When you think of wildlife research, the images that come to mind are walking through dense forests or dealing with unpredictable animals. And therefore meant for adults. But Coimbatore-based Mango Education and Zoo Outreach Organisation (ZOO) are out to bust that myth with their online course, Wild Detectives . “The idea,” says educator Payal Bhojwani Molur who volunteers with ZOO, “is to have age-appropriate curated stuff done scientifically by people who know what they’re doing.” She points out that children are getting a lot of information from YouTube and the Internet, “but is it the right stuff?”
Wild Detectives will teach children between 10 and 14 years about tracking wildlife and field biology. Held over three months from October, it will have the participant play the role of researcher, detective and a junior conservationist by learning how to map, read wild signs, decipher clues that reveal cultural perceptions of animals, understand how camera traps work, how to measure tracks in the wild and finally collate his/her discoveries for a project report.
Arumugam Sankaran of Mango Education emphasises that this will be hands-on experiential course. “All those who sign up will get a kit with both basic tools and those specific for the topic.” The other important factor is the webinar. While Payal explains that the course will have four webinars, Arumugam points out that one will be with an expert in the field. “Usually wildlife researchers are not accessible. This way, we can schedule the class according to everyone’s convenience and we also get the human connect.” What does he mean by that? “It’s not enough to send out kits and activities and video lessons. There has to be a face-to-face interaction,” he says earnestly.
Payal is only too happy to explain how the course works. “The children will be given a project; say watch a particular thing in their area, keep notes and report findings at the end of a week. Activities will be given through the month. They will present their research to the others in the batch and the guide. This is a way for them to show they are both responsible and independent. The long-term goal is to build a group of citizen scientists.”
And in case parents are worried that school work will suffer, she takes pains to clarify that the course is synced with the syllabus. “That’s why it is spread over three months and is only on weekends. We study things like Food Chain and Taxonomy but it is activity driven and fun. I have kept in mind kids who get oodles of homework as well.”
- What: A computer and an Internet connection. Children will receive a kit before the course begins. An optional field trip to a wildlife sanctuary to understand field reality
- When: Course begins on October 13. Last date to register is September 22
- Fee: Early bird offer of ₹9000 is available until September 15. Post that, fee is ₹9600
- Call: 7397786541 (Aasif) or 9952243541 (Varun)
- Register: https://themango.co/programs/online/wild-detectives/
While the first course will be about wild cats — “do you know India has 17 species of wild cats?” asks Payal — future ones will revolve around birds, insects… “we have lots of ideas,” says Arumugam tantalisingly. Levels will increase according to age, he informs and Payal adds, “When they’re 16, they can intern at one of our field stations.” And this, they hope, will form the nucleus of junior wildlife warriors across India. A pressing need in these times of climate change and species extinction.