Students from Various Schools Sensitized about Island Ecology and Environmental Awareness

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Port Blair, Jan. 4: The Andaman and Nicobar Environmental Team (ANET) at North Wandoor, organised a Middle School Island Ecology and Environmental Awareness programme at the base in North Wandoor. Fifteen middle school students, from six schools in Port Blair participated in this day long programme.

The programme started with a nature treasure hunt where the students discovered ten sites on the ANET property. The activity involved map reading to orient them with their surroundings and learn about the elements of nature such as termite mounds, plants, animals. The students were divided into teams and they competed with great enthusiasm. The game triggered communication and interaction among the students and facilitators.

The treasure hunt was followed by an interactive session on the island’s ecology, biodiversity and its importance. Students were also introduced to several concepts of co-existence, interdependency – within and between ecosystems, recovery from natural disasters, endemism on the islands, conservation, its need and importance. The presentation ended with a slide show of the wildlife of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago.

The post lunch session started with a walk and a wade in the mangroves fringing the bay of the Lohabarack Crocodile Sanctuary. Students were introduced to this dynamic habitat through an individual exercise of observation, documentation and reflection on any organism that interested them.

This raised several questions among the students thereby enabling better understanding. Exploring the mangroves then introduced them to the system and its various inhabitants and their adaptations, behaviour and symbiotic relationships. The walk led the group through old growth mangrove forests as well as regenerating areas, illustrating zonation, habitat succession, structure and key functions.

In spite of the excitement and drama caused by the sticky mud in the mangroves, some of the plants and animals observed were; mudskippers, hermit crabs, fiddler crabs, oysters, clams, Rhizophora, Pandanus, Nypa palms etc were identified. The walk continued onto the North Wandoor beach introducing them to the life of the intertidal zone on sandy beaches.

The day ended with a beach cleanup – an activity to develop a sense of belongingness amongst children and to inculcate the practice of no littering. They learned about the threats that sandy beaches and coastal habitats face due to human interference and how it can be minimized while still enjoying the coastline.