗು ಪ್ರದೇಶದ( ತೇವ ಪ್ರದೇಶದ) ಸಂರಕ್ಷಣೆ ಹಾಗೂ ಅದರ ವಿವೇಚನಾಯುತ ಉಪಯೋಗಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಚರ್ಚೆ ನಡೆಯಿತು. ಅದಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ರೂಪುರೇಷೆಗಳನ್ನು ರಚಿಸಲಾಯಿತು. 1975ರಲ್ಲಿ ಆ ತೀರ್ಮಾನವನ್ನು ರಾಂಸಾರ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ಜಾರಿಗೆ ತರಲಾಯಿತು. ಅಂದಿನಿಂದ ಪ್ರಪಂಚದ ನಾನಾ ಭಾಗಗಳಲ್ಲಿರುವ 99ಕ್ಕೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ವಿಶ್ವಸಂಸ್ಥೆಯ ಸದಸ್ಯ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ದಿನವನ್ನು ಪರಿಸರ ಜಾಗೃತಿ ಮೂಡಿಸುವ ಸಲುವಾಗಿ ಆಚರಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ.

"ಸ್ಥಳೀಯ ಮತ್ತು ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಕಾರ್ಯ ಚಟುವಟಿಕೆಗಳಿಂದ ಹಾಗೂ ಅಂತರ್ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಸಹಕಾರದ ಮೂಲಕ ತೇವ ಭೂಪ್ರದೇಶದ ಸಂರಕ್ಷಣೆ ಮತ್ತು ವಿವೇಚನಾಯುತ ಸದ್ಬಳಕೆಯಿಂದ ಸುಸ್ಥಿರ ಅಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿಯ ಸಾಧನೆಗಾಗಿ ಕೊಡುಗೆ" ಎಂಬುದು ರಾಂಸಾರ್ ಸಮಾವೇಶದ ಧ್ಯೇಯವಾಕ್ಯ.

ತೇವ ಭೂಪ್ರದೇಶಗಳು( ವೆಟ್‌ಲ್ಯಾಂಡ್) ಎಂದರೇನು?

ಕೆರೆ, ಸರೋವರ, ತಟಾಕ, ನದಿ, ಅಂತರ್ಜಲ, ಜೌಗು ಪ್ರದೇಶಗಳು, ತೇವಯುಕ್ತ ಹುಲ್ಲುಗಾವಲುಗಳು, ಕೆಸರು ನೆಲ, ಓಯಸಿಸ್ಗಳು, ನದಿ ಮುಖಜ ಭೂಮಿ, ಅಳಿವೆಗಳು, mangrooveಗಳಂತಹ ಕರಾವಳೀ ಪ್ರದೇಶಗಳು, ಹವಳದ ದಿಬ್ಬಗಳು, ಮತ್ತು ಮಾನವ ನಿರ್ಮಿತ ಪ್ರದೇಶಗಳಾದ ಮೀನುಸಾಕಣಾ ಕಟ್ಟೆಗಳು, ಭತ್ತದ ಗದ್ದೆಗಳು, ಜಲಾಶಯಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಉಪ್ಪಿನ ಇಂಗುಗುಂಡಿಗಳನ್ನು ಒಳಗೊಂಡಿವೆ.

ತೇವ ಪ್ರದೇಶಗಳನ್ನು ಏಕೆ ಸಂರಕ್ಷಿಸಬೇಕು?

