DOCUMENTARY AND SHORT FILMS

‘Nature is the greatest gift of God and preserving it is the utmost duty of mankind.’

Classes : IX-X

Activity: Sensitizing kids to love the voiceless

The students were shown documentaries and short films as a wakeup call for the need to be environment conscious and caution them on the extinction of animals across the globe. Students were briefed about the endangered animals of China namely panda and the Asiatic lion, from Australia-the dolphin and from India, butterflies and common sparrows. Students were informed that pandas are endangered mainly due to habitat loss. Humans have cleared much of the bamboo forests that pandas need to survive and because pandas eat only bamboo, they cannot adapt to live outside the forests the way other animals can. The documentary on dolphins highlighted how their vulnerability to underwater noise, human interference and changes in their natural habitat triggered by marine traps and activities such as fishing, netting, vessel strike and above all pollution. The students were also cautioned that the winged creatures-butterflies and sparrows- once a familiar sight, are plummeting towards extinction due to mindless urbanization, landscape-scale threats from pesticides, development and global climate change. They were also sensitized that it is the indifference caused by a lack of emotional connects between humans and the natural world that is the major reason for animals being pushed to the edge of extinction. The films by Mohammad Dilawar, an environmentalist from Mumbai and Mr. Rakesh khatri founder of Eco roots Foundation also redressed the common problem of the current generation’s acute obsession with technology and their complete indifference towards nature. The documentaries also highlighted that the feathered beauties though tiny are very sensitive thus succumb to tower radiation. Their sudden disappearance as sentinels or as ecological indicators is a warning to humans about subsequent environmental hazards. Activity sheets highlighting the causes along with data survey on endangered species was completed by the students. The aim of the activity was to enable the students to  learn about the endangered species in diverse regions across the globe.