Curious minds and Feathered beings: A walk to Vedanthangal
- natureclassrooms
- Jul 29
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 8
-by Manjupriya Ayyanar & Maria Thomas
An Educator's Diary#7
“Why are the birds out in the air instead of in cages?”
This was one of the questions raised by a 12-year-old on seeing Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary. We were there with students in grades 6 to 8 of a government school during the wetland walk back in February.
Care Earth Trust has been conducting nature-education sessions, campus tree walks, and local walks in the school for the past 2 years. This has helped to inculcate an interest among children to explore nature, leading them to request a visit to Vedanthangal, ultimately resulting in the birdwatching walk.
The word ‘sanctuary’ had made them assume a zoo-like setting. They were amazed to see the majestic Painted Storks fly across the wetland in full freedom. The curiosity and keenness of the students to learn more about the flying creatures and their habits never dipped throughout the walk. The sight of familiar birds found in their locality made them realise the beauty, richness, and significance of their own village. The students were fascinated to witness mama birds feed their babies in close proximity with the aid of binoculars. They were curious to know about the making of nests and migration patterns and routes taken by these birds. One of the boys spotted and asked how the feet of different birds took different angles during flight.
However, the walk was not devoid of challenges of its own, which ultimately helped us unlearn and relearn strategies employed while dealing with young minds.
The students had travelled to the wetland in a bus and given that this was the first such excursion, it had been accompanied by music and dance. This added to their energies, which eventually peaked at the sight of the many pelicans and the solitary spotted owlet. Calming their high energies was no easy task, and we had to split them into groups and encourage them to identify birds from their basic features, such bill shape and colour, size of the bird, and other unique differentiating features. We couldn’t help but notice how the students were more focused on jotting down bird names from the signage installed across the pathway rather than experiencing the avian fauna in flesh and bones. This points out how the inherent drawbacks of traditional classroom learning programs shape the minds of students to rote learn rather than gain practical knowledge.
Ultimately, it was rewarding to witness the little ones creatively translate the knowledge gained during the walk to 5-minute demonstrations on nature conservation at the end of the event. We were glad to introduce the feathered beings in their natural habitats rather than in zoos, as imagined by the students.
P.S. From one organiser to another, ensure to
Conduct wetland walks during the peak of the migratory season.
Engage children in grounding exercises to calm their energies before starting the walk so that we can seize their attention better.
Consider showing some photos of the birding destination beforehand to set expectations and avoid being overwhelmed.
Image credits- Ariprasath S, Project Associate, Care Earth Trust
Written by :
Manjupriya Ayyanar- Junior Research Associate at Care Earth Trust with a Master’s in
Botany. Her interest area is research on freshwater ecosystems with an emphasis on
microalgal diversity.
Maria Thomas- Junior Research Associate at Care Earth Trust is an Economics
graduate with Master’s in International Relations. She is passionate towards the
cause of climate change with a special interest in water management and
conservation.
Contact the author: projects@careearthtrust.org
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