Roots: Living with the Irulas of Sathy
Nature Education at Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve; A faint smell of wet clay and cattle feed greets ones senses as they venture deeper into the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve of Tamil Nadu. Shouldered by the Eastern Ghats and native forests,protected areas of the reserve host the Galidhimbam and Mavanattam hamlets – home to the ‘Irulas’. We organized […]
Nature Education at Banglapadigai
NATURE EDUCATION AT BANGLAPADIGAI SUMMER CAMP May 18th & 19th 2016 Report Banglapadigai is an Irula settlement of approximately 27 households. About an hour’s drive from Kotagiri, it lies in the Aracode area which forms south-eastern slopes of the Nilgiris. The forest types on these slopes range from Moist deciduous to Scrub Jungle as the slopes […]
Outreach Sessions- Brindavan Public School, Coonoor
28th April 2016: The best way to teach kids about Nature and Ecology is not by lecturing them in the classroom, but by engaging with them through films and activities. At Brindavan school, almost 150 students of classes 4th and 5th participated in the viewing of two short documentary films about Nilgiris and its […]
Conservation Education at PILLUR (NELLITHURAI-SUNDAMPATTI R.F)
The Irula tribes have always been an integral part of the forests of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, but the recent ‘development’ and changes in lifestyle are affecting the way they interact with the forest. Several hamlets, each of approximately 9-10 families, dot the roads within the reserve forest. These houses are similar to the village […]
Isha Home School visits ‘Bee Museum’
“If the bees disappear, we’ll all be stung.” – David Suzuki Thankfully the bees of Nilgiris don’t seem to be disappearing anytime soon. We share an ecosystem with these hard workers, and it only makes sense for us to learn about bees. Not what the textbooks will have us believe. But what experience will […]
Through Tarnad mund’s Rolling Grasslands
“A landscape as seemingly endless as the sea. That is until you reach the cliffs.” Not often is a trail group closely followed for protection by a local tribal priest. And not often do said tribal communities allow outsiders to partake in their ceremonies. Much less get a quick crash course for […]
Omcar Foundation visits Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve
Omcar Foundation, a marine conservation non profit organisation (www.omcar.org), visited Keystone foundation. NNHS educator, Prudhvi Gali facilitated their tour of Keystone premises and the different groups that work there. A visit to the Keystone centre in Banglapadigai, Aracode gave these visitors from a coastal ecosystem a short introduction to the Nilgiri biosphere and its people. […]
Shola Trails
NNHS organises trails throughout the year for interested patrons. Other than the field trips and trails for our members and non members we also organise trails and visits for groups with specific interests. We had visitors from the Dubai Natural History society in March. Prudhvi Gali(NNHS) and Aradu Kuttan( Subject manager, Keystone Foundation) had organised […]
Nature Club, The Lawrence School, Lovedale
On 6th March 2016 a trek was conducted for the students of the Nature club by NNHS on their campus. We have resumed our weekly Friday meetings where current conservation issues such as biodiversity of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, deforestation, identification of native species, the threat of alien invasive species are discussed. We also plan […]
Village Elder Program, Anaikatty
To facilitate the transfer of traditional knowledge between the older and younger generations, a session on ethnobotany was conducted along with AK Bhojan, a village elder from Anaikatty. The session involved a walk with the children from the village along with the village elder who would help identify different species of native herbs, shrubs, grasses […]
