The Nilgiri Natural History Society organized an educational tour of the Nilgiris on the 19th, 20th and 21st of September for the children of Rishi Valley School (A.P).
Day one of the tour started with a picturesque ride on the Nilgiri mountain railway followed by a visit to a tea factory in Coonoor where the children got a chance to view the tea manufacture process at first hand. The group travelled on to Ooty to tour the Bee museum where they learnt some fun facts about Bee ecology after which they watched the documentary The Honey Hunters of the Blue Mountains.
The next day the group captained by Historian Rev. Philip K Mulley visited some important landmarks in Kotagiri, namely Sullivan’s memorial in Kannerimuku, Longwood Shola and Kodanad View point. The Reverend spoke to the children on the history, the people and the changing landscape of the Nilgiris. The evening was spent touring the Keystone campus in Kotagiri under the guidance of Sam, Saneesh, Suganthi, Anita and Bala of the Keystone conservation team who kept the kids engaged while they explored the different facets of the organization. An evening of festivities followed with music by the Kurumba tribe from Banagudi. The kids and Keystone staff all danced around a bon-fire to the haunting tunes of the Kurumba musicians.
The last day was spent visiting different tribes around the Nilgiris. Namely the Kotas, Todas and Irulas. The students were divided into four groups and each of these groups was taken to a different village where they got a chance to interact with indigenous communities and get a sense of their day-to-day lives and also participate in some of their livelihood activities for a day. It was an activity and fun packed three days where learning was the principal goal.
Schools interested in educational activities centering on the Nilgiris as described above can get in touch with us at contact@nnhs.in.
