Nature Club
Nature Clubs, WWF-India's pioneering conservation programme, was started in 1976 to inculcate an appreciation for nature among young people through a participatory approach.
BackgroundA nature club is a group of young people, generating effective awareness through a collective effort of the members. Nature Clubs are initiatives towards pitching conservation efforts at societal level, which would have direct bearings upon decisions that we make as individuals and members of the society, in the interest of an environment of which we all form different parts.
WWF-India works through a network of urban and rural educational institutions within 26 States, through its Divisional and Field Offices, reaching out to nature lovers and conservation enthusiasts all over the country, in all the bio-geographic zones of India. Some of these regions fall under priority landscapes, biodiversity hotspots and fragile ecosystem categories.
Nature Clubs are now taking on a deeper and greater mandate, constantly transcending formal and non-formal education sectors, capacity-building, awareness generation through community action work, with the inclusion of public and private-sector organisations, encompassing a cross section of interests, stakeholders and vantage points for directing conservation action.
There are three types of Nature Clubs each not very distinct from one another, which cater to specific constituencies. They all interact and complement each other's initiatives within their shared socio-ecological context.
For children to be active participants in change, they need to develop as informed individuals, to expand their worldview and infuse environmental consciousness in choices that govern their lives. Beginning with an orientation week, followed by interactive sessions with films and slide shows on environmental concerns, members can undertake educative and participatory activities.
WWF-India provides a platform for initiatives like nature trails, exhibitions, tree planting, small conservation projects such as popularisation of energy conservation, pollution control, outdoor education workshops, nature camps to wilderness places are organised along with Bio-Regional project work leading to conservation action from schools.
Nature Clubs in Colleges and Institutes of higher learning
Environmental education assumes a new role at the level of higher learning. It is at this level, that many experience the chasm between foundational education received in schools and specialised knowledge in institutes of higher learning. In terms of environmental discourse, the transition also translates into a sense of removal from social-ecological realities.
While courses that highlight environmental issues exist, not all courses are as rigorous in terms of interdisciplinary environmental action research. Many also could do well with fieldwork education woven into them. Members of Nature Clubs can benefit largely from involving themselves in initiatives with organisations like WWF-India and other Environmental NGOs, by volunteering their time.
Nature Clubs in colleges and communities undertake more ambitious projects. Students at this level are encouraged to take up environmental action in communities, assist in biodiversity mapping, wildlife censuses, etc. Inter-college workshops for the youth are organised on generic development concerns and specific themes on conservation biology and environmental sciences. They additionally get to attend Nature Camps at subsidised rates and enjoy several other benefits that WWF Members receive.
Nature Clubs in Communities
Nature Clubs also serve as initiatives for promoting Civil Society engagement with environment. Going much beyond geographically bound residents' associations in our conception of communities, WWF-India encompasses guilds, professional and cultural associations, labour unions, academic institutions, media, pressure groups, environmental movements and non-governmental organisations, within the gamut of communities.
These groups can register themselves as Nature Clubs as long as they remain committed to conservation ethics and believe in the spirit of productivity, sustainability and equity in natural resource management.
Support is provided in terms of linking them up with Community Education and Participatory Conservation initiatives, assisting them to organise regional stakeholders meetings to address conservation issues, and furthering their capacities for conservation action and policy advocacy.
