2025-10-08

The Wings of Awareness programme, an educational initiative of the Tropical Institute of Ecological Sciences (TIES) conceived and supported by Buimerc India Foundation, conducted a bird-watching session at Aravinda Vidyamandiram School in Kottayam. Crafted to immerse young minds in nature exploration, this initiative gave students the chance to connect deeply with their environment and discover local bird diversity within their own school campus. The project is implementing across 20 schools in Kottayam District, engaging around 1,000 students and 60 teachers.

The morning began with a foundational talk from Mr. AjayaKumar M.N, who shared principles of responsible bird watching, emphasizing the importance of careful behavior and consideration toward wildlife. His insights established a respectful and focused approach among participants as they ventured out to observe local avian species.

Among the birds recorded during the walk were familiar campus dwellers such as the purple-rumped sunbird, common tailorbird, racket-tailed drongo, and black-rumped flameback. The session spurred participants to notice species that often go overlooked in daily life, adding excitement to their learning experience.

To demonstrate how technology can enhance citizen science, Ms. Suhaana, the Wings of Awareness project officer, showcased the features of the CROW(Children's Resources for Ornithology and Wilderness)  application, illustrating how students can digitally log their sightings and share their contributions with the wider conservation community.

The workshop empowered attendees with hands-on skills in bird observation, inspiring them to continue exploring and contribute meaningfully to biodiversity protection as emerging citizen scientists.