THE HINDU, Saturday, December 7, 2002
THE HINDU, Saturday, December 7, 2002
|
|
| SHRAVAN
A youngster in kindergarten has not visited the zoo, has not had a glimpse
of a tiger or entered the habitat of ‘big cats.’ Yet, he is not confused
about animals and speaks very clearly about the panther, deer and their
characteristics. Part of his clarity comes from the model zoo, a
small forest and a few tiger enclosures, all created by the students to
talk about the ‘big cats’.
The models are on display at the Jaigopal Garodia Hindu Vidyalaya Matriculation Higher Secondary School, West Mambalam, as part of the yearlong ‘Kids for Tigers’ (KfT) programme jointly organized by the Sanctuary Asia magazine and Britannia for creating awareness about tiger conservation among school children. “Soon after fixing the models in one of the halls, the children from KG classes were told about forests, the animals and other life forms found there and also about the role of zoological parks in protection and conservation of endangered wildlife,” says the Principal, Girija Seshadri. Before creating the models, the school children visited various houses in and around the school to collect signatures from residents, asking the Government to provide protection to the tigers, whose habitat is shrinking day by day. Before the signature campaign, the head of the school’s Eco Club, Ms.Kalyani Bharath, attended a workshop for teachers organized by Sanctuary Asia magazine and Britannia. As part of the programme, ten students from ten schools will be selected as “Tiger Ambassadors’ to attend a three-day Regional Wildlife Camp to be held at Bandipur, beginning on December 12. Through the camp the children will get a chance to interact with children from Bangalore, Hyderabad, Forest department officials, naturalists and wildlife researchers. In January, children from 70 participating schools in the city will take part in the “Tiger Fest”, where they will display their creative talents on dancing, music, painting, fancy dress, skits, quiz, displays, models and charts. “Tiger-Water-Connection’ is the main theme for the ‘variety edutainment’ programme which will be held in the city, says the KfT Chennai co-ordinator, Swarna Ramakrishnan. The yearlong programme will come to an end with a Tiger Mela in Ranthambore, Rajasthan. One student from each city will be selected and will participate in the final programme during February next year, she adds
By P.Oppili
|
