Tamil Nadu - Chennai   

Awareness through tales of fishes and birds

— Photo: V. Ganesan

Informative:Underprivileged students being taken on a tour of Tholkaapiya Poonga on Saturday.

CHENNAI: Immediately after nine professionals completed a series of storytelling sessions on Saturday at Tholkaapiya Poonga, a quiet group of 112 underprivileged student-participants started off a flurry of questions to get their doubts clarified on environment and ecology. The questions ranged from the need for birds or insects in an ecosystem to measures to tackle air and noise pollution.

The storytelling sessions at the Poonga kindled the curiosity of the students on environmental issues, said one of the teachers who accompanied them.

“The storytelling sessions are part of the efforts by Young Indians (a part of Confederation of Indian Industry) to create awareness among school children as part of the World Environment Day celebrations,” said Prasanna Rajagopalan, Chairperson of Young Indians-Chennai. The participants belonged to the Government Home for Girls in Kellys. The sessions encourage students and promote education on the ecological system and diverse environmental issues, said S. Vidya, another organiser of the storytelling session. “The stories also inculcate moral values among the students. The students would make it a point to throw a waste paper in a bin once they have attended the sessions,” said Anuradha Nair of Young Indians.

The sessions started with a story about a fish ‘Charlie' that tried its best to survive on land. The story was just to make the students understand the process of evolution, she added.

Bird spotting, tree hunt, photosynthesis, migration and treasure hunt were some of the sessions included in the programme.

The stories threw light on special facts about the birds, fishes and insects, said Ashwin Chander, Environment co-chair of Young Indians. Students spotted a lot of birds not commonly seen, he added. “They would also learn crucial aspects about the need for a better environment,” said Mr. Chander.

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