Key Contact
Parikshit Gautam
Director, Freshwater & Wetlands Conservation Programme
WWF India,
New Delhi Main
+91 11 41504820
Aditi Raina
Coordinator- Freshwater and Wetlands
WWF India,
New Delhi Main
+91 11 41504815
The Water School Programme is an education program that allows school children to explore their relationship with the environment, especially with water. The programme is set against a backdrop of ongoing conflict between the Keoladeo National Park and the villagers on sharing of water, ever since the Ajanbandh Dam was constructed on the Gambhiri River. It takes up issues of even conflict resolution that is pertinent to their lives, socially as well as environmentally.
The programme in the year 2009, will engage over 500 children from schools in villages around the Park and the water source. It runs for 5 days in each school and focuses on participatory learning and learning-by-doing. Hence, as opposed to the traditional one-way communication from teacher to student, it involves games that are purposeful and lead to some crucial learning on conservation and conflict management. Further, two days are for activities outside the school, where the children interact with their community members and understand local water issues. Additionally, they will follow-up this knowledge with an action, through a shramdaan (voluntary collective community action) and by organising a small event in the village, which could include a rally, plays, songs etc. The children are also taken on a field visit, where they are encouraged to experience nature, not merely as a generic part of their lives but as key contributor to their existence and survival in the world. Through this experiential learning over 5 days, they can develop a conscious relationship with their surroundings that encompasses environment as well as people.
This park requires effective management for the survival of the numerous species of flora and fauna, particularly the birds that inhabit here in different parts of the year. In the long-run, this program aims to create a positive relationship between the Park and the people. It will allow the people to recognise the park as an important ecological site and work with others to protect this man-made wetland.
The programme in the year 2009, will engage over 500 children from schools in villages around the Park and the water source. It runs for 5 days in each school and focuses on participatory learning and learning-by-doing. Hence, as opposed to the traditional one-way communication from teacher to student, it involves games that are purposeful and lead to some crucial learning on conservation and conflict management. Further, two days are for activities outside the school, where the children interact with their community members and understand local water issues. Additionally, they will follow-up this knowledge with an action, through a shramdaan (voluntary collective community action) and by organising a small event in the village, which could include a rally, plays, songs etc. The children are also taken on a field visit, where they are encouraged to experience nature, not merely as a generic part of their lives but as key contributor to their existence and survival in the world. Through this experiential learning over 5 days, they can develop a conscious relationship with their surroundings that encompasses environment as well as people.
This park requires effective management for the survival of the numerous species of flora and fauna, particularly the birds that inhabit here in different parts of the year. In the long-run, this program aims to create a positive relationship between the Park and the people. It will allow the people to recognise the park as an important ecological site and work with others to protect this man-made wetland.
