THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: To build awareness on the importance of conserving wetlands among youngsters, Climatehood on Wednesday organised a wetland schooling camp for youngsters in the district. As many as 105 students from All Saints’ College took part in the wetland schooling camp held at Punchakkari in Vellayani marshes. The initiative aims to teach the youth on how wetlands help tackle climate change and the importance of conserving them.
“We need a mindset change. Wetland schooling is our experimental approach towards protecting them. We have conducted several camps in the recent past. This is our first camp after educational institutions reopened in the state. The response from students was amazing and we were overwhelmed by the turnout. We saw more participants than we expected,” said Adarsh Prathap, project coordinator and co-founder of Climatehood.
He said the main objective is to promote conservation and restoration of wetlands through a holistic approach by integrating practical components, awareness campaigns and research. “The support from the natives and farmers is immense and this motivates us to do more activities at Punchakkari,” said Adarsh.
For the students, who have been stuck at home for a long time owing to the pandemic, it was an exciting experience. They got the opportunity to explore the rural outskirts of the capital and take part in farming activities. “We removed weeds and helped farmers prepare the paddy land for sowing seeds. It was a good experience and we walked, watched birds and enjoyed nature,” said NSS volunteer secretary Parvathy A S, All Saints’ College.
Sessions on climate change were also part of the camp. “We are planning to record wetland sound scaping with the help of participants. We made them walk and listen to the sounds of nature. Later, they shared their experience,” said Adarsh.