ತೇವ ಪ್ರದೇಶಗಳು ಅತ್ಯಧಿಕ ಜೈವಿಕ ವೈವಿಧ್ಯತೆಯನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಿವೆ. ಈ ಪರಿಸರ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯ ಉತ್ಪಾದನಾ ಸಾಮರ್ಥ್ಯವೂ ಅಧಿಕ. ಅವು ನಮಗೆ ಅವಶ್ಯ ಸೇವೆಗಳನ್ನು ಒದಗಿಸುವುದರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಅತ್ಯಗತ್ಯವಿರುವ ಸಿಹಿನೀರಷ್ಟನ್ನೂ ಕೊಡುತ್ತವೆ. ಮಾನವನ ಉಳಿವಿಗೆ ಈ ತೇವ ಪ್ರದೇಶಗಳು ಅತ್ಯವಶ್ಯಕ. ಜೈವಿಕ ವೈವಿಧ್ಯತೆಯ ತೊಟ್ಟಿಲುಗಳಾಗಿದ್ದು ಲೆಕ್ಕವಿಲ್ಲದಷ್ಟು ಸಸ್ಯ-ಪ್ರಾಣಿ, ಮುಂತಾದ ಜೀವೆಪ್ರಬೇಧಗಳಿಗೆ ನೀರನ್ನುಣಿಸುತ್ತಿವೇಮಾನವನಿಗೂ ಕೂಡ ಪಾರಿಸರಿಕ ಸೇವೆಗಳೊಡನೆ ನೀರಿನ ಪೂರೈಕೆ, ಆಹಾರ, ಕಟ್ಟಡ ನಿರ್ಮಾಣ ವಸ್ತುಗಳನ್ನು ಒದಗಿಸುತ್ತವೆ. ಅಷ್ಟೇ ಅಲ್ಲದೆ, ಪ್ರವಾಹವನ್ನು ತಡೆಗಟ್ಟುತ್ತವೆ, ಅಂತರ್ಜಲವನ್ನು ಮರುಪೂರಣ ಮಾಡುತ್ತವೆ. ಹವಾಗುಣ ವೈಪರೀತ್ಯಗಳನ್ನು ಎದುರಿಸಲು ಸಹಕಾರಿಯಾಗುತ್ತವೆ. ಹೀಗಿದ್ದೂ ಅವುಗಳು ನಶಿಸುತ್ತಿವೆ ಇಲ್ಲವೇ ಬೇರೆ ಉದ್ದೇಶಗಳಿಗೆ ಬಳಕೆಯಾಗುತ್ತಿವೆ. ತೇವ ಭೂಪ್ರದೇಶಗಳ ಸಂರಕ್ಷಣೆ ಒಂದು ಜಾಗತಿಕ ಸವಾಲು ಕೂಡಾ ಹೌದು.

ಅಂತರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಸಹಕಾರ ಏಕೆ ಬೇಕು?

ಒಂದು ತೇವ ಪ್ರದೇಶವು ಭೌಗೋಳಿಕವಾಗಿಯೋ, ರಾಜಕೀಯವಾಗಿಯೋ ಒಂದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಪ್ರದೇಶಗಳಿಗೆ ಸೇರಿದ್ದಲ್ಲಿ, ಅಂತಹ ಪ್ರದೇಶದ ನಿರ್ವಹಣೆಯು ಆ ಎಲ್ಲ ಪ್ರದೇಶಗಳ ಜವಾಬ್ದಾರಿಯಾಗಿರುತ್ತದೆ. ಅಲ್ಲಿ ದೊರಕುವ ಪ್ರಾಕೃತಿಕ ಸಂಪನ್ಮೂಲಗಳಾದ ನೀರು, ಗಿಡ-ಮರಗಳು, ಪ್ರಾಣಿ-ಪಕ್ಷಿಗಳೆಲ್ಲವನ್ನೂ ಸಂರಕ್ಷಿಸುವ ಹೊಣೆ ಆ ಎಲ್ಲ ಪಕ್ಷಗಳಿಗೂ ಸೇರಿರುತ್ತದೆ. ತತ್ಸಂಬಂಧವಾಗಿ ಅಂತರ್ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಮಟ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿ ತೇವ ಪ್ರದೇಶಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಚರ್ಚಿಸಲು, ಸಂರಕ್ಷಣಾ ಕಾರ್ಯಗಳನ್ನು ಕೈಗೊಳ್ಳಲು, ಮಾಹಿತಿ ವಿನಿಮಯ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಒಂದು ವೇದಿಕೆಯನ್ನು ಒದಗಿಸಲು ಅಂತರ್ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಸಹಕಾರ ಬೇಕು. ಪರಿಸರ ಸಂರಕ್ಷಣೆಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಸೌಹಾರ್ದವನ್ನು, ಸುಸಂಬಂಧವನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಿದ್ದು ಪರಸ್ಪರ ಸಹಯೋಗದೊಂದಿಗೆ ಸೀಮಾರೇಖೆಗಳನ್ನೂ ದಾಟಿ ಕಾರ್ಯೋನ್ಮುಖರಾಗಲು ಅಂತರ್ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಸಹಕಾರ ಬಹುಮುಖ್ಯ.

ತೇವ ಭೂಪ್ರದೇಶಗಳ ವಿವೇಚನಾಯುಕ್ತ ಬಳಕೆಯೆಂದರೇನು?

