Category: Ecowatch

Living with microbes

Nandini Dholepat
The Backyard Discovery group learns about the many roles of bacteria and how they shape our world: there are some that heal, others that harm, and quite a few that even help plants grow.

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Looking into a microscopic world

Nandini Dholepat
The Backyard Discovery group delves into the microscopic world of algae, fungi, and protozoa to learn how even the tiniest organisms play a vital role in keeping whole ecosystems alive.

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A walk in the garden

Nandini Dholepat
From “living fossil” plants to towering ferns of the Jurassic era, the Backyard Discovery group visits the botanical garden to learn how history and science blend.

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Discoveries from the natural world

Nandini Dholepat
From the fascinating curling of fronds to the culinary uses of certain ferns, the Backyard Discovery group explores the connections between plants and their environment, while learning through observation and inquiry.

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Fascinating fungi-facts

Nandini Dholepat
From mysterious mushrooms to symbiotic lichens, Nandini Dholepat writes about a world where every fallen log tells a story of renewal and biodiversity.

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C is for climate change

Sanjhee Gianchandani
Climate change is a real problem and its solution is in humankind working together to reduce its effects. It is not enough if a few committed people do their bit. So to train an entire generation to think and act green, we need to introduce our students to small but significant lifestyle changes. Here is a list of actions for a calendar year that together with your students you can put into action.

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Connecting with nature in a virtual learning mode

R. V. Jayapadma
Moving online to teach and learn has not been easy for most teachers and students. And if you are a school that has built nature walks, bird watching, and other outdoor activities into your daily routine, how can you do it online? A teacher shares her experience of how she and a colleague solved the problem and continued their bird watching programme online.

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“While” away at the window

Adithi Muralidhar
The pandemic forced all of us to stay indoors for long periods of time and this was certainly challenging for many adults and especially the children. But, a few hours by their windows with a little bit of ingenuity on the part of the adults is all that the children need to feel refreshed and not trapped indoors.

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What it takes to run an eco-club

Saurav Shome and Archana Dwivedi
Student clubs in schools are often set up with much fanfare and enthusiasm but lose steam midway because the syllabus is given priority. However, some schools do persist in engaging the students and the results are quite noteworthy. In this article, the authors describe the revival of the eco and the science clubs.

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