Farida Tampal began birding in the 1980s as part of the nature club of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). “I always proudly say that I know the WWF better than anyone else in the organisation because I started as a student member of its nature club,” says the Hyderabad-based Farida, today the State Director of WWF-India.
Watching birds, in her opinion, is one of the best ways to draw a child into the natural world. Not only are birds found in our midst, but they are also bright, have different calls, exhibit interesting behaviours and have deep cultural associations with human beings. “If you look at people in the conservation or wildlife sector today, most of them started with birdwatching,” she says.
Birds are indeed a great way to connect to nature because they do so many interesting things: sing, dance, court their partners, build homes, adds Bengaluru-based Garima Bhatia, Programme Manager at Early Bird, an initiative of the Education and Public Engagement Programme of the Nature Conservation Foundation. “In many ways, they are a lot like us,” she says. And introducing children to the natural world through birds has always been the primary mandate of Early Bird, which has been developing educational material, training nature educators, and conducting outreach initiatives to promote nature education.
Birds are bright, exhibit interesting behaviours and have a deep cultural association with human beings
| Photo Credit:
NAGARA GOPAL
One such initiative is the upcoming Young Birders’ Month (YBM), which is being steered by a core organising committee with members from Early Bird and WWF-India, including Farida and Garima.
This first-of-its-kind nationwide event, which seeks to introduce even more children to the fascinating world of birds, will take place throughout November— the month was chosen because it marks the arrival of migratory birds in many parts of the country and includes the birth anniversary of renowned ornithologist Salim Ali (November 12) and Children’s Day (November 14).
As part of the YBM, several bird walks, games, activities and quizzes will be held across the country. “The thought that there could be a nationwide celebration of birds around Salim Ali’s birthday has come to us several times in the past, but it is only this year that we decided to put it into action,” says Garima.
November sees many migratory birds like flamingoes arrive
| Photo Credit:
VIJAY SONEJI
The Early Bird team began by approaching WWF, asking them to join the core organising team, and they enthusiastically agreed. What also helped drive this initiative, in addition to WWF and Early Bird’s existing networks, was the “fantastic community across the country of organisations and individuals doing nature education, including Bombay Natural History Society, Birdwatchers’ Society (West Bengal) and Green Hub,” says Garima. This decentralised approach has enabled them to design activities across the country, including in Chennai, parts of Northeast India, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata. “We have around 35 events up on our website, both online and in-person, at different locations. And there are more planned.”
In Bengaluru, for instance, in addition to several walks, games, and nature journaling sessions throughout the month, there will be a bird-themed festival at the Bangalore International Centre (BIC) on November 22 and 23, which falls on a weekend. “For children, there will be events from storytelling and bird poetry to nature journaling and a bird song imitation competition, while for adults, there will be film screenings, talks and discussions about birds and an exhibition of award-winning bird photographs,” says Garima.
Another highlight is ‘Wingmasters’, a high-energy inter-school quiz that tests students’ knowledge, curiosity, and passion for birds, conducted by Bijoy Venugopal on November 15 as the opening event of the Nature in Focus festival that weekend at Jayamahal Palace. Additionally, in collaboration with the Sanctuary Asia Kids for Tigers initiative, Early Bird is conducting bird-themed activities at 20 selected schools in Bengaluru as part of the Young Birders’ Month celebrations. According to Garima, the kickoff event was a training workshop for teachers from the participating schools. “Each school is provided with an educational kit to engage children inside and outside the classrooms. This is being followed up with in-person activities, including walks, games, and creative activities led by a facilitator, in preparation for the Wingmasters quiz,
Young nature-loving quizzers outside Bengaluru need not despair, however. Another highlight of the month is ‘The Wild About India Quiz’, an online quiz on India’s wilderness and its wild inhabitants, inspired by the Wild About India book series by Indian Pitta Kids and Juggernaut.
Neha Dara, business head at Roundglass Sustain, who is part of the team organising the quiz, says, “While it is called Young Birders’ Month, the essence of it is getting young people excited about the natural world. So we thought we would make it a little more open-ended, not just about birds, and for a wider age group.”
Like humans, birds sing, dance, court their partners and build homes
| Photo Credit:
M. Sathyamoorthy
The quiz, which is open to children between the ages of seven and 15, will consist of “30 questions and lots of little prizes, so young people are excited and there is gratification for lots of winners,” says the Chandigarh-based Neha, who believes that collaborations between organisations working in the environmental space are critical.
“We all have different strengths, and when we come together, we can reach more children. Our endeavour is really that: to broaden the pool of people passionate about the natural world.”
A series of activities have been planned for the month
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Drawing children to the natural world is also something that Guruprasad KR, a passionate nature lover and bird enthusiast, who will be leading a walk titled ‘Know Your Surrounding Birds’ at Bangalore University on November 8, seeks to do.
Sensitising children to nature early in life inevitably leads them to treat the natural environment better as adults, believes the Bengaluru-based IT professional, who has participated in numerous bird surveys, and is deeply engaged in nature education and community conservation.“Youngsters definitely need it. Once kids connect with nature and the environment, their curiosity and way of learning are very different.”
To know more or register for events, log in to youngbirders.in
