A campaign to safeguard Shanthivanam, a cluster of sacred groves spread across nearly two acres at Vazhikkulangara near Paravur, was a significant movement to preserve nature witnessed in the district last year.
The Kerala State Electricity Board’s move to put up a tower on the green campus that was home to several species of reptiles, birds, and mammals led to the mobilisation of young nature lovers and scientists who even sat on overnight guard of the campus. While the campaign was not a wholesome success, since a tower did come up on the campus, it has now triggered a social media initiative for the larger goal of understanding nature and promoting sustainable life.
ALA (Ask Learn Act), the online knowledge platform on nature, is fast turning out to be the preferred destination for nature enthusiasts, as it dispenses valuable information and clarifies doubts through its Instagram and Facebook accounts.
“As part of the campaign for Shanthivanam, we had observed an alert day for nature on the eve of World Environment Day in June last year in an obvious dig at the perfunctory and hollow activities that usually mark the occasion. At a gathering, an assurance of sorts was made about launching a meaningful initiative for nature, bringing together the expertise of scientists and the enthusiasm of youngsters. Thus was borne ALA this June,” said Meena Menon, founder of ALA and owner of Shanthivanam.
The online platform has a panel of experts who answers doubts posted by participants in the social media accounts of ALA. Usually, a topic is discussed in a week during which vignettes of information on it are shared all through, and questions related to it are answered by experts before a new topic is chosen the following week.
“There is a slow but steady rise in the number of followers, especially in the Instagram account, which is the main preserve of youngsters. The youth definitely have increasing interest in nature, and that enthusiasm has to be complemented by disseminating short and simplified but meaningful information in capsule form, since they may not have the patience to read through long articles,” said Ms. Menon.
Apart from generic doubts clarified through the comments section, visitors to the platform can send personal queries via Google Forms.
ALA plans to reach out to schoolchildren through small activities once the shadow of the pandemic is well and truly over and the number of followers also peaks. It also aims at kick-starting a campaign for sustainable living and turning itself into a go-between for numerous local nature groups.
(ALA can be reached at Instagram through @ask_learn_act)