wilD KIDZ ‘monSoon camp’

Thennan meiman gives trainng to draw elephant

Presentation about butterflies

Introduction about KMTR

The ATREE’s Wild Kidz ‘Monsoon Camp’ was a three-day two-night residential camp, held at Mundanthurai, Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR), organized by the Agasthyamalai Community Conservation Centre (ACCC), Manimutharu in association with Tamil Nadu Forest Department. This wild camp exposed 13 boys, 6 girls and 4 teachers of Muthamil Public School, Muneerpallam, Tirunelveli to the marvels of nature through lectures on line-drawings, uniqueness of KMTR, the morphology of plants and identification of the butterflies of KMTR. The camp helped the Muthamilaites to develop their outdoor skills through multiple activities such as a forest Hike, Road-kill Survey, Butterfly walk, and night watch, in which they have sighted many animals including Nilgiri Langur (Semnopithecus johnii), South Eastern Langur (Semnopithecus priam), Bonnet Macaque (Macaca radiata), Sambar Deer (Rusa unicolor), Spotted Deer (Axis axis), Wild Boar (Sus scrofa), Asian palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus), Common Pierrot (Castalius rosimon), Indian Wanderer (Pareronia hippia), Tunnel-web Spiders, Giant Millipedes (Spinotarsus colosseus), Oriental Scops Owl (Otus sunia), Garden Lizard (Calotes vesicolor), Common Sand Boa (Eryx conicus), Indian chameleon (Chamaeleo zeylanicus), etc. They learned wildlife techniques like monitoring Tree Phenology, moths trapping and scanning the behaviors of Bonnet Macaque, which increased their observational skills and taught moral values through hands-on in the forest. Events such as interviews with the heroes ‘Forest Department Staff’ and nature made them enhance their meaningful questioning and understanding skills. The canopy architecture of the shrub Karanda (Cassia carandas) showcasing numerous rings with six angles made the campers appreciate the nature’s design and compare this with chambers in the honeycomb. Games designed to introduce the children to the common phenomenon in biology offers a range of experiences in relating prey and predator relationships, identifying common biotic and abiotic factors related to KMTR and spotting hidden wonders helped them to increase their environmental awareness and skill. The dipping in the wild streams and river, story-telling, dancing, cracking jokes, singing songs, etc. made the campers relax, enjoy and engrave the memories deep in the minds forever.

Game

Moth Screen

Submitting observations

Handling the millipede

Acknowledgements:

The ATREE team members Mathivanan, Saravanan, Thamizhazhagan, Thalavaipandi, Maria Antony, Prasanth, Vinod Kumar, Harshid Mishra, Shruthi, Sudha and Muthu would like to specially thank the following persons:  Mr.Kommu Omkaram, I.F.S. Deputy Director, KMTR for the permission and guidance to conduct the camp, Mr.Saravanakumar, Forest Range Officer, Mundanthurai, KMTR for providing accommodation and logistics, Mr. Ajithkumar & Mr. Sunikumar, Anti-Poaching Watcher, Mundanthurai, KMTR for guiding the nature trail, and Mr. Meimon Thennan for teaching  elephant line drawings. We specially thank Mr. T. Amaravel Babu, Chairman, Muthamil Public School, Mrs. A.Jeyanthy, Correspondent, Muthamil Public School, Mr. Karthick and Ms. Maria, Faculties, Muthamil Public School for guiding and taking care the students.  Hearty thanks to the enthusiastic campers Arran A, Arumugam K, Dharani Dharan M, Dharvesh R, Irfaan Z R, Jeyaharish C, Madhesh P, Prathyush A, Raj Mano R, Rohanrakesh A, Venkat Natarajan G, Prabhu, Sathish Kumar R, Vishnu Sanjay Kumar, Gracelin Jasper S, Pushpa Lakshmi M, Ruthra P S, Safa Begum B, Seetha Lakshmi M and Sowmiya A.