Guwahati: Aaranyak, a leading biodiversity conservation organization, conducted a two-day awareness and education program for school children on homestead gardens at Karebari, Bhuyanpara Range, Manas National Park in Assam.
The program, titled “Connecting Children to their Homestead Gardens,” is part of Aaranyak’s education and capacity-building initiative aimed at children aged 15 to 17. Its objective is to sensitize children about biodiversity, particularly within their homestead gardens, by enhancing their observational skills and encouraging discussions with their parents and grandparents regarding the rich diversity found in these gardens.
As part of the program, students underwent a pre-knowledge assessment on biodiversity and were engaged in activities focused on observing, identifying, documenting, and analyzing rare and locally threatened floral species, with the goal of restoring them in homestead gardens.
The event, held at the Karebari Jwngsar Bijab Khuli Afad (the village library), saw the participation of 31 children, their mothers, and members of the village youth group.
During the activity sessions, students were divided into groups to list the plants, animals, and edibles commonly found in their home gardens, along with their social and cultural significance. Additionally, children under the age of 7 were supervised by their mothers to draw using natural colors.
Further, the students were divided into four groups, each tasked with conducting surveys in one homestead garden in the village to record the flora and fauna present. All groups completed their assignments diligently within the allocated time.
The program was facilitated by Aaranyak’s trained volunteers and expert field team, including Saikhong Basumatary, Bijay Basumatary, Barnali Chakraborty, Swapan Kumar Das, and Stephen Basumatary, under the guidance of Dr. Jayanta Kumar Sarma. It received support from the IUCN-KfW project “Securing population of tigers, habitats and biological corridors in Assam, India.”
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