What is this caterpillar called?’’ This ordinary question by a ten-year-old student of the Government High School Tala near the Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh left his teachers surprised. Ordinarily, the child would crush the caterpillar rather than express a desire to know its name!

This is just one of the small changes taking shape among the tribal community living near tiger reserves in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. From requesting their parents to stop killing animals for food, to boycotting the tea vendor who uses teakwood to prepare the tea, students are becoming more conservation-conscious. This consciousness is now spreading to adults in the community: from tour guides to tribal women and government officials.

And this has come through lessons in the ecosystem and biodiversity, courtesy the Conservation Education Programme run by the Bharati Vidyapeeth Institute of Environmental Education and Research (BVIEER) in over 60 schools in the vicinity of three wildlife reserves at Bandhavgarh and Sanjay in MP, and the Dudhwa National Park in UP.

Through this programme, over 6,000 students have been learning about rare species of animals, birds and insects in their immediate surroundings. Through innovative card games, jigsaw puzzles and role plays, students learn about different species, as well as their characteristic traits and habitat.

‘‘Surprisingly, in spite of living on the outskirts of or sometimes even within the PAs, most of these children have never actually gone inside. This indicates the extent of alienation of the local community from the ecotourism trade in these sanctuaries,’’ says BVIEER Principal Shamita Kumar.

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