Nature is the new teacher for kids

KOCHI: ‘Come forth into the light of things, let nature be your teacher,’ wrote William Wordsworth. Do students get to interact with nature today?  “When we learn about many plants and trees, we have to visualise how they look. Once in a while we are taken to the places like Mangalavanam, where we get to see the plants that are thrilling and uplifting,” said Angana Kunjumon, a Class IX student of St Antony’s School, Kacheripady.   “I am a member of the Nature Club, but it’s not very active. We need to get more exposure to life of plants, canals, rivers, hills, backwaters, sea etc,” said Anagha of Bethany Girls High School, Pattimattam.  Agila, of St Mary’s High Secondary School, Morakkala, said that the Nature Club is active but all the students do not get to participate.  Students, especially in the city schools, are deprived of the opportunity to watch sprouting of seeds, its growing stages, understand the need to nurture them, importance of water and manure etc. All these have deeper levels of meaning which students can learn through observation and guidance.  “Students would be green conscious and react to environmental issues only if they get to bond with the nature. They will not litter the place with plastic or pollute the air or water bodies and begin to conserve them,” said Mathew Cherian, principal, Edappally UP School. The  students of the ‘Young Farmers Club’ grew bananas and some medicinal plants in about 25 cents of land. However, all students were not involved in the project. “This is not enough. Students should interact more with the nature and be involved in the greening efforts,” he said.  School students in the rural pockets get to interact more with the nature. “We have many clubs but the Nature Club is the foundation. A good grounding in agriculture will have students revering nature. We cultivate paddy, banana and vegetables and use the produce for the school meal scheme,” said Shaji of MKM High Secondary School, Piravom.    “Instead of contributing a book for birthdays, each student can be asked to plant a sapling. The Nature Club and its activities are  not enough. More exposure to the nature is needed,” said Beena Victor of Global Public School.  The National Green Corps, initiated by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development, in schools is yet to take off in a big way. The eco-clubs are doing well on the campus but are yet to be active outside. Campus greening, biodiversity identification, tree planting, water conservation, rainwater harvesting, energy conservation and energy auditing are the activities scheduled. “Funds have been passed but it is not enough and only 220 of the 250 teachers attended the training.  The programme is yet to be full-fledged. Students have to be roped in for the scheme and they have little time for it,” S Sitaraman, Ernakulam district coordinator of the programme. “Awareness campaign and distribution of pamphlets will be done soon. It’s up to the principal and the teachers in-charge to get students to participate, as only if students get hands-on experience will they begin to love nature and understand the green issues,” Sitaraman added.