ತೇವ ಪ್ರದೇಶಗಳ ಸಂರಕ್ಷಣೆ ಹಾಗೂ ಸುಸ್ಥಿರ ಬಳಕೆ ಮತ್ತು ಜನರಿಗೂ ಪ್ರಕೃತಿಗೂ ಅವುಗಳಿಂದ ಲಭಿಸುವ ಪಾರಿಸರಿಕ ಸೇವೆಗಳನ್ನು ವಿವೇಚನಾಯುಕ್ತ ಬಳಕೆ ಅಥವಾ ಸದ್ಬಳಕೆಎನ್ನಬಹುದು. ಈ ರೀತಿ ಪ್ರಯೋಜನಗಳನ್ನುಪಡೆಯುವಾಗ ತೇವ ಪ್ರದೇಶವು ತನ್ನ ಲಕ್ಷಣಗಳನ್ನು ಹಾಗೆಯೇ ಉಳಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವಂತೆ ಎಚ್ಚರವಹಿಸಬೇಕು.

ತೇವ ಭೂ ಪ್ರದೇಶಗಳ ಸಂರಕ್ಷಣೆ ಹೇಗೆ?

ರಾಂಸಾರ್ ಸಮಾವೇಶದ ಆಶಯವನ್ನು ಜಾರಿಗೆ ತರುವಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಕೆಳಕಂಡ ನಿರ್ಣಯಗಳು ಪ್ರಮುಖ ಪಾತ್ರ ನಿರ್ವಹಿಸುತ್ತವೆ.

·         ತೇವ ಪ್ರದೇಶಗಳ ಸದ್ಬಳಕೆ ಹಾಗೂ ಸಂರಕ್ಷಣೆಗಾಗಿ ಕಾರ್ಯೋನ್ಮುಖರಾಗುವುದು

·         ಸೂಕ್ತ ತೇವ ಪ್ರದೇಶವನ್ನು ಗುರುತಿಸಿ ಅಂತರ್ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ  ತೇವ ಭೂಪ್ರದೇಶದ ಪರಿಧಿಯೊಳಗೆ ಪರಿಣಾಮಕಾರೀ ನಿರ್ವಹಣೆಗಾಗಿ ತರುವುದು (" ರಾಂಸರ್ ಪಟ್ಟಿ"ಗೆ ಸೇರ್ಪಡೆ ಮಾಡುವುದು)·         ಗಡಿಯಾಚೆಗಿನ ತೇವ ಪ್ರದೇಶಗಳನ್ನೂ, ವಿವ್ಧ ದೇಶಗಳ ನಡುವೆ ಹಂಚಿಕೆಯಾದ ತೇವ ಪ್ರದೇಶಗಳನ್ನೂ ಹಾಗೂ ಜೀವ ಪ್ರಬೇಧಗಳನ್ನೂ ಅಂತರ್ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಸಹಕಾರದಿಂದ ಸೌಹಾರ್ದಯುತವಾಗಿ ನಿರ್ವಹಿಸುವುದು.

ಇದಷ್ಟೇ ಅಲ್ಲದೆ, ಹೊಸ ತೇವ ಪ್ರದೇಶ ನಿಯಮಾವಳಿಗಳನ್ನು ಜಾರಿಗೊಳಿಸಿ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಪರಿಸರ ಕ್ರಿಯಾ ಯೋಜನೆಗಳನ್ನುಸಿದ್ಧಪಡಿಸುವುದು, ನೀತಿ- ನಿಯಮಾವಳಿಗಳನ್ನು ಜಾರಿಗೊಳಿಸಿ ಹಾಗೂ ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣದ ಮೂಲಕ ಲೆಲ್ಲರಲ್ಲೂ ಅರಿವು ಮೂಡಿಸುವುದುತಎವ ಪ್ರದೇಶದ ಅಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮದ ಮೂಲಕ ತೇವ ಭೂ ಪ್ರದೇಶದ ಸಂಪನ್ಮೂಲಾಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿ, ಮೇಲ್ವಿಚಾರಣೆ, ಸಂಶೋಧನೆ, ತರಬೇತಿ, ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಮತ್ತು ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ಅರಿವು ಸಂರಕ್ಷಣಾ ಕಾರ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಪರಿಣಾಮಕಾರಿಯಾಗಬಲ್ಲವು. ತೇವ ಪ್ರದೇಶಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸಮಗ್ರ ನಿರ್ವಹಣಾ ಯೋಜನೆಯನ್ನು ಅನುಷ್ಟಾನಕ್ಕೆ ತರಬೇಕು.

