World Wide Fund for Nature celebrates Earth Day

New Delhi: WWF- India hosted a refreshingly creative and informative celebration of Earth Day on April 22nd, 2010 at the India Habitat Centre in collaboration with Katha, a social organization into education running 96 schools in slum communities. The occasion was marked by an interactive launch of a picture book ‘Walk the grasslands with Takuri’ authored by Nima Manjrekar and Nandita Hazarika and brought alive with the brilliant art by Maya Ramaswamy.

Students from different schools and NGOs participated in the activities planned for them. Educationist and a renowned storyteller, Nupur Awasthi recounted the story of the grasslands and sensitized the children about the earth, environment, animals, plants etc. through storytelling. A mask making activity and a quiz on flora & fauna was also conducted to inform the children about various facts on animals, their constantly changing environment and the impact of our actions. This event was an attempt to bring the children closer to their elements of existence in order to invoke more reverence for nature and mother earth.

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, WWF- India joined hands with the Earth Day Network and organized Nature Trails at 13 locations across India (Guwahati, Assam; Kolkata, West Bengal; Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh; Bhubaneswar, Orissa; Shimla, Himachal Pradesh; Chennai, Tamil Nadu; Bangalore , Karnataka; Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala; Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh; Valsad, Gujarat; Goa; Mumbai, Maharashtra; and New Delhi. Through the Nature Trails the children were introduced to birds, trees, insects, reptiles, mammals, different vegetation and wild flowers in order to help them get acquainted with their nature world. In Delhi, a Nature Trail was organized for the children of Ritinjali Learning Centre, Kusumpur Pahari at the Aravalli Bio-diversity Park.

“Activities around days like these are meant to generate a sense of awe and wonder in the minds of young children in order to create that special connect with Mother Nature” said the Director, Education, Mita Goswami. Mr. Ravi Singh, SG & CEO, WWF-India further added “Books and Nature trails are one of the best ways to reach out to the young minds and educate them about the inevitable significance of various elements of our environment. There exists a need to create responsiveness in the young generation and initiatives like these aim to do just the same.”