“Care for our nature, no dirt will be left behind, leave it clean for the next to find.” //Mulle Schools’ Motto.
Nature school (”Mulle School”) has now been going on since year 2002. Today CIRHEP is working with it in 32 of the villages around the Kadavakurichi mountain and about 1500 children between five and fifteen years old are involved in the activities.
Aim:
- Educating local school going children about environmental conservation.
- Create awareness of understanding the importance of protecting the area around the Kadavakurichi reserve forest.
- Help them in building the capacity of taking care of their local environment.
Subjects in Nature School:
- Meaning of the environment and how we are taking care of it, on a global as well as on a local level.
- Water and soil conservation.
- The four pollution’s: Air, Water, Soil and Sound.
- Health and hygiene aspects.
- Equal rights between the sex and caste.
- Social work.
- Organic farming.
Main Activities:
- Trecking. (Field visit and exploring the surroundings, plants and animals in the local area).
- Voluntary work. (Street cleaning. Planting and watering tree seedlings in the area using pot irrigation methods. Collecting and preserving seeds from the wild. Involving children in watershed development activities).
- Eco – games. (Drama. Songs. Drawing. Quiz and essay competitions. Exchange program with Nature school in Argentina).
Besides from Mulle School, CIRHEP also has:
- Evening School. Most of the people in this area are illiterate and very poor so the parents can’t help their children by themselves and there is no educated person to guide them free of cost. The evening school has improved the children’s education level and environmental awareness.
- ECO – Clubs. The funds for Mulle School is now coming to an end. So since 2009 former sudents in Mulle School teach younger childer what they have learned, a form of peer education. The goal is to form 15 ECO – clubs and all together reach 300 children.
Impacts:
- Children got better knowledge about nature and the environment.
- The school campus and village streets are cleaner.
- Children give awareness to their parents, more parents are now involved in organic farming.
- Children show higher self confidence and less stage fear.
- Children start recycling.
- Children get higher marks.
We only have one earth so we need to look after it. Children are important in the environmental process because they are the future of India and the world. Our children can make a different.