ವಿಶ್ವ ಜೌಗು ಭೂಮಿ ದಿನ-2015 ರ ಘೋಷವಾಕ್ಯ - " ನಮ್ಮ ಭವಿಷ್ಯಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ತೇವ ಭೂಪ್ರದೇಶಗಳು".

ಈ ಘೋಷಣೆಯು ನಮ್ಮೂರಿನ ಕೆರೆಗಳನ್ನು ಉಳಿಸಲು ಸಹಾಯವಾದೀತು ಎಂಬುದೇ ನಮ್ಮ ಆಶಯ. ಖ್ಯಾತ ಲೇಖಕಿ ಸುನಿತಾ ನಾರಾಯಣ ಹೇಳುವಂತೆ ಪ್ರಾಚೀನ ಭಾರತೀಯರ ವೈಜ್ಞಾನಿಕ ಕೊಡುಗೆಗಳೆಂದರೆ ಕೇವಲ ಗಣಿತ, ಖಗೋಳ ಭೌತ ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ, ಆಯುರ್ವೇದಗಳಷ್ಟೆ ಅಲ್ಲ, ನೀರಿನ ಸಮರ್ಪಕ ನಿರ್ವಹಣೆಯು ಅಟಾಯಂತ ವೈಜ್ಞಾನಿಕವಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಪರಿಸರ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಗೆ ತಕ್ಕಂತೆ ಒಂದೊಂದು ಹನಿ ನೀರನ್ನೂ ಸಮರ್ಪಕ ರೀತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕೊಯ್ಲು ಮಾಡಲಾಗುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಪ್ರಾಚೀನ ಭಾರತೀಯರಿಗೆ ನಿಸರ್ಗದ ಸಂಪನ್ಮೂಲಗಳ ಸರಿಯಾದ ಯೋಜನೆ, ವಾಸ್ತು, ನಿರ್ವಹಣೆ ಮತ್ತು ಆಧಿಪತ್ಯ ತಿಳಿದಿತ್ತು. ಇತಿಹಾಸದಿಂದ ನಾವು ಕಲಿಯುವುದು ಸಾಕಷ್ಟಿದೆಯಲ್ಲವೇ?

-  ಗೀತಾ. ಎಚ್.

   ಹಸಿರು ಹೆಜ್ಜೆ.

ಮೈಸೂರು

ಪಶ್ಚಿಮ ಘಟ್ಟಗಳ ಉಳಿವು: ನಮ್ಮ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ - ಸುಮನಸ್ ಕೌಲಗಿ

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Kitchen garden and Nature Club Greens the School

The article is about a yearlong effort of our school in bringing awareness about organic farming among children. Being one of the senior teachers in Life Science department, I was directly involved in the Nature Club activities since last five years. My earliest experiences with the Nature Club were exciting and the response of the students too was overwhelming. They thought Nature Club was all about outings but the aim and vision of Nature Club was much broader! That was when I was deputed to a workshop aimed at building capacity of Life Science teachers and promoting Nature Club activities in schools at the Regional Museum of Natural History conducted by Mysore Amateur Naturalists. The fun filled workshop was in fact more serious in its approach and suggested a lot of activities to be carried back home. The timely association with NGOs rejuvenated my confidence in teaching profession.

I would like to share this experience of the task of keeping our School Nature club active and a hub of learning and recreation. Over the past three years my association with Hasiru Hejje team has enabled me to shape up our annual Science expos’ in a thought provoking way. Choosing a common theme for the event and pooling in all possible view points of other subject teachers were done on highest priority. A number of projects were thought of in each subject. The students were brainstormed about the topics and given a choice to select a study project based on their interest.

In the year 2012 the School chose to name the expo as ‘Vignanamayam’ and I worked a few extra nights to intensify Natural Science themes in the fair. Keeping Man and Nature as the central theme, Man Animal Conflict, Land use Pattern Change, Depletion of Lakes, History of Green Revolution, Natural Farming and Water Foot Print were chosen as sub themes. With about five projects per theme we were able to dominate the entire expo. With the involvement of the right resource persons and agencies we were able to bring in every day issues and present it in a convincing way. With a main concern to make the exhibition eventful and appealing to younger class and visiting parents, model making was given all the push. Clay, cotton rags, papier-mâché and card board were the raw materials. Plastics and thermocol were consciously not brought onto the work table.

