Kanniyakumari teachers sensitised about preserving forests

The event was held by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, New Delhi, in association with Tamil Nadu Forest Department, Kanniyakumari Division. Nazz Rizvi, Director of National Museum of Natural History, New Delhi, inaugurated the programme. 

What was new about the event was that participants were asked to trek to the venue. About 50 teachers from various schools in the district participated in the programme.

S S Davidson environmental educator who coordinated the trekking, said it was meant to provide eco-exposure to teachers with an aim of seeing while learning and to give opportunities to have participatory environmental exposure to forest ecology.

He said Kanniyakumari forest was a rich repository of biodiversity with the flagship animal elephant. It also has other animals such as Indian gaur, sambar , wild boar, wild hare, mouse deer and lots of reptile species including cobra and king cobra and more than 3000 species of birds.

Situated at the tail end of the Western Ghats, Kanniyakumari forest is listed as a ‘Biodiversity Hot Spot’ at the global level and a UNESCO heritage Centre owing to the richness of biodiversity species. So, teachers have a pivotal role in preserving the forests and the ecosystem, said Davidson.