Conservation Education
The mission of Keystone Foundation is to enhance the quality of life and environment with indigenous communities using eco-development approaches. Keeping this in mind, we initiated a programme on Conservation Education at various levels of the communities in the NBR. The level of interactions can be termed in the following heads.
- Conservation education for village school children
- Conservation education for village children
- Conservation education for elders in the community
- Harvesters meeting: Sustainable harvests of minor forest produce
- Cycad conservation centers
- Bee Museum
Keystone Foundation works primarily in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve covering the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. Our Conservation education programs are covering 4 zones of the NBR – 1) Sigur, 2) Pillur, 3) Nilambur and 4) Geddesal.
1. Conservation education for village school children:
Keystone Foundation selected village schools in which community children are studying. The program is aiming at children from 5th standard to 9thstandard. A group of 25-30 children are there in every school, we meet twice in a month and we are moving with a plan to bring up a document/ poster/booklet on the community’s view on forest/conservation/biodiversity/culture/ and geography of their area. In every programme, we show them a documentary film, posters on conservation, conservation oriented group discussions, games that evoke conservation values, painting, skits and stories.
2. Conservation education for village children:
This program is conducted in the village with the help of elders who equipped with valuable traditional knowledge. Traditional healers, honey hunters, NTFP collectors and framers are those who take children to the forest land or agriculture land. This is done on a weekend (once in a month in Sigur, Pillur, Geddesal and Nilambur). This is one of the most interesting conservation education activities for children and elders in the village as the community elders are respected and new generation is informed with their own traditional knowledge and experience of their older generation.
3. Conservation education for elders in the community:
By doing this program we mean to synchronize both traditional and ‘scientific’ (outlook on conservation) knowledge. This would help community to access others’ ideas on conservation and in return, Keystone Foundation would benefit with ‘barefoot ecologist’s mind’. Their ideas and thoughts on conservation are documented. Methods followed in this attempt are discussions, monitoring and exposure visits. The module for a conservation education is being developed and the level of acceptance is high since the whole concept is developed by the community itself. This is an experiment tried in Nilambur and we begin to implement in other areas as well.
4. Harvesters meeting for sustainable harvests:
One of the direct impacts of the forest degradation is caused by unsustainable ways of harvesting NTFPS. Through various assessments we found that many NTFPs which are economically needed and ecologically under threat.
Target group for harvesters meeting are determined based on distribution of NTFP species collected, found in selected regions. The schedule for this program is followed by a NTFP exploratory PRA and a reconnaissance survey with GPS to locate NTFPs – out of these, an actual condition of the forest area and NTFP status is created and discussed with the followed by a NTFP exploratory PRA and a community. In the discussion we share collection practices of harvesters, where it is decided whether such methods they follow are destructive or sustainable. Benefits of sustainable harvesting are discussed in these forums. Benefits are less destructiveness and preliminary value addition. Documentation and monitoring of the NTFP status are the thumb rules for this education program.
5. The Cycas conservation centers:
There are three Cycas conservation and information villages where cycads are found in NBR. People in the villages did not see the need to work on this plants conservation. The information centers and the nurseries of cycads are helping them to know the significance of conservation work and its need for areas where the species in found. Monthly program is conducted in these centers for the school children. Program is scheduled as follows: – visit to the cycad center, explaining the posters on cycad and a talk on RET species and visit cycad plants.
6. Bee Museum:
The Bee Museum in Ooty aims to impart nature education to school students and citizens for all walks of life through innovative workshops. This effort of Keystone foundation aims to be vibrant space with live demonstration units of bees, specimens and tools- both traditional and modern used in beekeeping and honey gathering.
The main activities in the Bee museum include a guided bee museum visit, interaction with subject experts, presentations, Films, Kurumba painting, Toda embroidery, Bamboo crafts etc.
The Bee Museum holds two special events every month. One event has a practical demonstration of different activities like bee keeping, organic farming, soil and water testing etc that for a part of the core activities of Keystone. The second event which is held on the last Wednesday of the month hosts special talks, slideshows, cultural shows from special invitees. Both the events are open to the public. Through these activities we wish to demystify some of the scientific techniques in the field and also spread a concern for the rich bio- cultural landscape of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.
The Bee Museum also reaches out to the schools of the Nilgiris district and hosts special modules for the children. These modules are on Bamboo craft, Kurumba art, Candle making, Toda Embroidery and Activity learning at a village. Participation in these activities gives the children a chance to interact and meet the different community persons.
The Bee Museum is an outreach center which speaks about the richness of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve Area.