 Clay models of snake to help identification, leopard animal conflict, do’s and don’ts on seeing a wild elephant in the city limits, statistics about unnatural elephant deaths, effects of using chemicals in agriculture, collection of native paddy varieties, organic soil and organic pest control were all the highlights among the sixty projects  under a dozen sub themes. The parents and the public comprehended the efforts and whole heartedly appreciated the efforts of the Nature Club and it’s in charge. Of course the support from the management was beyond any honor to an enthusiastic teacher like me.

The students and the school took a long time to come out of the reminiscence of the success. The event had a slow and percolating effect upon the behavior of the students. Some students who were shy had opened up a bit, those who were less attentive to lessons showed better involvement in the class room; the rouge and bully types became easy to handle even by the non-class teachers and so on.

The following year the management realized the real outcome of the science expo and was ready to dedicate more time and money. To me it was not just a matter of joy but added responsibility. We decided to work upon the theme statement of the year’s World Environment Day. We named it ‘Aharamrutham’ and started the work much in advance.  Every aspect of food was considered- the agro-climatic, socio cultural, and techno-economic dimensions. History of Agriculture, Collection of native varieties of Ragi and minor millets, Concepts of Permaculture, Poster Exhibition, Farm Visits,  field to market, food preservation and adulteration, nutrients in food, food, food processing, food recycling, food economics were all envisaged in the fair. Once the students picked up their topics attempts were made to give them huge amount of inputs and prompted with many possible ways of expressing their views. Many field visits were arranged for them to gather information in their respective pursuits. A team went about meeting vegetable growers around Mysore to learn about their economic endeavors while another team visited the Defense Food Research Laboratory to know the science behind making Food for a Space traveller. Another team visited a pioneering NGO working to promote Organic Farming at Marthalli, in the foot hills of Male Mahadeshwara hills. The visit to ANISHA- helped our students pick up ideas and concepts of Permaculture, Growing vegetables on raised bed platforms, Local varieties of Seeds and their preservation, natural pesticides and a number of time-tested practices blending with modern Sciences. Their research plots and the seed bank won the imagination of every student.

 This year’s exhibition was in fact more powerful than the previous year. The students stood proudly in front of their projects. A model Farm of Anisha and an enormous collection of native seeds and vegetables attracted one and all. The collection of 56 local varieties of Ragi including those from Orissa and Nepal were on display.

 As though to complete the square a “Desi food mela”, a Ragi Milk parlor and a Film festival on issues related to Food and Agriculture were also arranged during the exhibition. There was a wide coverage in the press and the School management was impressed by the efforts and intentions of the Science club. The half a dozen native cows reared by the school and the already green mind set of the Principal Br. Virijamritha Chaitanya now   started thinking real big.

She took a policy decision to utilize every possible space in the school to develop a kitchen garden. She set afoot at trying out vertical gardening that is becoming popular in the west. Her home work landed at a Japanese concept of ‘Curtain Gardening’. The combined effort of the students and the teachers over a couple of weekends enabled to prepare soil with a copious proportion of compost to be lifted up to all the four floors in polythene sacs. Seeds of vegetable and creeper were sown in the bags, early June. By the teacher’s day on September 5^th, miracles had happened.

The school space had not only got greener, cooler and dust free but had become aesthetically appealing to the students. We could develop a green walk through about a kilometer long where such space simply didn’t exist. The students had an opportunity to observe and appreciate the growth of plants and the insect visitors’ right next to their class rooms. While some students pinch to taste the buds of certain vegetables they had no taste for while others police the produce with authority!

Now the school Nature Club, the management and the two NGOs are all feeling content.   They have all teamed up to keep up their good intended efforts on and ticking. While ANISHA working in the forest fringes was striving to drive their organic concepts into schools and younger generation, our school in the city was looking for ideas. The mediation of ‘Hasiru Hejje’ which works with both the distant agencies is trying to help the ideas materialize for them.

This year the partnerships are indicating much better yields for the Nature Club. Our Principal has made personal visit to ANISHA and met up with Rajan and Valli who run the center. She speaks of all the things she saw there first hand. Permaculture, low input agriculture and sustainable lifestyles are the catch words in the campus vocabulary.  Now the responsibility of the Nature Club is the fourth floor to experiment with the concept of cultivating in raised bed platforms with permaculture techniques. All the sacks in along the corridors have now been connected with drip irrigation and needs very little care.

