Getting to know nature in our homes
Is that little piece of paint from the wall moving? Who cleans up the crumbs from my kitchen while I’m asleep at night? Who lives in that little white tent in the corner of the wall?
Have you been asking yourself questions like these?
There is a lot of biodiversity that lives peacefully with us in our homes, balconies, gardens and walls. The lockdown last year gave us the opportunity to spend time with them, and we discovered a new way to engage with nature.
But first - what is nature? Where can you find the natural world? Do you always need to go to faraway forests to experience the wonders of nature? By looking under a table, behind a picture frame, following a persistent sound or even peering into a bag of grains, you can find a whole new habitat to explore!
Discovering, observing and documenting these “hidden housemates” can be very exciting. We created a set of three Bingo sheets and activities that anyone can download, print or even draw in their notebook to learn more about nature in and around their homes. These are available in English, Hindi and Kannada.
Each sheet will introduce you to 9 Hidden Housemates, who you can go looking for in your own space using the illustrated bingo sheet as your guide. Once you find them, you may have more questions about who they are or why they behave a certain way. You can discover more about each of them through a list of specially curated resources and activities for all ages in the Bingo sheet.
Get ready to take a walk, look out of your window or peer under a pot and get to know your Hidden Housemates!
Nature Classrooms works with schools and educators to connect learning to the natural world. We develop culturally relevant and robust Nature Learning resources which correspond to primary school Environmental Studies curricula, as well as engage in capacity building for teachers and educators.
Team: Vena Kapoor, Roshni Ravi and Labonie Roy