Week 5_Ecology & Biodiversity Management in human use landscapes
Week 5 was the much awaited week on Ecology, after 3 weeks of community, sanitation, livelihoods, enterprise and governance. The week focused on the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, with case studies from the region. However, all through the week, the broader concepts of socio-ecological systems and traditional ecological knowledge were drawn upon through lecture and reading […]
Barefoot Ecologists of the NBR – not low cost field assistants!
Its a little more than 10 years that we have been hosting a Barefoot Ecology program – which trains community members to observe and record habitat quality and changes . Over 50 + community members have been part of the program and they have taken up ecological monitoring, raising nurseries, conducting nature education programs and village […]
Field learning in Ecology and Society
An initiative of Azim Premji University and Keystone Foundation. The field learning in Ecology and Society, a structured internship offered by Azim Premji University and Keystone Foundation got off to a sunny start at the Keystone campus in Kotagiri, on 15th May, 2019. Six students of the MA Development course at APU got together with […]
The Food Prerogative
“Our food was our health, our medicine. In a world where we eat food full of chemicals, how do you think we will be healthy?” an elder’s voice from Aracode highlights our health intervention priority. As part of the health and wellness program, we at the Community Wellbeing program have been focusing on better nutrition […]
Wildlife monitoring – Observing bovines with verve
Wildlife monitoring is an essential part of conservation. In many parts of the world, it is proven to be a critical step taken to protect endangered species, as well as developing corridors for animals that will help prevent increasing human-wildlife interactions due to our invasion of their spaces in the name of development. Understanding human-wildlife […]
Week 7_A prep for the upcoming research phase
Exposure to different analytical methods Week-7 began with a quick recap on various research methods learned in the six weeks of NFLC classroom sessions. Neema emphasised the use of mixed methods such as observation, reflective field-notes, interviews, inventory mapping, survey, etc. to enrich the quality of research work. The gathered information could be qualitative or […]
Week 1_The class of 2017
The Nilgiri Field Learning Centre 2017 started with a delightful surprise put forth by the Cornellians when they introduced themselves by writing their names in Tamil. It set a motivating tone for a new adventure as both Keystone and Cornell students are learning languages that embody tradition, culture and so many rich contexts. The Crossing […]