Never did I think with Biology teaching, I would learn so many things in life. It is probably the time spent with children outside the classroom and the text books; time spent in meeting people and knowing things to tell my students. During the parents meeting, some are taking the stairs to the upper floors off to appreciate the green curtain. Some even make enquiry for vegetable seeds.  ‘Yes the bug is catching up!’ Exclaims our Principal ‘the school is getting greener and it must radiate across’.

Geetha H
PGT in Biology
Amrita Vidyalayam, Mysore

Rejuvenating children in Nature is their priority to teaching

Exploring on the green hills

Taking the class out doors is a tedious task these days. With rampant urbanization and commercialization of the country side a teacher finds it hard to hit upon a suitable location to expose their children to the joys of the out doors. Teachers who have found the worthiness of it upon the young minds must strive to take the kids on excursions against many odds. If the rising cost of transport or the entry fees to the park is a bother of some schools, keeping discipline and safety of the children are a fear of others. Some schools have even expressed their stand upon the unwanted risk of taking the teenagers out on a trip. ‘You don’t know what is in store. We cannot control their socialization within our own campuses. How could the teacher manage them in the woods!  Many teachers even in big cities express their anguish. If these factors are not an issue then the priority of the school are for religious circuits. The idea gets a better chance of acceptance from the parents and would have cheaper accommodation and free food at the temples.

Kids develop a 'lending hand ' in the outdoors

We find very few teachers who succeed in persistently pushing their interest of exposing their class to the outdoors. They face the wrath of their head masters and colleagues if not timely advice upon the nonexistent ‘imminent benefits’ for all the unwanted trouble she takes. Quoting the media about the increasing atrocities and abuses upon children they prove that the venture of taking children to the forests is suicidal in every sense.

Getting up the gully

Timmapur with his students

The first teacher who comes to our mind is Mr. S G Thimapur who served at a high school at Hidkal, a township created for the working staff of an irrigation project in Belgaum district. He spent most of his carrier teaching English in the remote yet multi faceted village. The school catered the children of the officers and the ground workers; he taught them all, the same confident stand. School hours apart, he was in constant touch with the Natural history of the dam site which had ample scope for learning. Being an authority on the birds of that locality he nurtured many students in the class as well as the outdoors. In fact his wife who taught at the primary school also towed along all his expeditions. His house would be bubbling with activities of children of various classes. Probably he was picking up all the eco smart kids in the school; some of them have got into wildlife studies in prestigious institutions.

Ms. Suma standing tall with her students

Suma G teaches Science at Srikantha Girl’s High School, and is a dedicated Nature enthusiast who has shown tremendous perseverance in the Eco club Movement. She was inducted in 2002, when she first represented Mahaveer Education Society for our Capacity building Program for Teachers Running a Nature Club, with the support of WWF-India.  The two year follow up package of the program in thirty schools in the District of Mysore witnessed her excellent performance and she won laurels to her institution and our society as well. Ever since, she has kept up her good spirit of learning and communicating with young minds. She attends every possible event related to Nature in town to keep herself updated with current issues and do justice to her profession of teaching Science and her passion of running the School Nature Club.

The Salu Marada Timakka Eco Club she runs at Srikantha Girl’s High School is kept thoroughly active with numerous guest lectures, field visits and excursions. She is being a source of Inspiration for many children to perceive Natural sciences for a carrier.

Gundappa on his favorite turf

Mr. Gundappa is another teacher beyond compare. Apart from many accolades and honors he ha won the hearts of many students through his constant nudging them into natural history. Working at a small village called Nagavalli near Tumkur, his School Nature Club was recognized by the IISc., for their work on preparing a Biodiversity register of the village. His work with the students in protecting Slender Lories in the village locality has got him state wide recognition. He recalls that day in his pre teacher training course when a lecture by TVN Murthy, the founder of Wildlife Aware Nature Club (WANC) inspired to do something for Nature.  Ever since he worked with the club and in a decade’s time takes up the responsibility of the president ship of the same.  

Ms. Triveni with her class on the rocks

Mrs. Triveni is one other motherly figure which the children of DMS, in Mysore are endowed with. Though she appeared a little late on our radar her dedication could be felt with her professionalism and the intimacy she has with her teenage students. Cutting across subject barriers she ceases every opportunity to correct grammar, language, attitudes and beliefs of the students. History, sociology, politics and current affairs are all her sidekicks in teaching science. She like Gundappa, Suma and Thimmapur and many others feel that taking children to the out doors will certainly charge them up for the rest of the year. Such wonderful teachers are rare to get.