Students usually get to visit the city’s Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) either as part of school excursions or when their family decides to take them. But here is a chance for them to experience the park like never before.
For the first time, the BBP will turn into a classroom of sorts by throwing its doors open to schoolchildren not just as mere visitors, but to also learn about the park, its upkeep and administration, and to get up close with its diverse inhabitants.
The ‘Youth Club’ programme, which begins on Tuesday, will see batches of interested students experience what the park has to offer in depth. The objective of the programme, according to Santosh Kumar, executive director, BBP, is to “inspire young minds to connect with nature and wildlife and to work towards their conservation by bringing about relevant changes in their day-to-day activities”.
The new initiative, open to students from classes 6 to 12, will be a 15-week affair, held every Sunday. It will include workshops, field visits and group activities.
During the half-day sessions (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.), participants will be put through theory and zoo rounds. The field trips will correspond to the theory classes.
For example, a class on ‘Nutrition and animal care –Veterinary and keeper aspect’ will be followed by a ‘Meet the Vets’ activity, while a class on ‘Forest and wildlife distribution in India with specific reference to Karnataka’ will be clubbed with ‘Tree and wildlife identification at the zoo’. Classes on ‘Introducing animal groups and more about the animals at the zoo: mammals/birds/lower vertebrates (reptiles, fish and amphibians)/invertebrates with focus on butterflies’ will also cover, among other things, the topics of adaptations, captive management, current threats and conservation efforts for each of the groups.
Other topics concerning wildlife in general will also be covered, including the man-animal conflict and administration and wildlife laws.
Though the maximum intake is 60 per batch, 20 have enrolled so far, Mr. Kumar said, adding that the programme will be an annual feature. Students will be charged ₹1,000 for the whole programme.