THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As part of its effort to spread the message to protect and ensure the conservation of wetlands among youngsters, Climatehood -- the Climate Youth Fraternity -- in association with Revive Vellayani has launched wetland schooling camps for students and youngsters in the district. Recently, hundreds of students from All Saints’ College took part in the Wetland Schooling Camp organised to educate students on the importance of wetlands in tackling climate change. Bird watching and paddy farming were among the activities arranged for the students as part of the camp.
Regional coordinator of Youth Engaged in Wetlands, Adarsh Prathap, who conceived the idea of wetland camping, said that imparting real-life experience to youngsters is the only way to build ownership for the conservation of wetlands. “The response was immense and the students got real-life experiences. They got to know more about the bird species and were involved in farming activities. We aim to spread wetland messages to maximum schools, colleges, and youth groups,” said Adarsh, who is also the principal investigator of the Revive Vellayani project. He said that they have identified other wetlands in the district for organising more such camps. Vellayani lake, Punchakari marshes and Myristica swamps of Palode are some of the sites identified for the purpose.
Chief coordinator of Climatehood, Bharath Govind G S said that scarcity of paddy fields is a major issue. “This time, we could give real farming experience for the children but there are not many paddy fields for more exposure to the youngsters in farming activities. There are wetlands owned by private parties and there should be an effort to make such land available for farming activities”
Ardra B of All Saints’ College, who took part in the camp, said that it was an enriching experience for many of them. “Many of the participants were seeing a paddy field for the first time and it was interesting to watch the birds. We spotted around 32 species of birds,” she said.
Tackle climate change
The Climate Youth Fraternity in association with Revive Vellayani has launched wetland schooling camps for students and youngsters in the district. It aims to educate students on the importance of wetlands in tackling climate change by providing real-life experiences