Care Earth develops illustrated manual on wetlands for children

Home of the Blue Lilyaims to draw attention to various ecosystems

Visual treat: The manual has case studies of wetlands like the Pallikaranai marshland in Chennai.

In a bid to teach the complex concepts of wetland ecology to children in an absorbing manner, Care Earth Trust, a city-based biodiversity research organisation, has developed an illustrated learning module along with SwedBio, a programme of the Stockholm Resilience Centre.

Home of the Blue Lily , a manual on wetland ecology, which was launched online on Tuesday, is aimed at drawing children’s attention to ecosystems native to their region. The organisation plans to print the manual and distribute them in government schools and among educators.

With colourful illustrations of flora and fauna and crisp texts, the manual introduces children to the concepts of biodiversity, biogeographic zones and wetland ecology of south India with case studies from Chennai.

Seetha Gopalakrishnan, senior project associate, Care Earth Trust, said it would be an interactive module and observation guide for children. It explained concepts such as ecosystem services, wetland dynamics, climate change and biodiversity.

“Children can explore nature and different types of habitats with the help of the manual that has case studies of flora and fauna found in the Puduthangal lake near Tambaram and butterflies of the Pallikaranai marshland. We have worked out activities like hidden images for children to check during outdoor visits and workshops,” she said. The organisation had chosen the Puduthangal lake, which was restored by it a year ago, for its accessibility during workshops.

Workshops planned

However, such open observation workshops would be organised during a later phase along with Beyondbuilt Trust, owing to the pandemic. The manual has chapters on culture, folklore, traditions and heritage related to the wetlands.

“The idea is to have children appreciate wetland ecology, nurture a relationship and conserve them. They would get to learn about nature-based solutions for issues plaguing waterbodies. For instance, a plant-based wastewater treatment can be one of the in situ solutions as elaborated in the manual,” she said.

The organisation can be reached at education@ careearth.in for queries on the manual.