Bird watching with the expert.

The main activities planned for this project are:

i) Ten environment education workshops (four in Phase 1,six in Phase 2 which is the second year) will be conducted in two schools to cover about 150-250 students of classes 7 and 8. These workshops will be conducted by specially appointed environment educators. Knowledge base on issues pertaining to the conservation of BWLS and its biodiversity will be strengthened.

ii) Activities at primary and upper school levels will be conducted. The activities will be specific to the local context, and appropriate educational aids will be developed. The activities will be child centred, and will include indoor and outdoor games, art and craft, theatre, nature walks, film screenings etc. As far as possible, curricular links will be drawn.

iii) Development of relevant and local educational material. An information kit consisting of various educational aids e.g. posters, cards, worksheets, booklets, games etc linked to content will be developed for students to be used during workshops. Schools will be encouraged to make these accessible to students to enhance their interest and learning. The material production will be in the local language as that is the medium being used in schools in the area.

iv) Identifying and training two people from the area as local environment educators. Preliminary talks are on with Maharashtra Arogya Mandal (MAM, an NGO that has worked in the area for many years) for help with identifying the environment educators, as well as exploring possible collaborations that will strengthen the programme. The training of educators will happen before each workshop and on the job during the workshops They will be trained on the thematic areas of the workshop as well as on how to conduct the workshop.