1st Youth Climate & Conservation Fellowship Programme of INDIA organised in North East India, funded by IUCN CEC and inspired by IUCN #NatureForAll

'WildRoots-INDIA' organised the '1st Youth Climate & Conservation Fellowship Programme of INDIA', from July 9th to 16th, 2022 in Guwahati, Assam and at Seijosa, District Pakke Kesang, Arunachal Pradesh. The first of its kind 'Fellowship Programme' was designed and coordinated by Biswajit De, Founder President of WildRoots-INDIA, who is an active member of the IUCN Commission on Education & Communication (CEC) and the International Steering Committee of IUCN #NatureForAll.

The Programme, funded by IUCN - CEC, was inspired by IUCN #NatureForAll, which is a Global Movement to inspire love of 'Nature'. As an inclusive IUCN-led coalition of partners, #NatureForAll brings together a diversity of players to share actions, collaborate, and amplify the collective reach to engage new audiences to connect with and fall in love with nature, and ignite action for Conservation. WildRoots-INDIA is an organizational member of #NatureForAll. 'Student Participants from 10 Indian Schools were trained to be Youth Climate & Conservation Fellows at Guwahati, Assam and Seijosa, Arunachal Pradesh, where they were exposed to various pedagogies related to Climate & Conservation Education and were trained via environmental educational modules that aimed to build a collective task force to address local & global environmental problems, brainstorm on solutions, mitigation ideas, actions and connect with the local communities', said De. The programme was co-mentored by students from University of Calcutta & Student Executive Members of WildRoots -INDIA: Suparna Das, Anuleka Dutta, Anushka Dutta & Aindri Mukherjee. Benjamin August Everett-Lane, UG Student of Dept. of Environmental Studies, Yale University, USA had joined the programme as an International Student Intern. Mr. Suresh Pait, PRT, Govt. Residential School, District Pakke Kesang, Seijosa, Arunachal Pradesh, had provided the local coordination & support for the programme.

Participation Certificates were handed over to the Fellows by Mr. Lily Kino, Block Education Officer, Seijosa

The ten participating students Trisha Pandit and Aashita Singh (Delhi Public School, Raipur), Sudeeksha Anal and Samriddha Duari (St. Agnes School, Kharagpur), Aaron Chaudhury (St. Francis De Sales Higher Secondary School, Guwahati), Aadishree Avinash Shirsath (Lakshadham High School, Mumbai), Vidushi Shandilya and Jash Modi (Chatrabhuj Narsee Memorial School & N.D. Parekh Pre-Primary School, Mumbai), Hem Dodhia (Gokuldham High School & Junior College, Mumbai), Swanand Mandar Kulkarni (Yashodham High School & Junior College, Mumbai) have now taken up the responsibility to cascade the learning outcomes to their respective schools and communities via 'Action Plans' related to Environmental Awareness, Sustainability & Conservation which were brainstormed and designed during the execution of the programme.

Youth Climate & Conservation Fellows posing with the respective School Flags and their Mentors

'It is wonderful to see organizations like Wildroots spreading our environmental reach to students across India. Dr. De’s fellowship programme was a major success in engaging youth and growing our #NatureForAll network. I’m eager to see how De’s programmes and participants continue to develop, grow and change the lives of a critical generation for conservation. The Youth Climate & Conservation Fellowship is a pathway to inspire the young students of India to create a regional group which can represent India in upcoming International Conferences. Thanks to Dr. De for designing the 1st IUCN CEC supported programme in India, which has already become a success story and pathway for other organizations to follow', said Sean Southey, Chair, IUCN CEC. Dr. Cheryl Charles, one of three international Co-Chairs of #NatureForAll, said, 'The Youth Climate and Conservation Fellowship is an exciting, worthwhile, and exemplary programme that will surely inspire others throughout the world. We look forward to the continuing results and positive actions that will be taken by the participants and those they in turn inspire in the years to come.'

Wildroots weaving Youth Communities in India for Conservation YOUTH CLIMATE & CONSERVATION FELLOWSHIP - COHORT 2.0 at Pakke Tiger Reserve, Seijosa, Arunachal Pradesh, INDIA

Wildroots-India hosted a second cohort of its 'Youth Climate & Conservation Fellowship Programme(YCCFP)' between November 23 and 28 at Pakke Tiger Reserve in Seijosa, Arunachal Pradesh, India.

Designed by Dr. Biswajit De, Founder President of WildRoots-India, the Programme focused on giving students from less-known but enterprising educational institutions who have strong portfolios of environmental awareness work on a five-day course. The students learned about identifying local & global environmental problems and also about designing, planning and implementing Conservation Action Plans.

Wildroots-India involved young early career experts and also veterans as Mentors for the fellowship programme, who designed the educational modules for the Conservation Education & Training Sessions. Mr. Gautam Gupta, expert in Aquatic Ecosystem Design & Conservation organised the River Ecological Study at the Pakke River, Ms. Durba Mitra, who is a student of Law, teamed up with Ms. Kohhua Kaushik, High School Graduate to design modules on Environmental Protection Acts and Climate Policies. Ms. Disha Jain, student of Marine Biology enlightened the participants about Marine Ecosystems and the need for their conservation. The Creative Sessions related to Action Planning for Conservation, Nature Journaling and Biomimicry were organised and mentored by Dr. Biswajit De. Teachers from participating Schools - Ms. Ruchi Rai(Sanskriti the Gurukul, Guwahati, Assam), Ms. Soumali Debnath(Delhi Public School, South Bangalore) Ms. Ipsita Dey and Mr. Samiran Sarker(both from Maria's Public School, Guwahati, Assam) facilitated the Community Interaction & Connection activities, which were the key highlights of the programme.

The Programme also connected these students who are from Schools located in the urban areas, with students at the more rural Govt. Residential School, A-2 Block, Seijosa, Arunachal Pradesh. This encouraged two way learning between the two groups about Biodiversity, Habitat Loss and Plastic Pollution. The Connection between WildRoots-India and the community was facilitated by Mr. Suresh Pait, teacher of the same school. The YCCFP was also supported and encouraged by the officials of Govt. of Arunachal Pradesh, India.

WildRoots-INDIA expresses special thanks and gratitude to the Chief Guest, Mr. Pani Tayemji, District President BJP(PKD), Guest of Honour - Tapi Gaoji, Rtd. DEE, Govt. of AP, Mr. Lili Kino, BEO-BRCC, Mrs. Okiyam Gao, Ex. ZPM Sille-Oyan, Anil Chiri and Ojing Tamut for gracing the occasion, sparing their valuable times, and encouraging the students.

Now back in their own states, students are being encouraged to replicate the same collaborative structure they learned and form Indian Regional Task forces. Composed of classmates, their teachers and members of the local communities, the goal is to have these groups brainstorm on ideas and implementations to embrace the overall approach of #NatureForAll’s Ecological Pathways and Priorities.